Embodied Philosophy & Epistemologies of Liberation
November 6-7, 2015
University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
Hosted by the Department of Philosophy, UCONN and the Caribbean Philosophical Association
“All philosophies, it seems to me, are in ultimate derivation philosophies of life and not abstract, disembodied ‘objective’ reality; products of time, place and situation and thus systems of timed history rather than timeless eternity.” (Alain Locke, 1935)
The 2014 Philosophy Born of Struggle at Paine College, “Forging Concepts Through Struggle: The New Slave—Racism, Empire, and Sexual Violence” featured explorations of the meaning of the new slave, non-ideal intuitions, racial and corrective justice, convergences of Africana and Latino Philosophy, the nature of slavery and massacres, and humanist and womanist analysis with a sponsored session by the Caribbean Philosophical Association and the Center for Race and Identity, University of Kwa Zulu Natal, South Africa. The Radical Philosophy Review, 18: 1, 2015, “Philosophy Born of Struggle Reflections on Racism and Other Spheres of Oppressive” has articles presented at the conference and videos of all sessions are at PBOS.com, Media.
The 2015 meeting of Philosophy Born of Struggle at UCONN will focus on the complex obstacles faced by movements toward freedom, building on the theme of the “New Slave” with a focus on Embodied Philosophy and Epistemologies of Liberation.
Embodied Philosophy and Epistemologies of Liberation could refer to any number of strategies or conceptualizations imagined by oppressed peoples to deal with the various manifestations of (neo) colonial, (neo) liberal, sexual, and psychic oppression. Questions emerging from this year’s theme include: Do embodied philosophies challenge the notion of philosophy itself? Can embodied philosophy aim to be universalizable? If philosophies are necessarily situated, products of time and place, what are the theoretical benefits and limitations of Black, feminist, working class, or queer consciousness? Are there epistemic consequences of both oppression and the cultivation of ignorance that effect liberation? What would epistemic independence or epistemic liberation look like? Is anywhere or anyone free of epistemic ignorance? In a world full of epistemic obstructions and dehumanization, how can the oppressed construct livable futures? How do the oppressed gain clarity through the concepts of new slaves and a reinvented Jim Crow? What are the values of ideal and non-ideal theories of justice in the face of fragmented epistemologies?
Our Keynote Speakers will be:
Professor Mariana Ortega, John Carroll University, University Heights, Ohio (on November 6th)
and Professor James H. Cone, Union Theological Seminary, New York, New York (on November 7th).
PBOS is an interdisciplinary and open philosophical community. We welcome interlocutors from all traditions, including but not limited to Afrocentrism, womanism, feminism, queer theory, Marxism, Pan-Africanism, pragmatism and existentialism. We also welcome participants regardless of discipline and without regard for tenure status or professional affiliation.
To register for the conference click here
For more information visit: http://pbos.com/
or contact PBSconference@gmail.com.
Accommodations:
NATHAN HALE INN & CONFERENCE CENTER (HTTP://WWW.NATHANHALEINN.COM)
To make a reservation for Philosophy Born of Struggle Society Event, call the hotel at 1-860-427-7888 to speak with the front desk staff.
Conference Site:
Community Room, African American Cultural Center, Student Union, UCONN, (2110 Hillside Road, U-3008
Storrs, CT 06269-3008, Phone: 860-486-3422)
Sponsored Sessions:
Alain L. Locke Society
Caribbean Philosophical Association
Center for Race and Identity, South Africa
Latina Feminism Roundtable
Mexican American Philosophy Roundtable
Sponsors: UCONN, Texas A & M University, Caribbean Philosophical Association, Purdue University
Alain Locke Society 