Call for Papers
Tentative title: One World: Essays on Nussbaum on Philosophy and
Literature
Abstracts of papers (of approximately 200-300 words) are invited for a
collection on the use of literature in Martha Nussbaum’s philosophical
project. Given her own interest in refuting a good deal of utilitarian
theorizing, especially over measurements of the ‘quality of life’, to
speak of her use of literature initially sounds naïve and
over-simplified. But the use of literature is, in many ways, at the
heart of her philosophical project. And her specific uses of literature
necessarily problematize the conventional disciplinary boundaries
between philosophy and literature in academic life. Nussbaum refuses
simply to use literature, by way of exemplum or illustration, of
arguments and demonstrations that can be made in and through traditional
philosophical genres; rather, she argues that literary genres are
themselves irreducible forms of knowledge, ways of knowing the human
world that must be incorporated into, not co-opted by, traditional forms
of philosophy.
Possible topics include but are not limited to: defenses of or attacks
on ethical criticism; the role of literature in philosophical
anthropology; conceptions of agency in literature and philosophy;
sympathetic spectatorship; the place of the passions in literature and
philosophy; tragic conflicts and dilemmas; the relevance of the
particular and contingent histories that literary texts make available
to philosophy; and the problems of interdisciplinary relations and
disciplinary integrity.
Note: Contributions to the collection should concentrate on the
relations of literature and philosophy, specifically as these are
treated by Professor Nussbaum, who has agreed to respond to the papers
in an “Afterword.”
Deadline for abstracts: 15 January 2000
Send abstracts to: Leonard Ferry
Department of English, CNH 321
McMaster University
Hamilton ON
Canada
L8S 4L9
Or email them to: ferryld@mcmaster.ca or ferry@itcanada.com
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