New anthology on feminist philosophy, feminism and history of ideas

Feminist philosophy: Time, history, and the transformation of thought. 

Eds: Valgerdur Palmadottir, Synne Myrebøe & Johanna Sjöstedt

Södertörn studies in intellectual and cultural history 2023

Available OA: LINK.

What is the relationship between feminism and philosophy today? Although feminist philosophy is now a recognized field in the institution of philosophy, a tension between the terms feminism and philosophy persists. From the perspective of philosophy, feminist philosophy may seem too committed to political change. From the perspective of feminism, the practice of philosophy may seem too far removed from the pressing concerns of injustice in ordinary life.

 

This volume is an interdisciplinary initiative at the intersection of philosophy, the history of ideas, and feminist theory, where philosophy is scrutinized from a feminist perspective and asks questions about what philosophy has to offer feminism.

 

Contributing scholars are Tuija Pulkkinen, Kristina Fjelkestam, Sara Edenheim, Naomi Scheman, Cecilia Rosengren, Helgard Mahrdt, Marta-Laura Cenedese, Claudia Lindén, Fanny Söderbäck, Erik Poulsen, Zlatana Knezevic, Ylva Gustafsson, Oda K. S. Davanger, Jorunn Økland, Gudbjörg Jóhannesdóttir och Nicole des Bouvries.

CfP: Astell, Cockburn and Masham.

Locke Studies 25: Astell, Cockburn, and Masham

Call for Papers

Locke Studies is pleased to announce that its twenty-fifth issue, to be published in 2025, will include a special section devoted to three of Locke’s most important interlocutors and critics: Mary Astell (1666-1731), Catherine Trotter Cockburn (1679-1749), and Damaris Cudworth Masham (1659-1708). The special section will include six papers, four of which will be invited from distinguished scholars working on these figures and two of which will be chosen through this open call. Submissions are encouraged from scholars working in Philosophy, Political Science, History, Gender Studies, Literature, or any other field that supports sustained engagement with the work, context, or reception of Astell, Cockburn, or Masham. Submissions are not required (but are permitted) to engage with Locke. 

To be considered for inclusion in this special section of Locke Studies 25, submitted articles should be in English and should not exceed 12,000 words in length, including notes and references. Please see the Locke Studies submissions page for additional submission information. When submitting an article in response to this call, please make a note of this in your comments for the editor. Locke Studies is a double-blind peer review journal.

The submission deadline for this special themed section is December 31, 2024. If you have any questions or would like additional information, please contact Daniel Layman, editor-in-chief, at dalayman@davidson.edu.

CfA: Education, Freedom & Human Nature: 17th – 19th centuries, McGill, Montreal.

Extending New Narratives in the History of Philosophy

Seminar: Education, Freedom & Human Nature: 17^th – 19^th centuries

October 27 – 28 [with a morning session October 29 possible], 2023, McGill University

The philosophy of education, while central through much of the history of the discipline, has fallen out of fashion. Recently, however, historians of philosophy have started to recognize the interest in education of women philosophers of the past, as well as of others who recognize the liberatory power of education, especially for those in subordinate and subjugated positions. Engaging with this work, brings out how a philosophy of education is inter-connected with more familiar philosophical topics including: (i) the development of human cognitive abilities; (ii) the realization of human freedom; and (iii) the cultivation of virtuous and enlightened citizens, to list just a few examples. In this seminar, we will engage with the works of women and other neglected figures of the 17^th-19^th centuries. We will aim to develop methods for engaging with unfamiliar and understudied texts and to use these methods to begin to articulate the philosophies of education of these figures, examining the connections that they draw between education, personhood, freedom, rationality, and morality.

The format will be divided into two parts:

(a) discussion of excerpts from Catharine Macaulay’s (1731-1791) Letters on Education (1790) (“Introductory Letter”, XVI “Influence of Impressions”, XXI “Morals Must be taught on Immutable principles”, XXII “No Characteristic Difference in Sex”, XXIV “Male Rakes”); and Anna Julia Cooper’s (1858-1964) “The Higher Education of Women” in her A Voice from the South (1892), as well as an address by Fanny Barrier Williams at the 1893 Congress of Representative Women, titled “The Intellectual Progress of the Colored Women of the United States Since the Emancipation Proclamation”, with a response by Anna Julia Cooper. Participants are expected to have read the selections of Macaulay, Cooper and Barrier Williams, and to come prepared for discussion of them. Texts can be accessedhere. 

