Philosophy in the first person

An exciting form of contemporary public philosophy is the “philosophical personal essay”: a hybrid of personal narrative and theoretical reflection, written in an intimate voice, that aims for both philosophical depth and literary quality. This hands-on workshop will introduce you to the genre of philosophical personal essays, and help you write, edit and send out your own. During our time together, we will read exemplary pieces, discuss the craft of writing, and use exercises and prompts to help you generate ideas, and ways to frame and express those ideas, with a non-academic audience in mind. Each participant will write one short essay, based on their interests and experience, which we will workshop together. Finally, we’ll discuss the publication landscape for this form of writing and how to get your work out into the world.

November 28-30, 2024

University of Vienna

Workshop leader: Helena de Bres