Category: CPP News

Call for Papers

Concerned Philosophers for Peace

36th Annual Conference (October 27-28, 2023, Knoxville, TN)

Co-Sponsored by: Pellissippi State Community College and University of Tennessee, Department of Philosophy

Peace in the Face of Aggression:

Responses to the Russo-Ukrainian War

Keynote: Cheyney Ryan

Concerned Philosophers for Peace (CPP) seeks to find ways to promote peaceful, nonviolent transitions in all arenas of common life, and this year’s conference will focus primarily on peaceful and nonviolent solutions to the Russo-Ukrainian War. Based on discussions within the CPP, we recognize there are many different ways to frame and analyze the causes, methods, and solutions of the conflict. With this in mind, we ask authors to reflect on the variety of peaceful, nonviolent responses one might have to the Russo-Ukrainian War, including from the pacifist position. In addition to the main theme, we welcome papers on any topic related to peace and nonviolence, especially papers that promote diverse and decolonized ideas of peace and peace studies. Submit abstracts of no more than 500 words for papers related to this theme or to the overall mission of Concerned Philosophers for Peace. Possible Topics Include (but are not limited to):

·        Just War vs. Pacifist responses to war

·        “Peaceful aggression” causing violent conflict

·        Supplying weapons and aid as a nonviolent response

·        Economic sanctions as violence against the populace

·        “Insider” and “outsider” responses to inter-state aggression

·        “Old-school” and “new-school” responses to war and conflict

·        Technological responses to aggression: violent or nonviolent?

·        Role of technology in 21st century pacifism

·        How to proceed peacefully when we disagree

·        The future of peace studies and peace activism

·        Peace studies without activism

·        Diverse and decolonized sources of peace/peace studies: music, dance, art

·        Linguistic and status quo practices: barriers to presenting and publishing dissenting and diverse perspectives

·        Effective ways to communicate peace and peace studies

·        Diverse teaching sources of peace/peace studies

·        Overlooked historical figures/accounts of peace activists

CPP welcomes submissions from undergraduates, graduate students, professional academics, independent scholars, and anyone

willing to present persuasive sound argumentative positions in line with our theme and ethos. We also welcome submissions from a range of fields including philosophy, law, public policy, business, history, religious studies, political science, social science, or related fields. Submissions from teachers, researchers, or practitioners are also welcome, particularly insofar as those presentations could complement the theme of the conference. Concerned Philosophers for Peace is the largest, most active organization of professional philosophers in North America involved in the analysis of the causes of violence and prospects for peace.

Submission Guidelines: Deadline: July 3, 2023

Email your CV and an abstract of no more than 500 words, prepared for blind review to Court Lewis, cdlewis1@pstcc.edu. Write “CPP 2023 submission” in subject line. Include name, institutional affiliation, e-mail address, and paper title in the body of your e-mail. If you are a Graduate or Undergraduate student, please indicate so in your email. **There will be a cash prize for the best Graduate student paper and the best Undergraduate student paper.**

Bill Gay Award for an Early Career Scholar

The Bill Gay Award is for an early career scholar (defined as a scholar who is within 6 years of receiving their terminal degree) who has demonstrated their commitment to engaging with peace, peace studies, and peace and justice scholarship and/or activism. To be eligible for the award, a scholar must submit a full paper (5-7K words) at least two months in advance of the annual Concerned Philosophers for Peace conference. All submissions will be blind reviewed by the CPP awards committee. The award will be announced at the annual CPP conference by the awards committee chair, and comes with a $2000 prize, formal certificate of recognition, and paper publication (subject to editorial approval) in the scholarly, peer-reviewed journal The Acorn: Philosophical Studies in Pacifism and Nonviolence.

Many thanks to Dr. Bill Gay, long-time CPP member, contributor, and activist scholar for peace and justice. His generous financial support is the backbone of this prestigious award, and CPP hopes that awardees will follow in Dr. Gay’s illustrious footsteps as lifelong champions for a more just and more peaceful world.

$100 Regular / $25 Student (or without travel support)

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Co-Sponsor: University of New Mexico

Philosophy Department

Theme: Peace, Nonviolence, Power, and Crisis

October 21-22, 2022

Keynote: Dr. Ann V. Murphy, UNM Philosophy

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Official Program

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Submit abstracts of 500 words for papers related to this theme or to the overall mission of Concerned Philosophers for Peace. 

Due to the impending collapse of fossil fuel-driven late capitalist excess, political polarization and inertia, the unprecedented health disaster brought on by Covid and our response to it, and immanent environmental disaster, we face a future marked not just by crises, but by the apparent inability for current structures of power to respond adequately. How do we come together in the pursuit of peace, nonviolence, and justice in the face of Power in Crisis?

Topics might include, but are not limited to:

The nature of Power, how it forms subjects as well as how and why subjects formed by power might resist it.

Indigenous and Nonwestern philosophical critiques of and alternatives to Power

Intersectionality and power in crisis

The relationship between peace, nonviolence, and social change 

Revolutionizing healthcare

Revolutionizing capitalism

Revolutionizing the military-industrial complex

The relationship between revolution, rebellion, and power in crisis

The relationship between emerging technology and peace, nonviolence, power, and crises

Social networks, power, crises, and nonviolent change

Framing crises, disasters, and apocalypses

Nonviolently creating political alternatives to the Power Structures that are failing to address the Crises we face: (Social Ecology, direct democracy, Anarchism, etc.)

