Philosophy Across the Disciplines is a student-led conference held at Newcastle
University every year. The conference allows students in the Philosophy
Department to present papers which are usually based on the
dissertations/projects carried out in each stage. Each talk will last around 10-15
minutes and gives students the chance to experience and practice presenting an
academic paper, but in a more relaxed setting with their peers. After the students
have presented their papers, they can submit them to be published in the
Newcastle Philosophy Undergraduate Journal.

The conference has been developed to emphasise the interdisciplinary nature of
philosophy, showcasing the ways in which philosophy may enrich and itself be
enriched by research within other disciplines, hence the name ‘Philosophy Across
Disciplines’. This conference isn’t just for students studying philosophy at
Newcastle University, it is open to students from any disciplinary background
and from any university – so long as their research is engaging with a certain
level of philosophy. Although generally, it is catered mostly towards students in
our own department, as the whole ethos of the conference echoes that of our
project module, where we engage with a ‘non-philosophical’ topic or object in a
philosophical way.

WHY SHOULD I GET INVOLVED?

The conference provides a great opportunity for students who want experience
with speaking at academic conferences, or for those who otherwise want to
improve and evidence their public speaking skills – either to boost their
confidence or to show on their CV. If you are planning on pursuing further study,
then presenting a conference paper looks fantastic on Masters/PhD applications,
as it is highly advantageous if you can demonstrate your motivation and expertise
with reference to non-compulsory academic achievements, such as conference
papers and journal publications, when applying for highly competitive
postgraduate positions and funding opportunities. It is also a good thing in
general to be able to refer to when applying for jobs, especially ones that involve
project deadlines and public speaking.

The deadline for applications is the 27th of March.

Applications should be made through the form
available at the following link:
https://forms.ncl.ac.uk/view.php?id=7328871

I’ll be running a ‘coffee and a chat’ session tomorrow, and then on each Monday until the end of term.   

Tomorrow afternoon (Tuesday 25^th of February) I’ll be down in the new Henry Daysh Café, on the ground floor of the building, between 14:30 and 15:30. If anyone wants to drop in for a chat, whether about philosophy or about anything else, come along and there will be a free coffee or other drink from the new café for you.  

That’s right – free coffee or other drink! The one thing I ask is that you bring your own cup, as the new café there is a ‘bring your own cup’ place.  

I’m going to keep holding these coffee drop-ins for the rest of term but on MONDAYS from NEXT week (2^nd, 9^th, 16^th, 23^rd March) at the same time (14:30 to 15:30). 

All philosophy students are welcome to come along.  

Stephen 

Former Newcastle Head of Philosophy Lars Iyer is speaking in conversation with David Winters at the Culture Lab on Thursday 13th of February at 19:15.

https://www.ncl.ac.uk/ncla/events/item/eventlarsiyer.html

The ‘Thinking Differently in Philosophy’ Conference run on the 22nd of November was an interesting event in which eight speakers presented on the topic of thinking differently.

Thanks to all of the speakers, including our two guests, Tom Moynihan and Enrico Monacelli, and our six student speakers, many of whom were presenting in public for the first time.

We hope to run similar events in future years, giving our students the chance to see young thinkers in action, and to participate in formal academic events themselves.