As old as philosophy itself, phenomenology can be traced back to the works of Plato and Aristotle. Yet the term reached its fame when Edmund Husserl, following Franz Brentano’s re-introduction of the scholastic concept of intentionality, developed a method of describing phenomena that he formally named phenomenology.
Since Husserl’s project of turning phenomenology into a science that would provide a transcendental theory of meaning, phenomenology diverged in various directions. From Heidegger’s existential analytic to Sartre’s existentialism and Marleau-Ponty’s phenomenology of perception, to the radical thought of Levinas and Derrida; if there is a common characteristic that unifies these directions under the name of phenomenology, it is perhaps an exigency for a new beginning.
Within this broad understanding of the practice of phenomenology, we invite papers seeking to continue and/or reconfigure its legacy. ‘Launches and re-launches’ is a graduate conference in phenomenology, organized by graduate students for graduate students. It aims to bring together postgraduates engaging in original research on phenomenology and thus to promote contemporary studies in this field.
Keynote Speakers:
-Dr. Lawrence Hatab (Old Dominion University) “Dasein: the early years”
-Dr. Robert Bernasconi (Pennsylvania State University) “Totality and Infinity and its reception”
Abstract format:
300-word abstracts and a brief CV should be sent to Alexandra Popescu (M.A.Popescu@sussex.ac.uk) no later than the 15th March 2010. General questions and queries should be addressed to Christos Hadjioannou (C.Hadjioannou@sussex.ac.uk). Accepted papers should not exceed 2000 words.
Best Paper Prize:
The best graduate paper will be rewarded by a prize. The prize is an artwork by the renowned Welsh painter Glynn Hughes. In order to be eligible for the prize, you must submit the paper in full by the 15th of May 2010.
Possible topics include but are not limited to:
• Launches and re-launches: new initiatives in the name of phenomenology;
• The notion of gift, interruption and inheritance in phenomenology, as developed by Derrida, Levinas and others;
• The notion of ‘restoration’ or ‘return to a beginning’ in phenomenology (Husserl, Heidegger etc.);
• The ‘unfinished nature’ of phenomenology and the impossibility of defining it as a movement;
• The hermeneutic limits of phenomenology (Heidegger, Gadamer);
• Phenomenology and analytical philosophy;
• Phenomenology and deconstruction;
• Phenomenology and the body;
• Phenomenology and aesthetics.
This conference is organized by Christos Hadjioannou, Alexandra Popescu and Dr. Joseph Ward.
The conference is sponsored by the Centre for Literature and Philosophy of the University of Sussex
