About Us

The Southwestern Society of Mind is a small outlaw organization that dispenses with the conventions and formalities of typical academic conferences, instead promoting a relaxed, creative, and unrestrained discourse on the mind. Our hope is that a rejection of disciplinary territoriality and rigid intellectual traditions will spur a fun, free-wheeling, and creative multidisciplinary dialogue.  The intent is to promote an environment in which scholars and thinkers from seemingly disparate disciplines (e.g., anthropology, biology, philosophy, physics, psychology, the arts, etc.) will enjoy socializing and sharing their ideas about the mind. 

After two years away, we are back in the Chihuahua Desert!

Come Share Your Ideas about the Mind in Fort Davis, Texas 

We welcome scholars from all disciplines, non-scholars with unique perspectives, and any  drifters or passers-through who want to stop by, share their ideas, or just listen in at the 7th  Annual Meeting of the Southwestern Society of Mind. 

About the Meeting: The meeting is intended to be a small gathering of minds. It will be a 1 day  event, presentations will begin at first thing in the morning and last until mid or late afternoon.  Coffee service will be provided during the event. Lunch and drinks will be available to purchase from the hotel. 

Location: Indian Lodge, Davis Mountains State Park, Fort Davis, Texas 

Reservations: Rooms are available at the Indian Lodge hotel, and in nearby towns: Fort Davis, Alpine and Marfa.  The Indian Lodge is nearly booked out as of 10/7; your best bet is to look for hotels in Fort Davis, Alpine or Marfa

Presentations: Each presenter will have 10-15 minutes to share their idea followed by 15  minutes of discussion. In the spirit of free rein, the format of the presentations is wide open.  Presenters should avoid discipline specific jargon. Presentations should be directed to an  educated lay audience. The conference organizers will provide a computer and projector.  

Submission Process: Anyone is welcome to submit an abstract. Abstracts should be  approximately 250 words and can be submitted to the email address below. Submissions should  provide a brief description of the presentation. Abstracts will be reviewed within two-three weeks of  their submission and accepted on a rolling basis.  When the maximum number of presenters is reached, review of abstracts will stop.  Early bird gets the worm.

Deadline: December 1st, 2025 

Email: Bharding@twu.edu 

Meeting Date: March 7, 2026 

Registration Fee: $50