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College of Arts and Letters | Michigan State University

Undergraduate Philosophy Conference

History and Operation of the Conference:  

Michigan State University's Annual Undergraduate Philosophy Conference was established in 2010.  It supports dialogue among philosophy students of MSU and North America who gather for two days of conversation and the opportunity for interaction with a renowned philosopher in a specialization chosen by the students themselves.  The conference is entirely student-organized:  the Philosophy Club, the Capstone PHL 492 class, and a Conference Executive Committee apply for funding, peer-review the submitted papers, answer correspondence, and serve as session chairs and commentators.  Philosophy instructors in the area are welcome to accompany their students to the conference.  

The 2016 Conference:

The conference will be held Friday-Saturday, 1-2 April, 2016 on the MSU campus in the Philosophy Department Seminar Room (530 South Kedzie Building).  The deadline for submissions is February 1, 2016, and results will be announced by February 29.  All undergraduates who submit papers will receive constructive comments, following the blind review of all submissions.  Speakers will have 25 minutes to present or read their papers, commentators will have 10, leaving 20 minutes for general discussion.  

The keynote address, "Spinoza on Good and Evil," will be given Friday 1 April by Steven Nadler, William H. Hay II Professor and Evjue-Bascom Professor in Humanities at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.  Further sessions will take place Saturday 2 April at 3:00 p.m.  

Papers may be on any area of philosophy and must have a maximum length of 3,000 words.  All information that might identify the author must be removed from the paper to facilitate blind review.  Submissions by email attachment are accepted in DOC, DOCX, and RTF.  In the email accompanying the attachment, include the author's name, university/college affiliation, email address, phone number, title of the paper, and an abstract not to exceed 150 words.  

Meals during the conference will be provided by MSU's Philosophy Club, and club members are usually able to provide overnight accommodations if requested by participants. 

2016 poster

 Previous Years:  

 

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posters 2012-2014