Call for Papers, 2007 Annual Conference, Concerned Philosophers for Peace
Nonviolence: Critiquing Assumptions, Examining Frameworks
November 1-4, 2007
Manchester College
North Manchester, IN
Many judgments regarding what is good or bad, possible or impossible, rely upon unspoken assumptions or frameworks which are used to view and evaluate events and actions. Philosophers uncover these hidden aspects of thoughts and judgments, scrutinizing them for soundness, validity, and fairness.
These assumptions and frameworks permeate the topics of violence, nonviolence, war, conflict, and reconciliation; and they influence how we address these problems and issues. This conference encourages philosophers to reflect upon these assumptions and frameworks and their effects, both in the abstract and in the concrete, and to share their insights with us.
Possible subtopics include:
- How do our current assumptions and frameworks regarding the Middle East shape our concepts of the prospects of war and peace in these areas?
- How do our assumptions and frameworks regarding poverty, wealth, race, and economy influence our understanding of the prospects for poverty eradication in North America, Africa or Latin America?
- What guiding assumptions and frameworks have led many Americans to trust military buildup, and even the use of torture, to defend the nation during the “war on terror”? What are the problems with such assumptions and frameworks? Would a different framework provide a better way of securing peace in America?
- Is peace possible? If so, how? If not, why not? Is human nature such that negative and/or positive peace is improbable if not impossible? Does national security and nation-state autonomy demand a warfare State? Does economic inequality make violence or the threat of violence inevitable?
- What kind of assumptions and frameworks would be needed in order for people to see nonviolence as a sensible approach to current day problems?
This call for examining assumptions can be used to either defend or challenge nonviolence as a guiding principle for relationships.
Conference Highlights:
Performances: Howard Zinn’s “Marx in Soho” by Robert Weick
Workshops: Peace Journalism, Tom Hastings, Portland State University
Student Paper Session
Presidential Address: Barry Gan, St. Bonaventure University
Contemplative, nonviolent environs.
Abstracts (200 words) and panel proposals by September 1, 2007 to:
Katy Gray Brown Box 122
Manchester College
North Manchester, IN 46962
Or, send it by email to:
KLGrayBrown@manchester.edu
For further questions,
contact Katy Gray Brown at 260-982-5343
http://www.manchester.edu/
Sponsored by the Manchester Peace Studies Institute and the Department of Religion and Philosophy
