Philosophy Across Disciplines – Newcastle Philosophy Undergraduate and Postgraduate Conference, June 6th 2018

Philosophy Across Disciplines: An undergraduate and masters conference 

Papers of undergraduate and masters level are requested for an interdisciplinary conference of works that encounter philosophy, hosted in Newcastle University on the 6th June.  There will be an opportunity to publish written work in line with the conference in a Proceeding that will publish soon after. 

Our aim is to explore philosophy research incorporated within other subjects. Thereby, we are seeking applicants from both philosophy students, and those outside the discipline, to display research into philosophical arguments. We would like to see individuals come to our conference to open up the discussion, and thus encourage those who apply from other departments in other universities.  

Submissions have to be in by the 30th of March. Please send them to: nclphilosconference@gmail.com 

We accept admissions from all research completed at pre-doctoral level in further education (such as BA, MA, MLitt, MPhil, etc.).  

If you submit an abstract and are accepted you will be expected to give a 10-minute talk followed by a 5-minute space for questions. Please consider the amount of research that can be covered given this time frame. If you desire a longer period of time, you can request to host a workshop on your topic that will entail a 30-minute frame.  

To apply you need to send a 300-word abstract: This should include: 

  • What discipline you are interacting with. 
  • Whom your research concerns i.e. the primary scholars you have used. 
  • What area of philosophy you are studying. 
  • A short bio, stating your name, institution and the level of study.  

For examples of opening an abstract: 

  • “I intend to interpret the artwork of Botticelli philosophically. I will analyse his painting The Birth of Venus in light of the concept of ‘beauty’. The philosopher Edmund Burke and his text “A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful” will be used to in aim of uncovering what makes Botticelli’s Venus beautiful. It is important to apply philosophy to art to uncover a deeper understanding of…” 
  • “This paper uses biblical analysis in conjunction with existentialist philosophy, in aim to question if Mark’s Gospel was written for the pursuit of hope and illusion. Hope is the concept in focus, and thereby Ernst Bloch’s The Principle of Hope is my primary text.  
  • “This paper will explore the works of George Simmel in light of modern economic concerns where the substantive existence of money is ceasing to be relevant…” 
  • “The purpose of this paper is to assess the role of social media in contemporary society. The Black Mirror episode named Nosedive will be used as an example of…”  
  • “This paper will explore the problems of Lazzaratean Neo-Marxism with an existentialist account derived from Dostoyevsky…” 

Note: There is no specification on your degree for this form of application: you just still have to be, or recently have been, a student. 

If you are interested in being considered for the proceedings you should indicate this in your email. For this, we expect: 

  • A fully referenced essay to be submitted a month before the conference. You may be expected to make some edits before it is published. 
  • The word range to be in-between 2,000 to 10,000 including references and bibliography. This means you can enter a dissertation level essay, but be warned that your conference speech still has to be within the stated time limits. 

We will hold this conference in Newcastle University. Room details will be announced with the running order which will be made available publicly by the 6th June. 

For a career in academia one is often required to think about philosophy. This conference provides a necessary launching point forcing one to think of the importance of philosophy in other disciplines. Moreover, participating in this conference will aptly provide academic professional experience, allow experimentation with presentation techniques, improve public speaking skills and therefore, will boost any CV. 

 

Contact: nclphilosconference@gmail.com 

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