ISPiF

International Society for Philosophy in Film (ISPiF)

Third Annual Symposium

Call for Abstracts

August 29th-31st, 2024

London, England

Mission Statement:

The International Society for Philosophy in Film (ISPiF) promotes philosophical engagement with film by conceiving film as a form or expression of thought. Rather than a mere source of entertainment or collection of objects for aesthetic scrutiny, film expresses ideas and arguments worth engaging. From the perspective of ISPiF, to engage films philosophically means to think through, along with, and/or against films, to make sense of them, to learn from them, and to further expand the practice, study, and teaching of philosophy into new regions through thoughtful engagement with film.

Theme: Frontiers and Borders in Philosophy and Film

Abstract Deadline: May 1, 2024

“Look at it. It was once a wilderness. Now it’s a garden. Aren’t you proud?”

– Hallie (The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance)

“Borders are set up to define the places that are safe and unsafe, to distinguish us from them. A border is a dividing line, a narrow strip along a steep edge. A borderland is a vague and undetermined place created by the emotional residue of an unnatural boundary. It is in a constant state of transition.”

-Gloria Anzaldua, Borderlands

Horace Greeley is often credited with the phrase, “Go West, young man. Go West and grow up with the country.” It is a phrase that has echoed throughout Hollywood cinema for more than a century – an industry that not only has grown up with the country, but has played an outsized role in what this nation has become. The meaning of ‘America’ resonates within an imaginary space in no small part formulated by Hollywood and its ever-evolving vision of the frontier. As America grew up, its youthful (if not naive) faith in endless expansion and growth came to confront the limits, burdens, and violence

inherent to such a project – and Hollywood was there to reflect and refract these struggles, refurbishing the American mythos in the process. Today, it seems impossible to imagine a frontier without at the same time considering the hidden boundaries that contain and betray this space, providing the contours of a distinctively American project. And though Hollywood never lost its youthful optimism, it is at the margins where frontier and borders meet where cinema, American and otherwise, has most pushed, contested, unsettled and most importantly, broadened our sense of what is possible.

In Hollywood and beyond, cinema has also and immeasurably shaped ideals surrounding personal identity. From its inception cinema has shown us who we are meant to be, and how we are meant to look and work and live and love and die. At the same time, it has struggled to contend with or sought to evade those transgressive and border identities that do not fit the ideals depicted on the silver screen (or captured in the bigoted subtext of studio morality clauses). Through this tension between cinematic ideal and complex reality, filmmaking has both resisted and enabled– sometimes through its very resistance– the construction of ‘other,’ ‘border’, and ‘queer’ identities.

As we fall into the strange new world of the twenty-first century, cinema can help us to navigate the shifting, even dissolving geographical and metaphysical borders that shape our identities. As the climate crisis creates new conflicts while exacerbating existing ones, humanity bleeds across geographical borders. Our communities and nations are rapidly changing, in ways that ‘threaten’ well-established national identities while renewing the promise of a robust shared sense of membership within the human ethical community. What can film teach us about existence in these new borderlands or this emerging shared world? What new, more open notions of identity should film conjure for us as we learn to reshape our own in response to a rapidly changing world?

ISPiF invites abstracts that address these (and other) questions concerning borders and frontiers in the philosophy of film:

“Border” Identities: To be and not to be; ambiguous personal identities; ambiguous belonging; the border of life and death; non-binary beings and modes of existence

Liminal Spaces: Borderlands; spaces between; existence on the margins; indefinite, emerging and dissolving borders

The Human and the Other-than-Human: Human/animal relations; human/AI relations; defining/upsetting the limits of the human

Inside-Out: Breaking down the walls that separate us; incarceration

Transgression of boundaries: Rebellion; revolution; escape from confinement; resistance

Immigration and Migration: Challenges to citizenship; journeys to new lands; hope, despair and the promised land; visions of the homeland

The Frontier Myth: The Western, American expansionism, the ‘final frontier’ and science fiction; shifting landscapes of the frontier; the gunslinger and individualism

New Frontiers: New developments in technology; the emergence of artificial intelligence; imagining new futures and landscapes; space exploration

Colonization and Colonialism: Portraits of Indigeneity; settler myths; constructions of otherness; American founding myths

Closing of the Frontier: The ‘anti-Western’ Western; the inescapable city; unimaginable futures; apocalyptic nightmares

Geographical Borders: The War film and national identity; gangster films and portraits of immigration; cosmopolitanism

Violence and Borders: Tribalism; Patriotism; xenophobia;

Temporal Boundaries: Relations between past, present and future; experiences of temporality

Submission Guidelines and Instructions:

Extended abstracts should be 500-750 words, with standard font and margins.

