Events

I'm currently organising/ co-organising two events - see below for CFPs.

Call for Papers: Women at the Dawn of Analytic Philosophy

Dates: May 28-29th 2026

Location: Northeastern University London (Devon House, 58 St Katherine’s Way, London)

Organiser: Peter West

Contact: peter.west@nulondon.ac.uk 

This conference is generously funded by the British Academy/ Leverhulme Trust. 

Women at the Dawn of Analytic Philosophy

This conference focuses on the contributions to and context of women to early analytic philosophy in the first half of the 20th century. We welcome papers focusing on the philosophical work of women in the analytic tradition or in connection to the analytic tradition (broadly construed). 

Papers might focus on the following figures/ topics (the following list is simply intended to be indicative): 

Example figures: 

• Susan Stebbing

• Margaret Macdonald

• Dorothy Emmet

• Alice Ambrose

• Helen Knight

• Margaret Masterman 

• Ruth Lydia Saw

• Elsie Whetnall 

• Beatrice Edgell 

• Ruth Barcan Marcus 

• Susanne Langer

• Dorothy Wrinch 

• Hilda Oakley 

Example topics: 

• Connections between these figures.

• Connections between early analytic women and later women philosophers (e.g., the ‘Wartime Quartet’: Midgley, Murdoch, Foot, Anscombe). 

• Schools of thought or philosophical groups within early analytic philosophy (e.g., philosophers at Bedford College).

• Historiographical/ methodological reflections on women in the history of philosophy or the ‘canon’ and narratives in the history of philosophy. 

Again, these are indicative topics - the conference welcomes a variety of proposals. (The time-frame covered is also flexible; figures/ texts pre-1900 or post-1950 will also be considered.)

Invited speakers: 

• Lawrence Blum (University of Massachusetts, Boston)

• Siobhan Chapman (University of Liverpool)

• Sophia Connell (University of Notre Dame)

• Cheryl Misak (University of Toronto)

• Oliver Spinney (University College London)

Proposals:

Proposals should take the form of a maximum 300 word abstract, sent to peter.west@nulondon.ac.uk. Please also include your name, email, and institutional affiliation.

The deadline for proposals is January 1st 2026.

There is also some funding available to support postgraduate attendees or attendees with (e.g.) childcare support needs. Please mention this in your email along with the information requested above.

Please email the organiser with any queries. 

The Non-Conference. Queen’s University Belfast, 18 May 2026.

Organised with Matyáš Moravec.

Recent years have seen heated discussions about the ways in which academic philosophy is presented. Scholars have investigated questions about its style, the functioning of academic journals, the formal requirements of analytic philosophy, or the relationship between philosophy, science, and art.

However, most of these discussions have focused on written philosophy only. The way philosophy is presented at conferences, workshops, or symposiums tends to follow the same format: a talk (usually with a powerpoint presentation) followed by Q&A, followed by lunch or conference dinner. As a social activity, it now forms part of the “unwritten curriculum” with its set of expected behaviours, participates in various different forms of philosophical gatekeeping and might also have unwelcome exclusionary effects (e.g., on philosophers suffering from social anxiety, loss of speech or hearing, or graduate students who can’t afford lavish dinners (see https://philarchive.org/rec/KIDKWT)). We believe this is a contingent feature of the current philosophical landscape and differs from many ways that philosophy has been verbally presented in the past (and indeed could be presented in the present and future).

The Non-Con aims to scrutinise the rigid talk + Q&A format that has become customary and investigate new ways of presenting philosophy in person. These possible formats include (but are by no means limited to):

• Philosophical “interview” based on pre-circulated materials

• Q&A preceding the talk

• Talks not connected to a future published paper

• Talks involving music or visual art

• Talks spanning several days or done in sections

• Talks at non-conventional times or locations

• Talks done while performing other activities (e.g., walking)

The organisers wish to emphasise that the list above is purely indicative. The whole point of the Non-Con is to explore these new formats without a top-down prescriptive approach.

Presentations in all areas of philosophy are welcome. The requirement for submission to the Non-Con is that your paper does not do any of the following:

• Is a reading out of a previously written paper in front of an audience

• Uses presentation slides

• Is structured into talk + Q&A format

• Breaks UK law or is wholly inappropriate for an academic context

Please send the following documents to M.Moravec@qub.ac.uk by 31 December 2025:

• A brief CV (2 pages max)

• A “proposal” of what your philosophical “presentation” is about in terms of content and a description of how you are intending to present it, including, if applicable, any technical requirements (1 page max)

The Non-Con will take place at Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland, on 18 May 2026, and will be co-organised with Northeastern University London. There may be some partial funding available for travel or costs associated with particularly innovative presentation forms, but attendees should not rely on that being the case.