The Tennessee Value and Agency Conference (TVA)—UTK Philosophy Department's storied annual conference—returns in 2026 after a five-year hiatus. From 2012 to 2020, TVA brought together leading scholars working on questions of value and agency and featured some of the most prominent philosophers of our time.

For its 2026 revival, TVA again reaches beyond philosophy, bringing philosophical work into conversation with psychology, psychiatry, literature, social theory, public health, and the social and political sciences.

Grief, Trauma, Anger and Resilience

October 29–31, 2026
University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Keynote Speakers:

• Melissa Burchard (Philosophy, UNC Asheville)

•  Michael Cholbi (Philosophy, University of Edinburgh)

• Nancy Snow (Philosophy, University of Kansas)

• Mariam Thalos (Philosophy, University of Tennessee, Knoxville)

The conference explores the conceptual, moral, and social-political dimensions of so-called negative affective experiences—including grief, trauma, and anger—alongside experiences more commonly regarded as constructive or life-affirming, such as joy, connection, and resilience. We are especially interested in the ways these phenomena shape, and are shaped by, agency, embodiment, social reality, and human connection.

Trauma and related concepts have received increasing attention across psychology and the social sciences, but there has been comparatively little sustained philosophical engagement with the concepts themselves, and still less with their broader implications for life among the hypersocial beings that we are. TVA 2026 aims to create a space for rigorous interdisciplinary conversation about these questions.

Registration

Participation registration is open! Speakers, session chairs, and attendees: students, researchers from across the disciplines, independent scholars, partners, and members of the wider community--everyone is requested please to register (it's free) so we can get accurate estimates for catering and create a badge for you.