Calendar | Conference

Social Phenomenology

Washington, D.C., 3 - 5 June 2019

Official Website
CFP is closed

ICNAP is an organization of scholars and practitioners committed to fostering interdisciplinary connections in phenomenology. This year ICNAP will be meeting as a part of the Diverse Lineages of Existentialism II conference, which features over twenty participating scholarly groups (https://dleii.com). ICNAP welcomes papers that address any topic that is rooted within the phenomenological tradition. In light of the overall conference theme we are particularly seeking submissions that are oriented toward the theme of ‘social phenomenology.’ We interpret this theme widely. While the phenomenological tradition that grew out of Husserl’s works is rich with cultural and political commentary, the scholarship of Alfred Schutz offers the most outstanding example of social phenomenology. Indeed, the list of phenomenologically inspired authors who have devoted themselves to social and cultural phenomena is long and distinguished. Some classical thematic examples are:  social life generally, (Schutz, Natanson) empathy (Stein, Levinas, Zahavi), social justice (Sartre, Merleau-Ponty), authoritarianism (Arendt, Foucault, Fanon), gender justice (DeBeauvoir, Irigaray, Kristeva) to just name a few. More broadly construed, we also welcome social phenomenology as it is articulated through phenomenological practices in social work, nursing, clinical psychology, etc.

One of the most definitive characteristics of phenomenology is its methodological articulation of the ‘unconsciously taken for granted world’ that is the natural attitude of ordinary life.  This natural attitude is the assumed or naively believed world that is foundational to social life. By descriptively elucidating this foundation, one could argue that phenomenologists open the possibility for altering the core presumptions that constitute our shared social world. In this spirit, any submissions that address social and cultural topics will be strongly considered for the program. Some examples of qualitative experiential topics would be: prejudice with regard to ethnicity, gender and sexuality, personal and intergenerational trauma, obedience to authority, altruism and empathy, any collective phenomena, and the experience of emigration or deterritorialization. We also welcome submissions that integrate phenomenology with any form of social theory – phenomenological or otherwise.

 

Deadline: December 1, 2018

Abstracts of 250-500 words should be prepared for blind review (including abstract and title only) and emailed as a Word or pdf attachment to icnap19@gmail.com. The body of the email should include the presenter’s name, discipline, and contact information. 

 

 

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