Join our conference “Kant and the World Today” at JHU

Friday, March 8, and Saturday, March 9, 2024. 

Talks and panelswill explore the relevance of Kant’s philosophy for our contemporary world, focusing on critical discussions of the implications of his philosophy for issues of political economy, the role of hope and despair in the face of global challenges, and Kant’s universalism and cosmopolitanism in light of questions of particularity, participation, and exclusion.

The conference is part of the North American Kant Society‘s Tercentennial celebrations and is organized by Lucy Allais (Johns Hopkins), Andrew Chignell (Princeton), and Katharina Kraus (Johns Hopkins).

Free attendance: register here!

Friday, March 8 — Schedule:

4:00 pm
Welcome address, Hodson Hall 210
Andrew Chignell (Princeton) and Katharina Kraus (Johns Hopkins)

4:15 – 6:00 pm
Opening Keynote Lecture, Hodson Hall 210

Pauline Kleingeld (University of Groningen)
“Kant’s racism and Kant’s anti-colonialism”

Chair: Lucy Allais (Johns Hopkins)

7:30 pm
North American premiere of “Immanuel Kant” (stage play) in the John Astin Theatre on Hopkins’ Homewood Campus in Baltimore, followed by a panel discussion. [more about the play premiere here]

This staged reading is produced by Johns Hopkins University and Goethe-Institut Washington DC, under the direction of Drew Lichtenberg, and is part of the North American Kant Society’s Tercentennial celebrations.

Free attendance: register here for the performance

…

Saturday, March 9 — Schedule:

Panel Discussions, Gilman Hall 132

9:00 – 10:45 am
Panel 1: Kant on Political Economy

Lucy Allais (Johns Hopkins): “Kant on Markets and the Commons”

Jordan Pascoe (Manhattan College): “Kant on Labor”

Garrath Williams (Lancaster University): “A Kantian Perspective on the Business Corporation”

Chair: Tim Jankowiak (Towson University)

11:15 am – 12:00 pm
Talk and Discussion with the Dramaturg

Drew Lichtenberg (Associate Director, Shakespeare Theatre Company, DC): “The Last Chapter in the History of the World: Kleist’s Puppet, Bernhard’s Parrot, and Post-Kantian Dramaturgies in German Theater”

12:00 pm – 1:30 pm
Lunch break

1:30 pm – 3:15 pm
Panel 2: Kant on Hope in the face of Global Challenges

Kristi Sweet (Texas A&M University): “Hope in Dark Times”

Andrew Chignell (Princeton University): “Collective Hope in the Face of Individual Futility”

Laura Papish (George Washington University): “Kant on Creative Hope When Time Has Run Out”

Chair: Mavis Biss (Loyola University Maryland)

3:45 pm – 6:00 pm
Panel 3: Kant on Universalism, Cosmopolitanism, Gender and Race

Helga Varden (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign): “Humanizing Kant and Kantian Philosophy: Method, Identities, and the Isms”

Stefanie Buchenau (Université Paris VIII): “Kant on the Citizen of the Earth”

Jameliah Shorter-Bourhanou (University of Memphis): “Why Kant’s Thoughts on Race Matter”

Inés Valdez (Johns Hopkins): “The Limits of Kant’s Cosmopolitanism: Then and Now“

Katharina Kraus (Johns Hopkins): “Kant on Human Perspectives, the Particularity of Experience, and Shared Horizons”

Chair: Jochen Bojanowski (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)