The British Society for Phenomenology now invites abstracts for the 2022 Annual Conference: ‘Engaged Phenomenology II’, University of Exeter, UK.
Call for Papers:
Engaged Phenomenology II: Explorations of Embodiment, Emotions, and Sociality
The British Society for Phenomenology Annual Conference 2022
Location: University of Exeter, UK, in-person and virtual (hybrid)
Date: Tuesday 30 August – Thursday 1 September 2022
CfP deadline was Thursday 31 March 2022 (midnight UK). Call for papers is now closed.
Check out submission overview and demographics
‘Engaged Phenomenology II: Explorations of Embodiment, Emotions and Sociality’ builds upon the themes and contributions of our 2020 online conference ‘Engaged Phenomenology’, and is an invitation for phenomenologists and practitioners to critically reflect on how lived experiences regarding embodiment, emotions and sociality are incorporated into their work. It encourages people working through phenomenological approaches to more explicitly consider the socio-political realities and power relations which inevitably frame experience – whether writing from first-hand experience, citing case studies, undertaking qualitative research, or engaging with communities. Taking stock in this way raises questions of methodology and ethics, of course, but can also more radically point towards the transformative potential within phenomenology to address and democratise the conditions of possibility for both theory and praxis. Complementing applied and critical phenomenology, engaged phenomenology appeals across disciplines and beyond the academy. Its focus on relational lived realities speaks to a variety of contexts (e.g., healthcare, medicine, education, design, art, performance, psychology, architecture, community spaces, etc.).
We propose that ‘Engaged Phenomenology’:
> heeds the situatedness of lived experiences across diverse cultural and environmental lifeworlds
> invites us to hold this notion of plural lifeworlds together with wider phenomenological questions about lived possibility, power relations, and the condition of having and being in a lifeworld which feels open to us and to which we are open
> challenges assumptions around narrativity and privileged articulacy in phenomenological methods, embracing new ways of listening and attending to people’s lived experiences in their specificity and relationality
is mindful of how experience is lived through constellations of relations with others, rather than only seeking individualised (depoliticised) first-hand accounts
> considers the transformative potential of research participants sharing their experiences in meaningful ways, rather than merely assessing their ‘utility’ in academic terms.
The theme of the BSP 2022 Annual Conference is by Jessie Stanier, Wellcome Centre for Cultures and Environments of Health at the University of Exeter.
Keynote speakers:
> Prof. Alia Al-Saji, associate professor of philosophy, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
> Prof. Giovanna Colombetti, professor of philosophy, University of Exeter, UK.
> Dr Ullrich Haase, principal lecturer in philosophy, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK.
The British Society for Phenomenology Annual Conference is a longstanding and respected feature of the UK academic scene, providing a friendly and supportive forum for inter-disciplinary discussion. This year we are partnering with the University of Exeter (UK); and the event is co-sponsored by the Wellcome Centre for Cultures and Environments of Health, Egenis, and the Shame and Medicine project.
Conference Directors:
> Prof. Luna Dolezal, associate professor in philosophy and medical humanities, Wellcome Centre for Cultures and Environments of Health, University of Exeter, UK.
> Dr Keith Crome, principle lecturer in philosophy, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK; president and impact director of the BSP.
Format:
> The conference will take place face-to-face at the University of Exeter, UK, with the option of attending and presenting virtually. You can tell us if you wish to present face-to-face or remotely during the abstract submission process.
> The conference will last for three days, and papers will be organised into themed panels across an anticipated two parallel tracks.
> As well as standard single authored and presented papers, we welcome single papers from multiple authors. The latter can be presented either by one author, some authors, or all authors.
> We welcome pre-constituted themed panels of two to four papers.
> You can also submit papers to the conference via two special panel CfPs from the Shame and Medicine research project: ‘Phenomenology and Shame Experiences’ and the Imagining Technologies for Disability Futures (itDf) research project: ‘Phenomenology, Disability, and Technology’.
> Presentations should be 20 minutes and there will be time after each paper for Q&As.
> Written versions of the presentation should be made available to the organisers a couple of weeks in advance of the conference to help with attendee inclusivity and accessibility.
> All presenters have the option to have their presentations audio recorded to be considered for release as a weekly episode of the popular and well-subscribed BSP Podcast.
