Call for Abstracts

Community, Identity, and Belonging:

Forty-First International Social Philosophy Conference

Sponsored by the North American Society for Social Philosophy

Creighton University
Omaha, Nebraska
July 11-13, 2024

Those interested in presenting at NASSP’s 2024 Conference are invited to submit an abstract of their proposed presentation. Proposals for presentation in all areas of social philosophy (broadly construed) are welcome. This year’s conference theme is Community, Identity, and Belonging.

NASSP is proud to announce the following keynote speakers for this year’s conference: Jennifer Lackey (Northwestern University) and Ásta (Duke University).

Abstracts of 250-500 words, prepared for anonymous review, should be submitted to the 2024 NASSP Abstract Submission Form form on or before the extended deadline: March 1. Acceptance/rejection decisions will be emailed to authors by March 31, 2024.

Abstracts in any area of social philosophy are welcome, whether the content is contemporary or historical, Western or non-Western, analytic or Continental. Abstracts should:

  • Convey an identifiable and engaging thesis, argument, or overall perspective.
  • Motivate the author’s approach to the issue, by conveying the outlines of the argument or explaining why a particular theoretical frame is helpful for understanding the topic.
  • Be clear and well-written, avoiding jargon when possible and explaining it when necessary.
  • Demonstrate some engagement with the relevant literature, either through brief citations or an awareness of existing contributions.

Some possible topics on Community, Identity, and Belonging include:

  • Immigration, refugees, and diaspora
  • The politics of borders and public space
  • Gender, racial, and minoritized identities
  • National, transnational, and diasporic identities
  • Disability pride and neurodivergent movements
  • The metaphysics of membership and community
  • Solidarity, allyship, and coalitional activism
  • Belonging and alienation
  • Cultural appropriation, allyship and gaslighting
  • Horizontal hostility and othering
  • Policing and immigration
  • Distribution of goods and services to refugees
  • Migrant and guest workers
  • Community building pedagogy and trauma-informed pedagogy
  • Academic community and public philosophy
  • Disability pride and neurodivergent movements

We welcome submissions from both members and non-members, but we require that all presenters join the North American Society for Social Philosophy if their papers are accepted and they wish to present at the conference.

NASSP will host an optional workshop on abstract writing on January 19, 2024, 12:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada). Register in advance for this meeting here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Panel Submissions
In addition to traditional individual presentations, this year we are also welcoming panel submissions. Just as with individual presentations, content in any area of social philosophy, broadly construed, is welcome. Panel submissions need not be prepared for anonymous review.

  • The topic of the panel.
  • The format of the panel: moderated discussion, a single paper with commentators, 2-3 papers that are on the same topic, or an author-meets-critics session.
  • Abstracts for each participant (250-500 words). Panel abstracts should aim for the same qualities as individual submission abstracts.
  • The names of participants who are willing to attend.
  • An abstract for the whole panel (250-500 words).

Panel submissions should be submitted to the 2024 NASSP Panel Submission form on or before February 15, 2024.

The Program Committee:
program@northamericansocietyforsocialphilosophy.org
Dan Lowe, University of Michigan (co-chair)
Roksana Alavi, University of Oklahoma (co-chair, ex-officio)
Janice Moskalik, Seattle University
Vincent Chiao, University of Toronto

Local host: Kevin Graham, Creighton University

Accessibility and Inclusivity
NASSP is committed to creating an inclusive intellectual community where philosophers from historically marginalized groups feel welcome and are able to participate. NASSP recognizes that there are a variety of barriers of entry due to systemic discrimination and oppression that might prohibit participation in its events and governance (and in professional philosophy more broadly). NASSP is committed to removing those barriers and challenging oppressive norms within the profession more broadly, specifically (though not exclusively) for those related to race, ethnicity, Indigeneity, sexual orientation, ability, class, or gender.
Creighton University is a Catholic and Jesuit university, and its website on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion states that “all in our community are charged to foster an environment of awareness, inclusion and compassion for all, regardless of age, culture, faith, ethnicity, immigrant status, race, gender, sexual orientation, language, physical appearance, physical ability or social class.”
Accommodations will be available either in a residence hall on the campus of Creighton University or in a hotel near campus.

Questions? contact@northamericansocietyforsocialphilosophy.org

Social Philosophy Today
Papers presented at the conference are eligible for consideration for publication in Social Philosophy Today, a peer-reviewed journal published electronically and available for print on demand.  Although most articles published in Social Philosophy Today are based on papers presented at the conference, the journal is not a proceedings volume.  Only those articles recommended on the basis of peer review will be accepted for publication.

NASSP Conference Awards for Graduate Students:
The North American Society for Social Philosophy awards an annual prize of $800 for the best Graduate Student Paper on a topic in social philosophy. Prizes will only be awarded to conference attendees who are still enrolled in a program towards a degree beyond the B.A. or first university diploma at the time of the conference. (Note that if the paper is coauthored then all the authors must meet this requirement.) There is no obligation to use prize money for conference-related costs.
To be considered for this award, full papers of no more than 3,000 words must be submitted on or before February 15, 2024 to gradaward@northamericansocietyforsocialphilosophy.org; please include a word count with submission. Abstracts must also be submitted according to the above instructions for consideration by the program committee by February 15, 2024, as only those whose abstracts are accepted by the program committee will be considered for the graduate award.

NASSP Support for International Presenters
The NASSP will waive fees for conference registration and for the banquet for those participants traveling from outside of the United States and Canada.