(b) sessions devoted to discussion of participants works-in-progress on topics broadly related to education.

We invite abstracts between 300-500 words for papers focused on the philosophy of education in the history of philosophy, with a preference for the thought of philosophers who have been marginalized in the history of philosophy, and in particular women (including the authors of the works for discussion). Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

• personhood and education;
• education and freedom;
• education and human nature;
• education and cognitive and/or moral development;
• A specific understudied figure’s philosophy of education;
• How women and other neglected figures were responding to contemporaneous views of education

Participants should be prepared to share draft papers to be read ahead of the seminar to allow ample time for discussion. (Each participant will be asked to read closely the drafts of 2-3 other participants.) Submissions by early career researchers and advanced PhD students are especially encouraged. Funding for travel and accommodations will be provided to confirmed participants. We expect to invite 5-7 participants.  This seminar will be followed in March by a workshop focused on philosophy of education in the history of philosophy at partner institution Jyväskylä University, and revised papers can be submitted for consideration to that workshop.

Deadline: 30 July 2023. Please email paper proposals along with a short CV to elena.gordon@mcgill.ca

This seminar is a part of the Extending New Narratives Partnership project, supported by the Social Sciences Research Council of Canada and partner institutions.

***

Pour de nouveaux récits en histoire de la philosophie

Séminaire : Éducation, liberté et nature humaine : XVIIe – XIXe siècles

27 – 28 octobre [avec possibilité d’une session matinale le 29 octobre], 2023, Université McGill

La philosophie de l’éducation, bien que centrale dans la majeure partie de l’histoire de la discipline, est tombée en désuétude. Cependant, récemment les historiens de la philosophie ont commencé à reconnaître l’intérêt pour l’éducation des femmes philosophes du passé, ainsi que d’autres qui reconnaissent le pouvoir libérateur de l’éducation, en particulier pour ceux qui se trouvent dans des positions subalternes et assujetties. L’examen de ces travaux met en évidence les liens entre la philosophie de l’éducation et des thèmes philosophiques plus familiers tels que : (i) le développement des capacités cognitives humaines ; (ii) la réalisation de la liberté humaine ; et (iii) la formation de citoyen.ne.s vertueux.euses et éclairé.e.s, pour ne citer que quelques exemples. Dans ce séminaire, nous nous pencherons sur les œuvres de femmes et d’autres figures négligées des XVIIe au XIXe siècles. Nous viserons à développer des méthodes pour aborder des textes peu familiers et peu étudiés et à utiliser ces méthodes pour commencer à articuler les philosophies de l’éducation de ces figures, en examinant les liens qu’elles établissent entre l’éducation, la personnalité, la liberté, la rationalité et la moralité. 

Le format du séminaire sera divisé en deux parties :

(a) discussion d’extraits des Letters on Education (1790) de Catharine Macaulay (1731-1791) (“Introductory Letter”, XVI “Influence of Impressions”, XXI “Morals Must be taught on Immutable principles”, XXII “No Characteristic Difference in Sex”, XXIV “Male Rakes”) ; et l’ouvrage d’Anna Julia Cooper (1858-1964) “The Higher Education of Women” dans son ouvrage A Voice from the South(1892), ainsi qu’un discours de Fanny Barrier Williams au Congress of Representative Women de 1893, intitulé “The Intellectual Progress of the Colored Women of the United States Since the Emancipation Proclamation”, avec une réponse d’Anna Julia Cooper. Les participant.e.s sont censé.e.s avoir lu les sélections de Macaulay, Cooper et Barrier Williams et être prêt.e.s à en discuter.

(b) des sessions consacrées à la discussion des travaux en cours des participant.e.s sur des sujets liés à l’éducation. Veuillez télécharger les textes ici.

