full name / name of organization:
2nd Global Conference
Intellectuals - Knowledge, Power, Ideas
Friday 8th May - Sunday 10th May 2009
Call for Papers
Following last yearâ€™s very successful inaugural conference, the
Intellectuals: Knowledge, Power, Ideas Project will hold its second annual
conference in Budapest in May 2009. The conference is a keystone of the
â€™Intellectualsâ€™ Inter-disciplinary.Net project that seeks to explore the
role, character, nature and place of intellectuals and intellectual work in
Whilst the â€˜intellectualâ€™ emerges as a particular category with the
development of modernity, the â€˜knowledgeableâ€™ and knowledge producers have
been an important historical agent and social actor since the early Greek
philosophers, and knowledge production, whether religious, scientific or
philosophical, has been important in shaping social, political, economic
and cultural change. Intellectuals and the knowledge they produce have been
subject to competing representations: from an â€˜electâ€™ producing knowledge
for its own sake to different forms of philosopher king, servant of the
state or dissenting movement intellectuals connecting politically with
change in the social world. In contemporary â€˜knowledgeâ€™ societies, much of
the focus on the intellectual as a â€˜publicâ€™ figure, residing within the
media intelligentsia or institutions of higher learning, but competing
theories of intellectuals and their work identify elitist, meritocratic and
radical alternatives about who intellectuals are, what they do, how they
are connected to and divided from other social institutions, and why we
understand them the way we do.
The Project seeks to build, by annual conferences and network activity,
both an evidenced and critical understanding of the intellectual and
intellectual work in the past and a critical understanding of intellectuals
and intellectual work in the present, and its prospects for the future. In
doing so, it recognises that the interdisciplinary basis of such an
analysis will take in the fields of cultural studies, education studies
(with a particular focus on higher education), history, literature,
philosophy, politics, sociology, social theory and open avenues to wider
and more diverse disciplinary connections, and the project welcomes
interdisciplinary explorations. Some indicative themes are suggested below
to indicate the types of issues that might be addressed in conference
papers and workshops. The first of the themes is one we particularly wish
to emphasise at this conference.
A. The Intellectual, War and Conflict
How do we understand the rights, responsibilities and duties of
intellectuals in times of conflict and war? To who or what do intellectuals
owe duties and responsibilities in war and conflict? What constitutes
loyalty and disloyalty when intellectuals speak to truth? Should
intellectuals be detached or committed in their approach to conflict and
war? What constitutes complicity intellectual work about war and conflict
and how should we judge both? How do we distinguish intellectual honesty
from strategic opportunism in intellectualsâ€™ interventions in war and
conflict? What is the scope and limits to free speech and intellectual
commentary during war and conflict?
B. The Making of the Modern Intellectual and Intellectual Work.
How do we understand the role and impact of intellectuals and intellectual
work in the past in shaping intellectuals and intellectual work in the
present? What historical categorisations, roles, models and places in
conceiving the intellectual influence how intellectuals see themselves and
their work today? How have the roles, natures and places of intellectuals
changed through history? What do historical understandings of the
intellectual tell us about the intellectual today?
C. Intellectuals and the 21st Century Academy.
What roles, functions and positions do intellectuals take within learning
institutions and what has the impact of change in learning institutions
made on intellectuals? What overlap and interplay is there between the
academy and the intellectual? What moral, cultural, political and
educational principles underpin the academy and the learning institution
today? How has the association between academy and intellectual been
impacted on by recent change in society, economy and politics in the 21st
D. Intellectuals and the Knowledge Society
How has the intellectual changed in their role, character and place in the
knowledge society? How have the internet and ICTâ€™s changed the way
intellectuals work and intellectual work is produced, distributed and
exchanged? How has the knowledge society changed our understanding of the
intellectual in society? Have we moved from the primacy of the mode of
production to the primacy of the mode of information?
E. Public Intellectuals and the Intellectual in Public and Political Life.
What is a public intellectual and how is a public intellectual
distinguished from other intellectuals and knowledge producers? What roles
and places do public intellectuals have in past and contemporary societies?
Are intellectuals and is intellectual work always political? What political
and public roles do intellectuals play?
F. Intellectuals and Cultural Life.
How have intellectuals impacted on cultural life, in shaping everyday
experience, providing frameworks for understanding and producing cultural
enrichment? In what ways have intellectuals played a role in shaping the
cultural milieu? What is the relationship between the intellectual and the
artist or producer of cultural knowledge and products? What is the
relationship between intellectuals and the aesthetic?
G. Intellectuals and the Development of Bodies of Knowledge.
How do intellectuals produce and create knowledge? How should we understand
the processes of knowledge production and creation as social and political
and well as research processes? How should we understand notions of
discovery, exploration and speaking truth in the context of critical
perspectives on knowledge creation? How have particular bodies of knowledge
developed historically and come to play determining roles in social,
cultural, political and economic change?
These themes are intended as illustrative and proposals on related areas
are welcomed. Panel proposals, workshops and joint presentations are also
welcome. The conference aims to bring together people from different areas,
disciplines, professions and interests to share ideas and explore questions
in a way that is innovative and exciting.
Papers will also be considered on any related theme. 300 word abstracts
should be submitted by Friday 9th January 2009. If an abstract is accepted
for the conference, a full draft paper should be submitted by Friday 10th
April 2009. The draft paper should be of no more than 8 or 9 pages long and
ready for a 20 minute (maximum) presentation during the conference.
300 word abstracts should be submitted to both Organising Chairs; abstracts
may be in Word, WordPerfect, or RTF formats, following this order:
author(s), affiliation, email address, title of abstract, body of abstract.
We acknowledge receipt and answer to all paper proposals submitted. If you
do not receive a reply from us in a week you should assume we did not
receive your proposal; it might be lost in cyberspace! We suggest, then, to
look for an alternative electronic route or resend.
Social and Psychological Sciences,
Edge Hill University
Network Founder & network Leader
Freeland, Oxfordshire OX29 8HR
The conference is part of the Critical Issues programme of research
projects. It aims to bring together people from different areas and
interests to share ideas and explore various discussions which are
innovative and exciting. All papers accepted for and presented at this
conference will be eligible for publication in an ISBN eBook. Selected
papers will be developed for publication in a themed hard copy volume.
For further details about the project please visit:
For further details about the conference please visit:
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Received on Tue Nov 25 2008 - 05:02:30 EST