There’s a couple of little jokes I’d like to make about some things on the APA call for papers site, but before I start I should note that the JFP section of their site is back up. Kudos to them for getting this fixed on a weekend (and a holiday weekend at that). I still think JFP should be freely available, but perhaps this cost to it being fee-based isn’t as bad as I expected. (By the way, I already pay for APA membership and will continue to do so whether or not the JFP is part of the membership, so this is not special pleading. I just think it’d be most efficient to not be collecting payments here.)
Laurie Paul alerted me to this call for papers: The Undead and Philosophy. Here’s the call in its entirity.
Call For Abstracts
The Undead and Philosophy
Richard Greene & K. Silem Mohammad, Editors
Abstracts are sought for a collection of philosophical essays on the theme of the undead. The editors are currently in discussion with Open Court Press (The publisher of The Simpsons and Philosophy, The Matrix and philosophy, and the forthcoming The Sopranos and Philosophy, etc.) regarding the inclusion of this collection in a new book series dealing with philosophy and various cultural topics. We are seeking abstracts, but anyone who has already written an unpublished paper on this topic may submit it in its entirety. Potential contributors may want to examine other volumes in the Open Court series.
Contributors are welcome to submit abstracts on any topic of philosophical interest that pertains to the theme of the undead. We define "the undead" as that class of corporeal beings who at some point were living creatures, have died, and have come back such that they are not presently "at rest." This would include supernatural beings such as zombies, vampires, mummies, and other reanimated corpses. The editors are especially interested in receiving submissions that engage the following perspectives: philosophy of mind; the metaphysics of death; political and social philosophy; ontology and other topics in metaphysics; ethics and bioethics; aesthetics; cultural theory and globalization studies; race and gender; epistemology; philosophy of religion; phenomenology and existentialism. Possible topics might include, but are not limited to, the following: zombie-based critiques of functionalist theories of mind; historical treatments of the undead in philosophy; the films of George Romero, Danny Boyle, and Joss Whedon; the novels of Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker, Anne Rice, Bruce Campbell, and Poppy Z. Brite; critical writing by Julia Kristeva, Jalal Toufic, and Slavoj Zizek.
Please feel free to forward this to anyone writing within a philosophic discipline who might be interested in contributing.
Contributor Guidelines:
1. Abstract of paper (100750 words)
2. Resume/CV for each author/coauthor of the paper
3. Initial submission may be by mail or email (prefer e-mail with MS Word attachment)
4. Submission deadline: December 15, 2003Mail:
Richard Greene
Department of Political Science and Philosophy
Weber State University1203 University Circle
Ogden, UT 84408-1203Email:
rgreene@weber.edu
silem@ucsc.edu
I think zombies as used in anti-functionalist arguments are not the problem in 28 Days Later. Though it would be pretty exciting if they were. “Watch out – if they bite you you’ll look just the same on the outside but you’ll lose your inner life. It’s impossible to tell who’s a zombie except by, er, there’s gotta be by somehow right?”
Much thanks to Laurie for passing this along.
The other call for papers is almost as good.
Philosophy and The Onion. Now soliciting proposals for projected philosophical anthology on any aspect of The Onion, America’s leading satirical newspaper. Brief, informal proposals are welcome at this stage. Submit to Graham Harman at toolbeing@yahoo.com (deadline for initial proposals is October 31, 2003)
At first I thought that said Gilbert Harman. My whole image of Princeton philosophy was being overturned as I looked at the screen. But it was all a mistake. (Unless it’s a very clever fake name!)
I think rather than writing about philosophy and The Onion it would be better to write philosophy in the style of The Onion. Perhaps “Area man think he’s got an original solution to the sceptical paradoxes.”
UPDATE: I was going to write this up for Crooked Timber, but I thought Kieran would probably do a better job of it. And he did.