Jason Stanley: The Politics of Language - 1st Dortmund Conference on Philosophy and Society

The Department of Philosophy and Political Science at TU Dortmund University is delighted to announce the 1st Dortmund 'Philosophy and Society' Conference, taking place on October 1st, 2024, in Dortmund, Germany. This inaugural event will feature Jason Stanley, co-author of "The Politics of Language" (Princeton University Press, 2023), as a distinguished guest.

Conference Theme

This year's conference centers on David Beaver and Jason Stanley’s "The Politics of Language." The book offers a novel account of how speech impacts audiences. On Beaver and Stanley’s account, linguistic actions exemplify social practices and have so-called resonances (emotions, social identities, etc.), which carry ideological significance. Their analysis focuses specifically on more covert ways in which speech can inflict harm on groups.

Call for Contributions

We invite presentations on any aspect of Beaver and Stanley's book, with potential topics including, but not limited to:

• The concepts of resonance and attunement
• Slurs, dog-whistling, bureaucratic speech, and other harmful speech
• Propaganda
• Ideal vs. nonideal philosophy of meaning
• Freedom of speech

Submission Guidelines

• Abstracts should be no more than 500 words, prepared for blind review.
• Submissions should be sent as PDF attachments to Swaantje Siebke [swaantje.siebke@tu-dortmund.de].
• The deadline for submissions is June 3^rd, 2024.

Students

Students that participated in the seminar on Beaver & Stanley’s book will be invited to attend an internal workshop with Jason Stanley one day prior to the conference. Further informatione will be provided at the beginning of the seminars by Max Gab and Niklas Dummer. 

Registration and Additional Information

Registration details, conference program, and additional information will follow on this website soon. Meanwhile, feel free to contact the organizing committee at peter.koenigs@tu-dortmund.de.  We will try to cover the speakers' travel and accommodation costs. 

To register for the event as a participant, please send an email to Swaantje Siebke with your name and affiliation by September 13. Participation is free of charge.

Organizing Committee

Katja Crone
Max Gab
Peter Königs