Philosophy, Faith, and Modernity
2017 Annual ACPA Meeting

Guidelines for Submission of Papers

(Printable PDF)

American Catholic Philosophical Association
2017 Annual National Meeting
“Philosophy, Faith, and Modernity”
The Westin Dallas Downtown
November 16-19, 2017

Deadline for Submission: March 1, 2017 

1) President Hibbs’s description of the theme is as follows:

“We are pleased to invite you to the 2017 ACPA annual meeting in Dallas, hosted by Baylor University and University of Dallas.  The theme of the meeting will be “Philosophy, Faith, and Modernity”.
            It is commonly thought that modernity places certain kinds of pressure on faith, that it challenges religious belief in novel ways.  Conversely, modernity is sometimes seen as an epoch of decline, an age of secularization and disintegration of what was integrated in the so-called great syntheses of the high Middle Ages.  Different accounts of advanced modernity or post-modernity depict faith and reason in different ways.  One sees further disintegration and another an opening, in say currents of anti-foundationalism, for a renewed appreciation of faith. Moreover, certain philosophers and sociologists of knowledge now speak of our age as post-secular.
            How are we to think of these various histories or genealogies of modernity and of the relationships between faith and reason? Is modernity or post-modernity more or less friendly to faith? Do the historical categories make sense?  What are we to make of the various genealogies of modernity?  Should we be skeptical of any such broad historical narratives?  What can philosophers bring to these discussions that is distinctive and clarifying?  Can we find fresh interpretations of modernity that avoid reduction to what Charles Taylor has identified as the knockers and boosters of modernity?
            What can a careful re-examination of early modern debates and authors teach us about the role of modernity in reshaping the debate between faith and reason?  The typical way of thinking about the relationship is to ask about the ways in which faith responds to, or is altered by, modernity, but one might ask how and in what ways philosophy in modernity is changed or shaped by its encounter with the Christian faith.  What have early modern debates to do with the pre-modern debates, framed as a conversation between Jerusalem and Athens?
            What, after the enlightenment, is the place of faith within the public sphere?  How can the principle of subsidiarity be realized in the modern conception of the state?  How does the questioning of the modern subject open avenues for renewing the question of God?  In what way do "post-modern" authors transcend the limits of modernity and in what way do they subscribe to its framework?  How can Catholic universities and philosophy departments at those universities help students and society confront the limits of modernity? What has the Catholic intellectual tradition already accomplished in its dialogue with modernity and what remains to be done?
            In this, the anniversary of the Reformation, some essays may take up the disputes between Catholics and Protestants over faith and reason and its allied pair of grace and nature.  What can we learn from these debates?  Where is the conversation now?  What contributions can philosophers make to current ecumenical debate and dialogue?  How was and is the conversation between Catholics and Protestants influenced and informed by the distinctively modern?
            Analyses of particular philosophers or of comparative accounts of this relationship between philosophers of different periods would be welcome.
            We cordially invite you to submit papers on any of these topics, or in any philosophical area, problem, controversy, school of thought, subfield, tradition, or method.”

2) Papers must be received at [email protected] no later than March 1, 2017.

3) Please save your paper in Microsoft Word (.docx preferred) or PDF. (Other formats are not acceptable.) Send your paper as an email attachment to us at [email protected]. The text of your paper should not exceed 15 typed, double-spaced pages, 12 point (30 minutes reading time). The paper must begin with a short abstract (150 words), suitable for inclusion in the conference program. (The abstract will not be counted against the overall length of your paper.)

4) The format of the paper should be appropriate for blind reviewing; that is, nothing in the paper itself should reveal the author’s identity. (We will take care that your paper is not identifiable in the way it is saved by us, as blind review is one of the strengths of our conference papers and our proceedings.)

5)  In the body of your email, please include:
            Author’s name,
            University affiliation,
            Postal address,
            Phone number,
            E-mail address (correct from March 1, 2017 through November 16, 2017).

6) It is understood that by submitting material for possible presentation at the 2017 Annual Meeting authors agree that, should the paper be accepted for presentation at the Annual Meeting and publication in the annual Proceedings, they will deliver the paper in person at the 2017 ACPA Meeting, and they agree to allow the ACPA to hold the copyright to their paper published in the Proceedings. If the paper is accepted, you will be asked to sign a publication agreement with us.

7) Those authors who wish to have their papers considered for the ACPA Young Scholar’s Award (scholars 35 years of age or younger, regardless of academic position, are eligible) should indicate as much in the body of their email.

8) We will acknowledge receipt of your paper by email, shortly after it is submitted. If you do not hear from us within one week of submitting your paper, please contact us by email. By July 15, 2017, we will inform you if your paper has been accepted for the meeting and publication.

9) If you would like to comment on a paper or chair a session, please let the ACPA Secretary know by sending a separate e-mail to [email protected].  Please provide in that email your CV or list areas of philosophical expertise and competence.