Call for Abstracts: ESEMP conference from 25 to 27 September 2025 in Hagen

Call for Abstracts

The European Society for Early Modern Philosophy (ESEMP) invites submissions of abstracts for presentation at the 7th international conference of the ESEMP:

Why and How Do We Study Early Modern Philosophy Today?

25-27 September 2025

FernUniversität in Hagen, Germany

Keynote Speakers: Mogens Lærke (CNRS) and Anik Waldow (University of Sydney)

The aim of this conference is to bring together leading experts and young talented scholars from all over the world to explore ways of approaching early modern philosophy and reflect anew on the aims of doing so. While all papers on the period are welcome, talks highlighting the respective aims or methods of studying EMP are particularly encouraged.

Following recent discussions in the field, we might wonder, for instance, whether we should favour historical over so-called rational reconstructions of texts or what precise aims are served by extending the canon. Likewise, we might ask how advances in the digital humanities shape our field. Even if one works in more traditional ways, one might inquire whether common assumptions about how to place and study texts, figures or debates still stand. This does not mean that papers should focus on these issues alone; rather it is an invitation to reflect on the aims or methods guiding the study at hand.

A second focus of our conference concerns (practical) issues concerning especially early career researchers. In this spirit, the conference includes a mentoring programme intended to connect mentees with experienced researchers who will provide advice on papers.

Submissions

We invite submissions of abstracts for papers addressing all aspects of early modern philosophy. To submit, please email an abstract – between 500-700 words and anonymised for blind review – to Tanja Moll (tanja.moll@fernuni-hagen.de). Please use ‘ESEMP 2025 abstract’ as the header of your email. The email should contain the author’s details (name, position, affiliation, contact details). The mail and the abstract should contain three keywords to which the abstract relates (indicating theme, author, and method / aim highlighted, if applicable). Please use the PDF format for submission and prepare the text of the abstract for blind refereeing.

If you would like to take advantage of the mentoring programme, please say so in your mail. If you would like to act as a mentor, please also indicate this in your mail. We will try to match mentors and mentees in relation to the keywords provided in the mail.

Please direct any questions you might have to Martin Lenz: martin.lenz@fernuni-hagen.de

Procedure

The deadline for abstract submission is 15 January 2025.

Papers will be selected by the board of the ESEMP.

Notifications of acceptance will be made by 28 February 2025.

For each talk, there will be time for a 30-minute presentation, with about another 15 minutes for discussion. All accepted papers will be eligible in case of the publication of the proceedings.

Upon acceptance

We do not request that you pay a fee, but membership of the ESEMP is compulsory to present a paper at the conference. (Annual membership fee: 30 EUR; reduced annual membership fee: 15 EUR).

To become a member of the ESEMP, please use our application form or contact the Treasurer of the ESEMP: hubertus.busche@fernuni-hagen.de

Life and Death in Early Modern Philosophy

Life and Death in Early Modern Philosophy
Conference of the European Society for Early Modern Philosophy and the British Society for the History of Philosophy

When: Thursday 14th April to Saturday 16th April, 2016.

Where: Birkbeck College London and Kings College London

Birkbeck_Life_and_DeathLife and Death in Early Modern Philosophy
During the early modern period, upheavals in science, theology and politics prompted philosophers to grapple with two highly-charged questions. What are the limits of life? What are the possibilities of life? Pursuing the first, they probed the relation between life and death. What is it to be a living thing? What distinguishes life from death? In what sense, if any, do living things survive death? Exploring the second question, they turned their attention to the character of a truly human life. What is it for human beings (or particular kinds of human beings) to live well? What role does philosophy play in this process? Is living well an individual project, a political one, or both?

Each of these themes has recently attracted renewed interest among historians of early modern philosophy, and the conference aims to explore them as broadly as possible. The program will be comprised of invited speakers and speakers drawn from an open call for papers. Please see below for details

Confirmed Plenary Speakers:

Martine Pecharman, CNRS, Paris, France
Michael Moriarty, University of Cambridge, UK
Ursula Renz, Alpen-Adria-University Klagenfurt, Austria
Lisa Shapiro, Simon Fraser University, Canada.
Mariafranca Spallanzani, University of Bologna, Italy
Charles Wolfe, University of Gent, Belgium
Continue reading

CFP: Brussels Seminar in Modern Philosophy (Brussels, 7 may 2014)

The first meeting of the Brussels Seminar in Modern Philosophy will be held Wednesday 7 May 2014 at the Université libre de Bruxelles. The seminar aims at fostering interaction among junior and established scholars working in the history of modern philosophy (roughly from late scholasticism up to Kant). The languages of the seminar are English and French.  Continue reading

CFP: “Ars Effectiva et Methodus: The Body in Early Modern Science and Thought” (Germany, 30 June – 1 July 2014)

Herzog August Library, Wolfenbüttel, 30 June – 1 July 2014. Organised by Karin Friedrich (Aberdeen) with the support of the Herzog August Library, Wolfenbüttel, the Aberdeen Humanities Fund/Hunter Caldwell Awards and the Centre for Early Modern Studies, University of Aberdeen (Scotland). Continue reading

CFA: Locke Workshop (New York City, March 17-18, 2014)

Lehman College, CUNY
Bronx, NY
Keynote speaker: Kenneth Winkler (Yale)
Send abstracts (of no more than 500 words) for papers on any topic in John Locke’s philosophy to Jessica Gordon-Roth no later than October 1. Program announcement: November 15, 2013.
Website.
Contacts: Jessica Gordon-Roth and Benjamin Hill.

CFP: Conference on Berkeley and the Three Dialogues (Dublin, 4-6 April 2014)

The Department of Philosophy, in collaboration with the College’s Research
Institute for the Humanities, the Long Room Hub, and with the assistance and
support of the International Berkeley Society is pleased to announce a
Conference on Berkeley and the Three Dialogues, to be held in the Long Room
Hub from Friday evening to Sunday evening, April, 4th-6th 2014. Continue reading

CFP : Berkeley Society Session at Eastern APA Baltimore (USA, 27-30 december 2013)

The International Berkeley Society invites submissions of abstracts for presentations at the IBS session at the Eastern Division meeting of the APA in Baltimore Dec. 27-30. The IBS is especially interested in 30-35 minute presentations that juxtapose Berkeley’s doctrines with those of his contemporaries. Please send abstracts (no more than 600 words) to Stephen Daniel no later than June 10. Priority will be given to speakers who have not made previous presentations at IBS-sponsored APA sessions.

CFP : Dutch Seminar in Early Modern Philosophy I (University of Groningen, NL, 29-30 January 2014)

We are pleased to announce the first meeting of the Dutch Seminar in Early Modern Philosophy. It aims at bringing together advanced students and scholars working on Early Modern Philosophy (broadly conceived, ranging from the later scholastics to Kant). Following similar models of workshops, we hope to stimulate further exchange and collaboration on various topics in the field.

Continue reading

Call for Papers and Sessions for the 60th Annual Rennaissance Society of America Meeting (New York, 27–29 March 2014)

The Program Committee welcomes submissions for individual papers or panels on any aspect of Renaissance studies, or the era ca. 1300–1700. Members are invited to post calls for papers on our website to aid in the organization of sessions (see below).

The deadline for all submissions is Tuesday, 11 June 2013.

To submit proposals, use this link : http://www.rsa.org/?page=2014NewYork