Continental Philosophy

Commodification, Technoculture, and the Human. Rethinking Technology. Workshop at MSU

Farhang Erfani — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 04:32:06 +0000

Workshop in social political philosophy at MSU with Donna Haraway, Paul Thompson, and Andrew Feenberg

An important connection explored in the humanities concerns the degree to which technological rationality changes our lives, whether in terms of our behavior, our conceptions of who and what human animals and non-human animals are, or the goals we set for ourselves. What are some of the new ways of living brought on by these changes? Are such changes consistent with the precepts of an inclusive democracy? Or have they unacceptably commodified our social, political, and cultural relationships? Do we now live in a world where what is understood as a meaningful life is in peril because technology and commodification are all that remain? This workshop in social and political thought will be dedicated to bringing important contemporary scholarship to MSU to address these questions with keynote addresses, commentaries, and other workshop activities. It demonstrates that philosophy and the humanities are central in understanding the world we live in.

via Commodification, Technoculture, and the Human. Rethinking Technology. Workshop at MSU.

Carl Schmitt (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Farhang Erfani — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 16:59:21 +0000

Carl Schmitt (1888–1985) was a conservative German legal, constitutional, and political theorist. Schmitt is often considered to be one of the most important critics of liberalism, parliamentary democracy, and liberal cosmopolitanism. But the value and significance of Schmitt’s work is subject to controversy, mainly due to his intellectual support for and active involvement with National Socialism.

via Carl Schmitt (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy).

THE ANATOMY OF MARGINALITY

Farhang Erfani — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 16:32:19 +0000

We are pleased to announce a one-day seminar on the concept of marginality broadly defined and its impact on humanities and social sciences

THE ANATOMY OF MARGINALITY

A One-Day Seminar at the Indiana University Bloomington

Friday October 15, 2010
218 Woodburn Hall, Department of Political Science

9.30-10.00: Aurelian Craiutu (Indiana University) and Costica Bradatan (Texas Tech University): “The Paradox of Marginality” (Introduction to the Marginality Project)

Morning Session (Moderator: Costica Bradatan)
10.00-10.30: Giuseppe Mazzotta (Yale University), “The Margins of Thought”
10.30-10.45: Response: Hall Bjornstad (Indiana University)
10.45-11.00: Coffee Break
11.00-12.15: Discussion of Giuseppe Mazzotta’s paper

After-noon session (Moderator: Hall Bjornstad)
2.00-2.30: John A. Hall (McGill University), “Marginality Imposed and Embraced, Understood and Interpreted: The Case of Ernest Gellner”
2.30-2.45: Response: William Scheuerman (Indiana University)
2.45-4.00: Discussion of John A. Hall’s paper
4.00-4.15: Coffee Break
4.15-5.30: Round-Table Session (Moderators: Aurelian Craiutu, Costica Bradatan and Hall Bjornstad): “The Proper Study of Marginality”: Theoretical Framework, Conceptual Apparatus and Methodologies

The event is jointly sponsored by Indiana University’s Institute for Advanced Studies, Department of French and Italian, Department of Political Science, the Tocqueville Program, and the Horizon of Knowledge Lecture Series.

Participation is open to the public.

CFP: philoSOPHIA 2011

Farhang Erfani — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 23:09:36 +0000

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS
DEADLINE DECEMBER 1st 2010

philoSOPHIA: a feminist society
5th Annual Meeting
Vanderbilt University
Nashville Tennessee

Thursday May 5th Ð Sunday May 8th, 2011

We welcome project proposals of works in progress that engage continental feminist theory and work done on major figures and themes from the continental feminist tradition, as well as feminist work inspired by continental philosophy more generally. We also strongly encourage interdisciplinary and innovative approaches that combine theoretical perspectives and situated reflections.

Extemporaneous presentations strongly encouraged, while reading papers is discouraged. The conference will have a variety of different kinds of session formats, including workshops, author-meets-critics, works in progress, round-table discussions of topics and/or recent books in Continental Feminism.

Guidelines for Submission:
1. Individual abstracts of approximately 750 words.
2. Panel proposals (500 words) with individual abstracts (750 words each). Panel proposals should include 3 panelists and 1 moderator.
3. Round-Table discussions. Proposals should include a topic (500 words indicating the importance of discussing a theme, or recent book published in the area of Continental Feminism), along with names of 3 people who will Òkick offÓ the discussion, include the name of 1 moderator.
4. Author meets critics sessions. Proposals should include names of 1 moderator, 3 commentators and 1 respondent who is the author of a book published within the last 2 years.

Abstracts should be suitable for anonymous review. In a separate document, please include your name, affiliation, contact info, and a brief bio, along with the title of your presentation.

Please submit all proposals electronically to philosophia2011@gmail.com For more information, visit http://www.philosophiafeministsociety.org or http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/philosophy/events/philosophia.html.

