Call for Papers

Intercultural Ethics

Societas Ethica’s 57th Annual Conference

Deadline: April 1st, 2021



In the light of the rise of nationalist movements and policies, increasing human migrations and the challenges these phenomena pose to our engagement with intercultural realities, what is the role of ethics? Given the multiple tensions due to major societal transformations – climate change, global inequalities, digitization, etc. – and the perception of a lack of agency, how can ethics engage the fear, anxiety and ressentiment, both rational and irrational, which drive so many debates? How are our conceptions of sovereignty and identity affected by new levels of inequality and power imbalances? Do we have models for ethically engaging these developments, or are new models needed? How can we confront the tensions that arise among diverse cultural groups in a constructive manner? What is the role of ethics in explicating the impact of historical experiences and narratives on intercultural encounters? 

Thematic fields

We encourage contributions from the fields of philosophy, theology and applied ethics, as well as political and social sciences, literary and cultural studies, psychology, history and law.

Papers may, among others, address the following thematic fields:

Moral theory and concepts of agency, otherness and identity

• Hermeneutics and normative ethics as approaches to interculturalism

• Cultural diversity and fundamental political-ethical concepts such as sovereignty, citizenship, national identity, social identity and belonging.

• Diverse convictions and religious beliefs

• Politics and Religions and the imperative of neutrality

• “Buen vivir”, “hospitality” or “conviviality” as response to nationalism, racism, ethnicity, white supremacy, islamophobia, antisemitism and discrimination of religious minorities

• Inclusion and Exclusion

• Power, empowerment and political agency

• The role of law, human rights and the protection of minorities

Submission of papers

Paper proposals should contain no more than 800 words (excluding bibliography), and clearly present a moral question or argument addressing at least one of the aforementioned thematic fields. Proposals must be submitted by April 1st, 2021. Papers can be presented in the conference languages of English, German, or French.

Please send in the following two documents as Word attachments to Galia Assadi at galia.assadi@evhn.de, using the subject line “Societas Ethica 2021 Conference.” 

Document 1: Your name, first name, email address, institutional address, the title of your abstract, the thematic field(s) under which your paper proposal falls, and, if eligible, your application to participate in the Young Scholars’ Award competition (see information below). 

Document 2: Your paper proposal including bibliography (max. 10 references), keywords and title with all identifying references removed. Please use Times New Roman 12 pt for body, references and keywords, and Ariel (bold) 16 pt for headline.

The abstract of the conference papers will be published in the conference proceedings. Selected papers (voluntary) will be published in a special issue of the journal De Ethica. A Journal of Philosophical, Theological and Applied Ethics.

Young Scholars Award

Societas Ethica Young Scholars’ Award is awarded to the best presentation by a young scholar. Young scholars for the purpose of this competition are doctoral students and researchers who earned their degree less than two years ago and do not have a tenure-track academic position. For more information about Societas Ethica Young Scholars’ Award, please visit the website at www.societasethica.info

Funding

In order to get information about funding possibilities, please visit the website www.societasethica.info.

Societas Ethica – the European Society for Research in Ethics – has more than 300 members from approximately 35 countries. Led by the current president Prof. Dr. Arne Manzeschke, Societas Ethica endeavors to promote contacts between scholars in different countries, transcending political, philosophical and religious boundaries. We welcome papers from non-members and members. 

Prof. Dr. Arne Manzeschke, President