Deadline: The deadline for receipt of abstracts is May 1, 2024. Any submission received after midnight Pacific time on this date will not be considered. Notification of acceptance will be provided mid-May.

If accepted, final papers, no longer than 15 pages, double spaced, must be provided by July 15th in order to be distributed to all participants in advance of the symposium. This is crucial to the format and success of the symposium, where authors will be provided only 10-12 minutes to summarize, emphasize, or further develop the contents of the full essay. This condensed presentation time, combined with all participants reading each accepted paper and viewing relevant films in advance, is intended to allow substantial time for questions and discussion following each presentation.

Please send all submissions as either a Word or PDF attachment to: ispifconference@gmail.com

ISPiF Executive Board:

Steven Brence – Department of Philosophy, University of Oregon

Caroline Lundquist – Clark Honors College, University of Oregon

Alain Beauclair – Department of Humanities, MacEwan University

Chris McTavish – Centre for Humanities, Athabasca University

Joe Saunders – Department of Philosophy, Durham University

Sponsored by the University of Oregon Department of Philosophy, the Oregon Humanities Center; MacEwan University Office of Research Services; MacEwan University Department of Humanities

International Society for Philosophy in Film (ISPiF)

Call for Abstracts

Second Annual Meeting

August 24th-26th, 2023

London, England

Mission Statement:

The International Society for Philosophy in Film (ISPiF) promotes philosophical engagement with film by conceiving film as a form or expression of thought. Rather than a mere source of entertainment or collection of objects for aesthetic scrutiny, film expresses ideas and arguments worth engaging. From the perspective of ISPiF, to engage films philosophically means to think through, along with, and/or against films, to make sense of them, to learn from them, and to further expand the practice, study and teaching of philosophy into new regions through thoughtful engagement with film.

Theme: Strange New World: Science Fiction and Philosophy

Abstract Deadline April 15^th, 2023

(Completed papers due July 15^th, 2023) 

 

The philosopher Susan Schneider describes philosophical thought experiments as follows:

“A philosophical thought experiment is a hypothetical situation in the ‘laboratory of the mind’ that depicts something that often exceeds the bounds of current technology or even is incompatible with the laws of nature, but that is supposed to reveal something philosophically enlightening.”[1]

On this view, science fiction can be construed as a collection of sustained thought experiments. Since it confronts us with realities that are uncannily similar to yet simultaneously at odds with our own, it invites us to critically reexamine our reality from novel perspectives, to rethink and anticipate the ways new and emerging technologies are shaping us and our world, and to imagine and pave the way for the kind of future we hope to collectively create. Unsurprisingly, then, as a genre or movement science fiction is uniquely suited to the exploration philosophically-significant topics and issues.

For its second annual conference, The Society for Philosophy in Film invites extended abstracts on the theme of science fiction. In line with ISPiF’s mission, papers should focus on developing the thought inherent in films (television and other related media), either individually or collectively, that fall under the category/genre/movement of science fiction film, broadly construed. What follows is a list of potential themes and accompanying questions. Submissions may focus on one or more themes or questions from this non-exhaustive list, vis-a-vis science fiction film:

Time

One of the most central, complex and elusive concepts in both philosophy and science, time is, not surprisingly, a common theme within science fiction.

How does science fiction challenge ordinary notions or experiences of time? What does it reveal about linear, cyclical, and other metaphorical constructions of time?

What does science fiction reveal about various historical or contemporary philosophies of time?

Does science fiction call us to rethink the existential meaning of time, or what it means to live with consciousness of time and/or mortality?