Feminist Perspectives on the Body (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Farhang Erfani — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 13:16:07 +0000

In terms of the history of western philosophy, the philosophy of embodiment is relatively recent. For much of this history the body has been conceptualised as simply one biological object among others, part of a biological nature which our rational faculties set us apart from, as well as an instrument to be directed and a possible source of disruption to be controlled. Problematically for feminists, the opposition between mind and body has also been correlated with an opposition between male and female, with the female regarded as enmeshed in her bodily existence in a way that makes attainment of rationality questionable. “Women are somehow more biological, more corporeal, and more natural than men” (Grosz 14). Such enmeshment in corporeality was also attributed to colonised bodies and those attributed to the lower classes (McClintock 1995, Alcoff 2006, 103). Challenging such assumptions required feminists to confront corporeality in order to elucidate and confront constructions of sexual difference.

via Feminist Perspectives on the Body (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy).

CFP: Sherlock Holmes and Philosophy

Farhang Erfani — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 12:19:00 +0000

Open Court’s Popular Culture and Philosophy book series (http://www.opencourtbooks.com/) is currently accepting Abstracts and Proposals for Sherlock Holmes and Philosophy, edited by Josef Steiff, for publication in late 2011. Your proposal can address any iteration of Sherlock Holmes, including works by creators other than Doyle, and use any approach that seems relevant or is exciting to you.

Our goal is to be first and foremost a book about Sherlock Holmes. To this end, we will use philosophy, literary theory and/or media theory with philosophical underpinnings as a tool to create a deeper and more thoughtful exploration and understanding of issues raised by Sherlock Holmes as a character or a narrative. You may examine a specific story or book, multiple stories or editions, any of the characters (major or minor), thematic or contextual analysis, works by other writers in which Holmes or Watson appear, even Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself or any of the people who have adapted his material (most recently, Guy Ritchie).

We want to include analysis of short stories, novels, plays, movies, comics, anime as well as material inspired by (or making sly reference to) Sherlock Holmes. For example, this could include analysis specific to the recent films or the 1930s silent film adaptation of the stage play or specific TV adaptations or even TV series like House or Monk.

Please submit your initial proposal or expression of interest to Josef Steiff at ocbook@gmail.com by August 15; query regarding late proposals after that date. Final drafts will be due February 2011.

Kelly Oliver: Women as Weapons of War: Iraq, Sex, and the Media

Farhang Erfani — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 22:18:42 +0000

Click here to view the embedded video.

Get a Free Year of Amazon Prime with an .EDU Address

Farhang Erfani — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 03:54:31 +0000

Good for student readers.

Link

Idealistic Studies – Volume 39, Number 1/3 – 2009

Farhang Erfani — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 03:52:00 +0000

Gary Overvold, Editor’s Note
James R. Mensch, The Phenomenological Status of the Ego
Christopher Arroyo, The Role of Feelings in Husserl’s Ethics
Tracy Colony, Concerning Technology
Maria Granik, Mary Troxell, The Autonomy of Art in Heidegger and Schopenhauer
Emilia Angelova, A Continuity Between the A and B Deductions of the Critique
Lisa Folkmarson Käll, Expression Between Self and Other
Elena Ficara, Hegel’s Dialectic in Twentieth-Century Continental Philosophy
Jennifer Holt, Nihilistic Praxis
Farhang Erfani, We Are Not Saints, But We Have Kept Our Appointment
Christopher Lauer, Kierkegaard and Aristophanes on the Suspension of Irony
Jacob M. Held, Marx via Feuerbach
Dwayne A. Tunstall, Transcendental Pragmatisms

Link

CFP: Architecture and Philosophy

Farhang Erfani — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 06:20:00 +0000

Architecture+Philosophy 2011
Boston University, Department of Philosophy
Boston, MA
April 8-9, 2011

Thinking about architecture has long been an enterprise of philosophers and architects alike, but in recent years there has been a growing divergence between them over terminological and methodological issues. Philosophers charge architects with mishandling texts and architects charge philosophers with mishandling buildings.

But there are also other divisions among contemporary architectural theorists themselves. Some theorists concern themselves with the human experience, with ethical and poetical questions, and with sensory and aesthetic explorations of architecture and its environment. Other theorists are bent on treating architecture as a form of knowledge that takes shape as a formal and socio-political practice through tools such as language, algorithms, and diagrams. Still other theorists see their task as navigating among these sometimes quite distinct approaches.

Keynotes

Dr. Alberto Pérez-Gómez :: Saidye Rosner Bronfman Professor of the History of Architecture
McGill University :: School of Architecture

Dr. Karsten Harries :: Brooks and Suzanne Ragen Professor of Philosophy
Yale University :: Department of Philosophy

Call for Papers

The Boston University Department of Philosophy invites submissions from professionals and graduate students in philosophy, architecture, and other related discplines. Topics may be from any point of view, including the so-called phenomenological and critical, modern and postmodern, postcritical and projective, and urban and sustainable approaches to architecture.

The Architecture+Philosophy 2011 conference aims to provide an arena for careful clarification of current trends in architectural thought. Send complete papers (3,000-5,000 words) with a 150 word abstract, formatted for blind review, to architecture.philosophy@gmail.com by January 15, 2011.

Please visit http://philarch.wordpress.com for more information and a pdf of the Call for Papers.