Critiques of “empowerment” in relation to Peace, Nonviolence, Power, and Crisis.

Utopianism in relation to Peace, Nonviolence, Power, and Crisis.

Issues in agency and “constructivism” in relation to Peace, Nonviolence, Power, and Crisis.

The debate between liberalism and postmodernism in relation to Peace, Nonviolence, Power, and Crisis.

Relating “classic” nonviolent movements to the unique features of Power in Crisis. 

Responding to political challenges for peace: authoritarianism, lawlessness, broken democracies in relation to Peace, Nonviolence, Power, and Crisis

Responding to environmental challenges: climate change, environmental justice in relation to Peace, Nonviolence, Power, and Crisis

Issues in “materialism” and “immaterialism” in relation to Peace, Nonviolence, Power, and Crisis

Responding to social challenges: homelessness, poverty, hunger, domestic violence, insecurity in relation to Peace, Nonviolence, Power, and Crisis

Responding to “personal” challenges: hopelessness, resignation, nihilism, and cynicism etc. in relation to Peace, Nonviolence, Power, and Crisis

Celebrating and applying the wisdom of exemplars of moral courage and nonviolence in relation to Peace, Nonviolence, Power, and Crisis

Celebrating and applying solidarity, love, and other virtues in relation to Peace, Nonviolence, Power, and Crisis

Optimism, hope, and/or faith in humanity in the 21^st century

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Proposed Panels

The conference will include a panel based around The Acorn: Philosophical Studies in Pacifism and Nonviolence Special Edition entitled “On the Future of Nonviolence” which focuses on Judith Butler’s recent book, The Force of Nonviolence: An Ethico-Political Bind. We are also proposing, dependent on submissions, a panel informed by Murry Bookchin’s theory of Social Ecology, and a panel on pedagogy featuring presentations by schoolteachers and college professors working in the Albuquerque area and beyond. We welcome similar talks from teachers coming in from elsewhere. Panel proposals related to these areas or others in line with the conference theme will be taken into consideration. 

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Information on the Keynote:

Dr. Murphy’s main areas of research are phenomenology and social and political philosophy, particularly theories of violence and nonviolence. Her research focuses on questions of embodiment, vulnerability, and identity. She is the author of Violence and the Philosophical Imaginary (SUNY 2012) and has published essays in various journals including Hypatia, Continental Philosophy Review, Journal for the British Society of Phenomenology, and philoSOPHIA. With Gail Weiss and Gayle Salamon, Dr. Murphy co-edited 50 Concepts for a Critical Phenomenology (Northwestern 2020). Her current research is on hunger, embodiment, and structural violence, and she is currently working on a monograph entitled Ethics of Hunger: Corporeal Vulnerability and Structural Violence.

Dr. Murphy teaches ethics, bioethics, political philosophy, philosophy of gender, and contemporary continental thought. Examples of recent graduate seminars include Critical Phenomenology and Philosophies of Violence and Nonviolence. Dr. Murphy also teaches medical ethics in the UNM BA/MD program and is one the core faculty in the Certificate Program in Clinical Ethics at the UNM Health Sciences Center.

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Further Details:

We welcome submissions from undergraduates, graduate students, professional academics, independent scholars, and anyone willing to present persuasive sound argumentative positions in line with our theme and ethos. We also welcome submissions from a range of fields including philosophy, law, public policy, business, history, religious studies, political science, social science, or related fields. Submissions from teachers, researchers, or practitioners are also welcome, particularly insofar as those presentations could complement the theme of the conference. We are committed to making this year’s conference rigorous, celebratory, and supportive as well as inclusive and welcoming to all, and expect these values in our participants.

This is our first face to face conference since the pandemic began. It is expected that all participants will be vaccinated and boosted by the time of the conference.

**There will be a $100 prize for the best graduate student paper and the best undergraduate student paper** (Please indicate if you are a student when you submit your abstract)

We plan to celebrate each other’s ideas and the community that we have built and continue to build at CPP. Rather than a competitive environment, we aim to foster a warm environment that cultivates intellectual growth, compassion, and to practice what we preach. We are excited to welcome old and new friends to beautiful New Mexico, but of course, will stay apprised of developments concerning Covid-19, and will go virtual if necessary.

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Submission Guidelines:  

• Submit: an abstract (with bibliography) of no more than 500 words, prepared for blind review
• Send to: Will Barnes will@planetarycollective.com
• Write: “CPP 2022 submission” in subject line
• Extended Deadline: Aug. 1, 2022
• Format: submit only files in .doc, .docx, or .pdf.
• Include: name, institutional affiliation, e-mail address, and paper title in the body of your e-mail (if you are a student and would like to be considered for a student award, indicate that in your email).
• Acceptance notices will be sent by the end of August.

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About Concerned Philosophers for Peace

• Concerned Philosophers for Peace is the largest, most active organization of professional philosophers in North America involved in the analysis of the causes of violence and prospects for peace.
• More information at Concerned Philosophers for Peace website: http://peacephilosophy.org/

Questions? Contact: Will Barnes: will -at- planetarycollective.com