Nous invitons les participant.e.s à soumettre des résumés de 300 à 500 mots pour des communications portant sur la philosophie de l’éducation dans l’histoire de la philosophie, avec une préférence pour la pensée des philosophes qui ont été marginalisés dans l’histoire de la philosophie, et en particulier les femmes (y compris les auteurs des œuvres à discuter). Les sujets possibles incluent, mais ne sont pas limités à :

– la personnalité et l’éducation ;

– l’éducation et la liberté

– l’éducation et la nature humaine

– l’éducation et le développement cognitif et/ou moral ;

– La philosophie de l’éducation d’un personnage spécifique peu étudiée ;

– La manière dont les femmes et d’autres figures négligées réagissaient aux conceptions contemporaines de l’éducation.

Les participant.e.s doivent être prêt.e.s à partager les travaux en cours à lire avant le séminaire afin de laisser suffisamment de temps pour la discussion. (Chaque participant.e devra lire attentivement les projets de 2 ou 3 autres participants). Les soumissions des chercheurs en début de carrière et des doctorants avancés sont particulièrement encouragées. Les participant.e.s confirmé.e.s bénéficieront d’un financement pour leurs déplacements et leur hébergement. Nous prévoyons d’inviter 5 à 7 participant.e.s.  Ce séminaire sera suivi en mars d’un atelier axé sur la philosophie de l’éducation dans l’histoire de la philosophie à l’institution partenaire Jyväskylä University, et les articles révisés peuvent être soumis pour examen à cet atelier.

Date limite : 30 juillet 2023. Veuillez envoyer par courriel les propositions de communication accompagnées d’un bref CV à elena.gordon@mcgill.ca.

Ce séminaire fait partie du projet de partenariat Extending New Narratives, soutenu par le Conseil de recherches en sciences sociales du Canada et les institutions partenaires.

Archaeology of the Female Intellectual Identity: Women, Philosophy, and Academia in Early Modern Europe 21-23 June , Copenhagen

See here for the program.

afii_plakat_final_print.pdfDownload

During the early modern period, women’s intellectual identity was a contested matter. While it is true that for the first time in history women entered the intellectual sphere in large numbers, still women’s access to formal education, professions, and the public sphere was restricted and conditioned by certain gender roles and expectations. In particular, it was difficult for women to become recognised as philosophers. Indeed, a female philosopher was often understood as a contradiction in terms. This had serious implications not just for women engaged in philosophy and their subsequent representation in the historiography of philosophy, but also on the understanding of what philosophy is. Academic philosophy became a male-dominated discipline that confined itself within narrow limits disregarding not just women philosophers, but also traditions, topics, and genres connotated as female.

With this conference, we intend to explore early modern female intellectual identities and their impact on the understanding of intellectual virtues and on the development of academic philosophy. The term female intellectual identity is not understood in any essentialist manner, but as a specific yet contingent set of ascriptions and self-descriptions that developed under certain historical conditions. This raises a series of questions, such as: What character traits were associated with or dissociated from female intellectuals? What strategies did women develop to participate in intellectual discourses and to express their thoughts? What topics where women interested in? Which intellectual activities and traditions were open/closed to women? What role did education, talent, and regional differences play in this process? Which impact did the exclusion of women from academia have on the understanding of academic virtues and on the development of academic philosophy?

The conference will focus on these and related questions within the following areas:

Women on the fringe: Geographical regions, Genres, and Traditions

• Women writers of peripheral regions (e.g., Scandinavia, Europe’s South)
• The impact of genres on the production and reception of philosophical thought
• Various philosophical traditions and their relevance for women’s engagement with philosophy

Methodological considerations

• Rethinking historiographical categories
• Philosophy in and outside academia
• Mechanisms of exclusion
• Challenges in developing strategies for inclusion

Contemporary perspectives: What can be learnt from the past and how do we change the future?

• What is it like to be a woman in philosophy?
• Neglected figures, topics, and genres: What is missing in philosophy?
• Neglected virtues, values, and approaches: What is missing in academia?

The aim of this conference is to bring together scholars working in different fields, to explore early modern female intellectual identities from various perspectives. By asking how the female intellectual was imagined and constructed during the early modern period, the conference will allow new perspectives and insights in the mechanisms that kept women out of academia and the discipline of philosophy.

Registration

Please register at: ebbersmeyer@hum.ku.dk

Abstracts 

Read the abstracts

Christine de Pizan Conference, November, Porto Alegre – Brazil

Christine de Pizan and the Querelle de Femmes: perspectives on the History of Philosophy

Call for proposals  

November 20th-22th.

Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul – UFRGS

Porto Alegre, Brazil

Keynote speakers:  Karen Green (University of Melbourne), Sabrina Ebbersmeyer (University of Copenhagen), Christina Van Dyke (Columbia University).

Organizers: Ana Rieger Schmidt (UFRGS), Gislene Vale dos Santos (UFBA), Nastassja Pugliese (UFRJ).

TITLE AND TOPIC OF THE CONFERENCE:

The Congress will propose ‘Christine de Pizan and the querelle de femmes”

 as a pivotal theme aiming to provoke discussion on Christine de Pizan’s philosophical contribution.

We understand that Christine de Pizan has chief importance for the intellectual history of the Middle Ages and especially for the expansion of the philosophical canon in order to include women authors. Especially, we acknowledge that the attention of historians of philosophy to Pizan’s work is still limited.

The conference will consider abstracts covering all aspects of Christine de Pizan philosophical thought and its legacy. Submissions will be accepted in English, French, and Portuguese. Since the conference is international, we strongly suggest all talks to be given in English.

Call for proposals

Submissions should contain the title of the presentation, an abstract of about 1500 characters, as well as the author’s name and affiliation.

Talks will have 30 minutes of presentation and 15 minutes of discussion.

Email contact to send submissions: ana.rieger@gmail.com

Deadline for abstract submissions: 15th august 2023

Notifications of acceptance: 31th august 2023

Information about registration and the final program will be available on the conference’s website.

https://mulheresnahistoriadafilosofia.wordpress.com/

Margaret Cavendish at 400 – Oxford 14-15 July

MARGARET CAVENDISH AT 400

A conference to celebrate the 400th Anniversary of the birth of Margaret Cavendish

Mansfield College, University of Oxford

FREE REGISTRATION – email: paul.lodge@mansfield.ox.ac.uk

Friday 14th July

2.00-3.15 ‘Cavendish on Music’, Daniel Whiting (University of Southampton)
3.30-4.45 ‘Cavendish, Glanvill, and Witchcraft’, Paul Lodge (University of Oxford)

5.15-6.30 ‘Cavendish on Memory and Remembrance’, Marcy Lascano (University of Kansas)

Short break
6.45-7.15, Paul Lodge performs songs from Cantat Ergo Sumus, including settings of poems by Margaret Cavendish (www.paullodge.com/cantatergosumus)  

Sat 15th July

9.30-10.45 ‘Dancing Figures: Cavendish on Causation and Harmony’, Julia Borcherding (University of Cambridge)

11.00-12.15. ‘Cavendishian Modality’. Laura Georgescu (University of Groningen) 

1.30-2.45, ‘The Appendix to the Grounds and the Depth of Cavendish’s Ecology’, Peter West (Northeastern University, London)

Organisers: Marcy Lascano (Kansas), Paul Lodge (Oxford), Daniel Whiting (Southampton)

Sponsor: Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford

For more info, see: Margaret Cavendish at 400 – PhilEvents

Favourite new(ish) books on women philosophers

I was asked by Shepherd.com to create a page with five of my favourite books on a topic of my choice. So of course I picked women philosophers.

But I had a hard time choosing just five even among the ones I have read in the past two years. So I tried to find something for everyone’s taste:

Here’s my list.

You should definitely read all of them if you haven’t already!

There are some obviously missing, either because I read them too late or haven’t gotten my hands on them yet:

Charlotte Gordon’s Romantic Outlaws, which I had only been able to read excerpt by excerpt until two months ago, when I finally got my hands on a whole copy and devoured it from beginning to end.

Regan Penaluna’s How to think like a woman, which I read when it came out and was a revelation.

And then those I haven’t yet read:

Alison Stone’s Women Philosophers in 19th century Britain – I’m waiting for my copy to arrive from OUP .

Christina van Dyke’s A Hidden Wisdom – ditto, but I might go for the audiobook.

Lydia Moland’s Lydia Maria Child – waiting for my library copy.

And of course these are specifically about women moral, social or political philosophers. And if you want to read metaphysics and epistemology, there are a lot more new books to look at!