Submitting Abstracts:
We welcome abstracts from multiple perspectives, from practitioners and philosophers (including both the European / Continental and Anglo-American / Analytic traditions), and from postgraduate researchers. Areas include, but are not limited to:
> History and Theory of Phenomenology (perception, the body, sexuality, emotion, ethics and morality, key thinkers in the history of phenomenology, feminism, gender, race, existentialism, philosophy of religion, phenomenological theology, philosophy of technology)
> Health and Social Care (medicine, medical humanities, physiotherapy, maternity, disability)
> Mental Health and Psychological Theories (psychology, psychotherapy, psychiatry, childhood development, trauma studies)
> Public Policy and Society (education, policing, law, economics, politics and international relations, science and technology [STEM])
> Philosophy and history of philosophy, from Western, Asian, African, and South American traditions
> Critical phenomenology and critical theory, phenomenology of race, gender, class
> Under-read texts in the history of phenomenology and philosophy
> On female phenomenologists and philosophers
> Art (fine art, photography, video games, poetry, literature, film, architecture, music)
Submission Advice and Process:
> We are an open and welcoming society, and our aim is to create a convivial, inclusive environment for audience engagement with phenomenology by philosophers and practitioners. So abstracts and papers should be composed with accessibility in mind.
> Abstracts should be a maximum of 300 words, and you should also provide a short biography of no more than 100 words.
> For multi-authored papers to be presented by just one of the authors, we need a single submission with all the following authors details in the ‘Notes’ field: title, name, institution, biography. For multi-authored papers to be presented by multiple authors, each person presenting should individually submit the paper to the system, each of them including the following other authors details in the ‘Notes’ field: title, name, institution. This is to ensure we have all the presenters details for the programme for both situations.
> We welcome pre-constituted panels of two to four papers. An abstract should be submitted for each paper. In addition, each submission should be accompanied by the title and a panel topic overview (200 words maximum), as well as the names of all panel participants. This is to enable cross-referencing.
> You can also submit papers to the conference via two special panel CfPs from the Shame and Medicine research project: ‘Phenomenology and Shame Experiences’ and the Imagining Technologies for Disability Futures (itDf) research project: ‘Phenomenology, Disability, and Technology’.
> Please let us know during abstract submission if you would prefer to present your paper at the conference venue, or remotely online.
Abstract Submission System is now closed
Selection process:
> The deadline for the submission of abstracts is Thursday 31 March 2022 (midnight UK).
> Abstracts will be blind peer reviewed by members of the BSP conference committee from the BSP and University of Exeter
> Each year, we receive more abstracts of quality than for which we are able to provide space. From the shortlist, the review team selects what they believe to be the best of these for presentation during the event with an eye to the aims and objectives of the conference, the society and its co-organisers.
> We intend to inform participants if they have been successful on or around Saturday 30 April 2022. Due to the quantity of abstract submissions, while we notify everyone on the outcome of their submission, we do not supply individual feedback on those which are unsuccessful.
General registration information – dates, costs, what’s included, financial assistance:
> The conference registration system will open soon after we inform participants of the outcome of their submissions, in early May 2022.
> The conference fee this year will remain the same as for previous years’ face-to-face events at £100 for early bird registration; remote presenters will pay a much reduced fee.
> To attend BSP events, speakers and delegates need to be members of the British Society for Phenomenology. If you are not already a member, membership (full and discounted, £40 and £20 respectively) will be added to the conference fee. When you become a member, you receive access to the Journal of the British Society for Phenomenology online for one year. JBSP Online publishes around 25 new research articles a year, and membership includes access to 50+ years of the JBSP. You can become a member at any time, for more information please visit our membership page.
> The face-to-face registration fee includes morning and afternoon coffee with pastries, and lunch (vegetarian and vegan options), as well as WiFi access. The registration does not include the (optional) conference meal or accommodation.
> Presenter registration is required during the early bird period in order to facilitate organising, timetabling, and promoting the event.
> Financial assistance will be on offer during early bird registration: attendance assistance is open to student, early career researchers (ECRs), unwaged, low income, and emeritus speakers; there is also assistance for all speakers with child care needs. Attendance and child care assistance are not mutually exclusive; both are however limited, and if there are more eligible applicants than we can fund, the decision will be made by the conference committee on the strength of the application.
More information and questions:
> You can find more information as it becomes available on the conference website.
> If you have any questions about the conference, please email: [email protected].