Technology

Whether it engages with existing, emerging, or future technologies, science fiction invites us to explore and trouble the relationship between humanity and technology.

How does science fiction help us recognize and critically engage the ethical implications of existing, emerging, and/or future scientific and technological innovations?

Are we morally obligated to think about the ethical implications of the technologies we may use in the future? If so, how can science fiction help us to do so?

Which claim is truer: “We control our technology,” or “Our technology controls us?”

Agency

The theme of agency pervades science fiction, often in disturbing ways. Whether the agency of protagonists is threatened/diminished/eviscerated, or augmented/hyperbolic/superhuman, in the world of science fiction agency is ambiguous, troubled, and everywhere at issue.

How does science fiction challenge commonsense, popular, and/or historical philosophical notions of agency and the self?

How can science fiction diminish, enhance, or otherwise affect our understanding of dis/ability, especially vis-à-vis agency? What questions does science fiction raise about the use of technologies that augment physical and mental capacities?

Does science fiction present us with alternative forms/modes of agency outside of those that are properly human (whether through artificial intelligence, radically distinct organisms, etc.)? In what way/s do these alternative visions force us to rethink the character and import of human agency?

The Human and the Quasi-Human

Science fiction often features characters that are nonhuman, other-than human, and/or quasi-human. By doing so, it invites us to rethink what it means to be human, and how humanity relates to personhood.

Are some nonhuman beings (AI beings, robots, extra-terrestrial beings, nonhuman animals, etc.) persons? If so, are they deserving of the same rights and/or considerations we grant to human persons?

How do relationships between human beings and quasi-human persons within science fiction challenge our beliefs about human interpersonal relationships, human-nonhuman animal relationships, and/or the relationship between humanity and technology?

How has technology led to the evolution/transformation of the human? What is put at risk through these developments, and what can or should be preserved as properly human?

Possible Futures / Utopias and Dystopias

Sir Thomas Moore coined the term utopia in 1516. Moore was aware of the similarity and tension between the Greek stems εὖ (good/well) and οὐ (no), when combined with the word τόπος (place). If a utopia is a good or even perfect place, can it only ever be imagined? This tension between desirable and possible or probable worlds persists in science fictional imaginings of the future, as does the haunting suspicion that every apparent utopia is seeded with something rotten.

How should we critically engage science fictional visions of the future in the era of climate catastrophe?

What does the tension between utopia and dystopia reveal about the significance of a subject’s social status or location? How do power dynamics within fictional utopias and dystopias illuminate the power structures and dynamics of our societies/world?

What is the value (and/or danger) of imagining “alternative” histories and/or futures? Can alternative histories help us to envision, or even create, better futures than those that feel inevitable to us in the present?

 Science Fiction as a Genre/Movement

Science fiction is notoriously difficult to define and categorize (is it a genre, a form, an open concept, or?). Questions about how to define or understand science fiction may be intertwined with concerns about its philosophical nature and significance. 

What is the philosophical value of science fiction? What, if anything, makes it more useful to philosophy than other literary genres or forms?

Are there any aspects of science fiction that make it especially well-suited to exploration of social issues like systemic racism, misogyny, the exploitation of workers, colonialism, etc.?

 Science Fiction as a Genre/Movement, continued

Science fiction is often and justly critiqued for its historical exclusion of women (as creators, characters, and prospective audiences), and of feminist framings of issues and worlds. Should science fiction be more inclusive of women and feminism? How does feminist science fiction challenge the genre as a whole? How can it challenge and expand our customary ways of envisioning the future?

In what way does science fiction alter/rethink/challenge other genres (Western, Horror, Noir)? Is there such a thing as ‘pure science fiction’, and if so, what is its philosophical relevance?

 

Submission Guidelines and Instructions: 

Extended abstracts should be 500-750 words, with standard font and margins.

Deadline: The deadline for receipt of abstracts is April 15^th, 2023. Any submission received after midnight Pacific time on this date will not be considered.