Diotima and Dance, Kemal Payza’s Amour, Mort et Creation

Kemal Payza created a contemporary dance which includes a choreography to Diotima’s speech in the Symposium.

You can view the video here. Below is the description from YouTube and links to program and other related materials:

“This is a contemporary dance that explores the relationships between the philosophical themes of love (Eros), death (separation) and creation (or procreation), as envisaged by the ancient Greek philosophers Plato, Socrates, and Diotima of Mantinea. In this program, five choreographers explore their own relationships with these three themes, as well as with the “Four Elements” (Earth, Water, Air and Fire). As death reminds us of the transient nature of all things, the choreographers respond to ephemerality by expressing in movement various aspects of the themes as seen from 15 very different viewpoints, as well as the importance of savoring our relationships and appreciating art, music, and dance while we can. There is some French in spoken text and song lyrics; translation is in the English flyer in the dropbox link below. Comments are welcome.”

Conceived and produced by: Kemal Payza Artistic Director : Julio Hong Presented at Théâtre Le Gesù 30 Avril 2022, Montréal.

Choreographers : Yelda Leyva, Eva Kolarova, Catherine Dagenais-Savard, Julio Hong, and Niosbel Gonzalez Rubio.

Danseurs : Louise Gamain, Alida Esmail, Yelda Leyva, Madison Long, Hugo Pimentel, Keenan Simik Komaksiutiksak, Niosbel Osmar, González Rubio.

Background/Program/Musique (read posts from bottom to top) : https://www.facebook.com/events/49088…

French flyer https://www.dropbox.com/sh/eo8z77pfk9…

English flyer https://www.dropbox.com/sh/qyd1w8lv0t…

Contact : kempayza@gmail.com

Talk by Sandrine Berges on Lucrezia Marinella at KCL

Date: Thursday 13 April, 2pm.

Place : King’s College London, Bush House SE 1.08.

Registration: there’s no need to register but you should email Alan Coffee (alan.coffee@kcl.ac.uk) so that he can give you name to the reception desk. 

Title: 

Womanly Glory and Consolation: Lucrezia Marinella’s (1571-1653) Essortationi (1645) 

Abstract: 

Lucrezia Marinella, having spent a lifetime writing, and contra Aristotle, arguing in her Nobility and Excellence of Women(1601) for women’s natural intellectual superiority to men, then apparently recanted all this in a final book, Exhortation to women and others if they please (1645), claiming that “A woman’s reputation must not leave the walls of her home”. Why did Marinella change her mind at the age of 74? I believe that she did not, in fact reverse her views so much as apply them to a wider population (one consisting of men and women). Most people, she now believed, are better off living domestic lives, and the life of the intellect is only suited to a minority or men and women. But, she argues, domestic activities are also valuable, and women who rule their households well contribute to the overall flourishing of humanity. I show how Marinella developed her views from an unorthodox reading of Aristotle, taking into account book I of his Politics, but also his Economics (the authorship of which she did not question). 

CFP: Women in/and Logic

CALL FOR PAPERS
Special Issue of Australasian Journal of Logic on Women in/and Logic

https://ojs.victoria.ac.nz/ajl/announcement/view/2

Recent research has shown that many academic disciplines, mathematics 
and philosophy included, suffer from a problematic gender imbalance, 
with women disproportionately underrepresented in publications, academic 
positions, and in the teaching syllabi. Recognition of this fact has 
come with a push to revisit the history of these fields to resurrect and 
rehabilitate the contributions of women.

A special issue of the Australasian Journal of Logic, edited by Sara L.
Uckelman (Durham), on the subject of Women in/and Logic will be compiled 
in order to contribute to this project. We invite contributed papers 
dealing with any topic concerning women and logic, including:

* Historical texts on logic written by women
* Women in logic in the 21st century
* Women’s access to the study and teaching of logic
* Feminist logic

Submissions (preferably in pdf or doc) will be peer reviewed according 
to the standards of the AJL, and should be submitted through the AJL 
editorial portal, following the instructions for submissions here:

https://ojs.victoria.ac.nz/ajl/about/submissions

Queries can be directed to the editor at s.l.uckelman@durham.ac.uk

Submission Deadline: May 30, 2023