1st Hegelian Society of Spirit Conference

HEGEL AND HEGELIANISM TODAY In light of the resurgence of interest in the philosophy of G.W.F. Hegel, the question of what remains at the core of Hegel’s philosophy has become increasingly pertinent. Taking this into consideration, we are also wondering how we are supposed to evaluate the Hegelian philosophy that has succeeded the initial impact of Hegel’s philosophy. This is a timely and unavoidable concern that Hegel scholars must face, one which reassembles the philosophical scene after Hegel’s death with the split between left-Hegelians, right-Hegelian, and young Hegelians all of whom misconstrued Hegel in some element or another. And since the history of Hegel scholarship until today has amounted to a bad game of telephone, we are wondering what makes contemporary Hegel scholarship and Hegelian philosophy different from this trend, if at all? This conference seeks to explore two major concerns then: (1) when we look at Hegel’s work, what are we drawing from it as the core to his systematization of philosophy and how does it concern us today? And (2) in light of the proliferation of works on Hegel, how are we evaluating the value of these works as well as their relevance to Hegel’s philosophy? Therefore, this conference welcomes papers that focus on Hegel’s main texts the Phenomenology of Spirit and the Science of Logic, as well as other works by Hegel such as his early theological writings, The Philosophy of Right, the Encyclopedia of Philosophy, and others. We also welcome texts that enter into conversations with the interactions of Marxism and psychoanalysis with Hegel’s philosophy, as well as papers that address the work of authors such as Slavoj Zizek, Alenka Zupancic, Mladen Dolar, Alain Badiou, Adrian Johnston, Todd McGowan, Rebecca Comay, Frank Ruda, Susan Buck-Morss, Robert Brandom, Robert Pippin, Rocio Zambrano, and other contemporary Hegel scholars and commentators. Topics Suggested Is it possible to be a Hegelian today? Is Hegel dead? Or are we dead in the eyes of Hegel? What is the relationship between the Phenomenology of Spirit and the Science of Logic? What is a beginning in Hegel’s philosophy? What is the end of Hegel’s philosophy? What has changed in contemporary Hegelian scholarship from 20th century Hegelianism? What is a Hegelian politics? And does Hegel genuinely offer an emancipatory project? What is a Hegelian ethics? And how does it differ from other ethical orientations? What is the role of religion in Hegel’s work from his early work to his more mature work starting with the Phenomenology of Spirit? What is the Absolute for Hegel? And what is so radical about the Hegelian Absolute? What kind of Hegelian responses can be given to contemporary neo-Kantianisms? What kinds of correctives are needed in understanding the relationship between Hegel and Marx? What is the relationship between Hegelianism and Marxism? What is Hegel’s relationship to psychoanalysis? What is the relationship between Hegel and Freud? What is the relationship between Hegel and Lacan? What kind of Hegelian responses can be given to contemporary accelerationisms? What kind of Hegelian responses can be given to speculative realism? Did the Zizekian rereading of Hegel through Lacan truly reclaim Hegel after his disavowal throughout the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries? What is the impact of Reza Negarestani’s Intelligence and Spirit to Hegelian philosophy? Do its Pittsburgh Hegelian roots aid its project or ultimately hinder it? With the development of new North American Hegelianisms in the work of Adrian Johnston, Rebecca Comay, and Todd McGowan, what do they captivate or fail to understand about Hegelian philosophy? What is the impact of Pittsburgh Analytic Hegelianism (Sellars, McDowell, Pippin, Brandom)? And does it captivate or miss the heart of Hegel’s philosophy? What is the impact of Slovene Lacanian Hegelianism (Zizek, Zupancic, Dolar)? And does it captivate or miss the heart of Hegel’s philosophy? What are we to make out of the major differences between contemporary Hegelian schools? (For example, the Pittsburgh School and the Slovene School) Conference Dates: January 27 and 28 2023 Keynote Speaker: Todd McGowan  Conference Guidelines Please email an abstract in pdf or word format of between 500-800 words and it should include a bibliography simone.polo@gcas.ie If the author is interested in the publication of their paper, we will ask for a final copy of the paper sent to simone.polo@gcas.is by January 1, 2023 in accordance with the Chicago Manual of Style.  Papers should be suitable for a 20-30 minute presentation. In the body of the email include: 1) Your name, 2) Title of the paper, 3) Institutional affiliation, role (if applicable) and 4) Contact information (email, phone number, mailing address). The organisers are eager to assemble a demographically diverse programme. To aid in this endeavour, if you are a member of an underrepresented group and wish to identify yourself as such, please include this information in your email. Please send documents in word format or pdf with no identifying information for blind review.  SUBMISSION DEADLINE: November 1, 2022 This is an online conference that will be taking place on Zoom. There will be recordings of the conference sessions that will be shared via the Society’s YouTube channel for public viewing and sharing. Publication Select papers for the conference will be included in an online publication. This selection will be made by the organising body of the conference who will edit the compiled publication. The organising body will invite authors for the publication and proceed with the author’s approval. This is a non-exclusive publication as we encourage authors’ philosophical development in whatever form that may take. Papers for publication should be 5000-7000 words, however, this is not a strict guideline as papers will be taken up by their merits. Organising Body: Simone A. Medina Polo (Global Center for Advanced Studies) simone.polo@gcas.ie Lucas Potts (University of Alberta) ldpotts@ualberta.ca Julian Rodka (Independent Scholar) jcrodtka@gmail.com We extend our gratitude to the Global Center for Advanced Studies for their sponsorship support of this event by providing us with licensed Zoom accounts to run the conference. The GCAS college is a significant part of para-academic and academic studies furthering the interests of philosophy and psychoanalysis globally while offering degrees and certificates on some of the most cutting-edge contemporary work. We are simply excited to partner with them. We want to express a deep thank you to Creston Davis, Francisco Gonzales, and Alberto Pacheco Benites for their support of the conference.