Final papers, no longer than 15 pages, double spaced, must be provided by July 15th in order to be distributed to all participants in advance of the symposium. This is crucial to the format and success of the symposium, where authors will be provided only 10-12 minutes to summarize, emphasize, or further develop the contents of the full essay. This condensed presentation time, combined with all participants reading each accepted paper in advance, is intended to allow substantial time for questions and discussion following each presentation.

Please send all submissions as either a Word or PDF attachment to: ispifconference@gmail.com

 

The 2023 ISPiF Meeting is sponsored by the Oregon Humanities Center’s Endowment for Public Outreach in the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities, the Department of Philosophy and the Global Studies Institute at the University of Oregon, and the Department of Humanities at MacEwan University. 

 

 ISPiF Executive Board:

Steven Brence – Department of Philosophy, University of Oregon

Caroline Lundquist – Clark Honors College, University of Oregon

Alain Beauclair – Department of Humanities, MacEwan University

Chris McTavish – Centre for Humanities, Athabasca University

 

https://blogs.uoregon.edu/ispif/

[1] Science Fiction and Philosophy: From Time Travel to Superintelligence, 2nd edition. Hoboken: Wiley Blackwell, 2016

 

 

International Society for Philosophy in Film (ISPiF)

 

Call for Abstracts

Film Noir and Philosophy

First Annual Meeting

August 26th-27th, 2022

London, England

 

Mission Statement:

The International Society for Philosophy in Film (ISPiF) promotes philosophical engagement with film by conceiving film as a form or expression of thought. Rather than mere sources of entertainment or objects for aesthetic scrutiny, films express ideas and arguments worth engaging. From the perspective of ISPiF, to engage films philosophically means to think through, along with, and/or against films, to make sense of them, to learn from them, and to further expand the practice, study and teaching of philosophy into new regions through engagement with film.

 

Theme: Film Noir

Abstract Deadline April 1, 2022

(Completed papers due July 15^th, 2022) 

The Society for Philosophy and Film invites submission of extended abstracts for its first annual meeting (cnference), on the theme Film Noir. In line with ISPiF’s mission, papers ought to focus on developing the thought inherent in films, either individually or collectively, that fall under the category/genre/movement of noir cinema, broadly construed. Submissions may focus on one or more themes from this non-exhaustive list, vis-a-vis noir cinema:

• Ethical issues, including: the possibility of human flourishing; the (im)possibility of locating stable objects of desire; the disintegration of duty, the conditions of the (im)possibility of loyalty and trust; the search for atonement; and navigating genuine moral binds in noir.

• Metaphysical issues, including: the nature and construction of the self; the character of human freedom; the ontological status of time/or and memory; the distinction between reality and fantasy; and the relation between meaning and truth in noir.

• Social and political issues, including: the relation between individual and society; the possibility of community and meaningful projects; social decay; ideology; resistance movements; gender and sexual norms; the justification of violence, and the impact of dystopia in noir.

• Epistemological issues, including: the nature of inquiry; the distinction between facts and values; the possibility of unwinding conspiracy; the reliability of memory; the intelligibility of experience; the possibility of objective thought, knowledge, or meaning; and the nature of perception (voyeurism) in noir.

 

Submission Guidelines and Instructions: 

Extended abstracts should be 500-750 words, with standard font and margins.

Deadline: The deadline for receipt of abstracts is April 1, 2022. Any submission received after midnight Pacific time on this date will not be considered.

Final papers, no longer than 15 pages, double spaced, must be provided by July 15th in order to be distributed to all participants in advance of the meeting. This is crucial to the format and success of the meeting, where authors will be provided only 10-12 minutes to summarize, emphasize, or develop further the contents of the full essay. This condensed presentation time, combined with all participants reading each accepted paper in advance, is intended to make available a significant amount of time for questions and discussion following each presentation.

Please send all submissions as either a Word Document or PDF attachment to: ispif2022@gmail.com

 

ISPiF Executive Board:

Steven Brence – Department of Philosophy, University of Oregon

Caroline Lundquist – Clark Honors College, University of Oregon

Alain Beauclair – Department of Humanities, MacEwan University

Chris McTavish – Centre for Humanities, Athabasca University

 

Sponsored by the Department of Philosophy at the University of Oregon