The Pacific University Undergraduate Philosophy Conference is an annual, two-day conference held each spring, attracting students from across the country and internationally. Since 1997, more than1000 students from over 250 schools have participated in our conference. These students represent 47 U.S. states as well as a number of Canadian provinces and several other countries. All of the participants are undergraduate students, with the exception of the annual keynote address by a renowned philosopher. Past keynote speakers have included Paul Churchland, Hilary Putnam, John Searle, Keith Lehrer, Catherine Elgin, John Perry, Hubert Dreyfus, Jerry Fodor, Alvin Plantinga, and Cora Diamond.
Information about the 2012 conference is below.
16th annual Pacific University Undergraduate Philosophy Conference
Friday April 20 through Saturday April 21, 2012
Pacific University — Forest Grove, Oregon
Live taping of the public radio program, "Philosophy Talk," hosted by John Perry and Ken Taylor (Stanford University) on Friday, April 20 (Topic: "Why Be Moral?")
Keynote presentation: James Sterba (University of Notre Dame) on Saturday, April 21 ("Why Rationality Requires Substantial Equality")
The purpose of this conference is to provide a forum for the presentation of philosophical work of undergraduates to their peers.
(For anyone interested in attending only the "Philosophy Talk" event, it is open to the public. Anyone may attend at no cost.)
Submission Guidelines
Papers are required to be of philosophical content, but there are no specific restrictions on subject matter within the arena of philosophical discussion itself. Papers should be approximately 3000 words (10-12 pages).
Electronic submissions (as Word documents) are required and should be sent to: boersema@pacificu.edu Submissions should include both the paper and an abstract (that is, a 100-200 word summary of the paper).
Submission deadline is February 1, 2012. Final decisions will be made no later than February 20, 2012.
Selected papers from the conference will be published in Volume 3 (2012) of the journal Res Cogitans.
Conference Schedule
Friday, April 20 (Registration and banquet will be in the UCC church, next to Pacific's campus; "Philosophy Talk" taping will be in the McCready auditorium, in Taylor-Meade Hall, on the Pacific campus)
- Conference registration 4:00-6:00pm;
- Conference banquet 6:00-7:30pm;
- "Philosophy Talk" taping 7:30-9:00pm.
Saturday, April 21 (Meals will be in the UCC church; all student paper sessions will be in Marsh Hall)
- Breakfast 7:00-8:00am;
- Conference registration 8:00-9:00am;
- Paper sessions 8:00-11:15am;
- Keynote presentation 11:30am-1:00pm
- Conference luncheon 1:00-2:00pm;
- Paper sessions 2:00-6:45pm.
View a detailed schedule with presentation times and location.
Registration
Electronic registration is available. Registration fee: $40. Three meals will be provided to registered attendees: Friday night banquet, Saturday breakfast and lunch. The registration fee can also be paid at the conference. Registration can also be done by sending the registration fee via check (made out to "Pacific University") to: David Boersema, Department of Philosophy, Pacific University, 2043 College Way, Forest Grove OR 97116.
Click here for information on lodging.
Click here for map and directions to campus. (Use your back button to return to this page.)
For further information, contact David Boersema at the address above.