Description:
The ongoing debate on the impact of the Internet at a global and local levels is at the core of today's and tomorrow's political decision-making, particularly in a world that turns more and more unified – and divided. It is also at the core of academic research on what has been called Information Ethics. The leading ethical question is how embodied human life is possible within local cultural traditions and the horizon of a global digital environment. The congress will deal with this question from three perspectives:

• Internet for Social and Political Development: Community Building
• Internet for Cultural Development: Restructuring the Media
• Internet for Economic Development: Empowering the People

• Pensamiento histórico, cultural y educativo latinoamericanos
• Pensamiento económico, político y jurídico latinoamericanos
• Pensamiento filosófico y cosmovisión andina latinoamericanos
• Pensamiento literario e imaginarios latinoamericanos: Sobre el canon y los procesos de canonización de las literaturas en América Latina

• The relationship between discourse and culture
• Cross-fertilisation between cultural studies and discourse studies
• Postcolonialism, diaspora and discourse theory
• Cultural imperialism in language/ communication/ discourse scholarship
• The international position of non-western scholarship in language/ communication/ discourse
• The study of non-western discourses
• Intercultural communication and critical pedagogy
• Discourse studies in China

En el evento participarán tanto destacados docentes provenientes de Alemania que se han empeñado en desarrollar la Teoría Crítica, al igual que colegas mexicanos y latinoamericanos interesados en discutir los desarrollos recientes de esta propuesta de reflexión filosófica, social y política.

The conference will study the philosophical, social and ethical issues relating to historic memory, reconciliation and dialogue. It proposes a critical analysis of the issues that are related to the duty of memory and policies of forgiveness. These will include particular measures of reparation such as meaningful recourse, legal avenues, reparations and compensation, and other measures at the national, regional and international levels. Without excluding the set of universal situations arising from these issues, the conference will focus on post-colonial situations in the context of the Americas – Aboriginal Peoples and people of African descent.

• Sexuality and Politics: the mainstreaming of lesbian and gay issues; lobbying; queer activism, transgender movements and transsexual movements
• Sexuality and Cultural Texts: representations of sexuality in literature, film, art, religion, history, psychology, and law
• Sexuality and Work: sex work, sexuality and the workplace, sexual education
• Collective Identities: race, class, gender, and the production of sexuality
• Sexualities and Theories: queer theory, feminisms, transtheory, psychoanalysis, cultural studies, interdisciplinary approaches
• Sexuality and Power: role playing, legal issues/cases, legislation/policy making
• Sexuality and Health Issues; HIV/AIDS, medicines, access to medicines; health care; health education

• the sources, origins, and causes of war; why and how do wars begin?
• the 'control' of warfare; how is and should warfare be conducted? What are the limits of conflict? Are there any prohibitions in fighting a war? Security issues; protection issues; borders and boundaries
• the nature of warfare; strategy and strategic thought; changes and the implications of changes in the ways wars are fought; the influence and effect of technologies; changes in the nature and role of military personnel; information and information warfare
• types of warfare - land, sea, air, space, chemical, biological; guerrilla warfare; 'total' warfare'; genocide, ethnic cleansing; terrorism; preemptive war; scorched earth; war crimes; crimes against humanity
• virtual war; terrorism; cyberpower, cyberwar; computer technologies in the conduct of war
• the extent of war; blockades, sanctions, defence expenditure and the impact on social and public policy
• the 'ethics' of war; just war; deterrence; defence and self-defence; the influence of nationalism; the place of human rights; societies and the military; increases in moral sensibilities – qualms about carpet bombing, collateral damage; the important role of religion, the church, and the intellectual elite in multi-ethnic conflict
• the experience of war; art, literature, music, poetry, and the theatre; the role of the media – journalism, radio, television, the internet; propaganda; representing the realities of war versus 'national interest' – images of the heroism, glory, tacit and explicit justifications of war
• the prevention of war; the role of conflict resolution; avoiding war; peace-keeping; the role and importance of law and international legal order; the rise and impact of non-violent movements

Contextualism is one of the most widely discussed topics in contemporary epistemology. The purpose of this conference is to evaluate whether contextualism is an acceptable position and to investigate whether there are alternatives to it that are perhaps more plausible (and still do the work that the contextualist thesis is supposed to do).

The aim of the conference is to present and discuss some recent concerns with the concept of identity in a broad variety of contexts (nationality, religion, ethnicity, gender, generation, class, etc.), and to test the concept's analytical power and weaknesses. We believe that the wide contextual range and prospective critical approaches will contribute to this latter goal.

The aim of this conference is that of providing an open forum for furthering research and collaboration among scholars in the study of ancient and medieval philosophy worldwide. Submissions are invited on the philosophical traditions of the Ancient and Medieval Mediterranean, Europe, India, and the Far East. All scholars regardless of their religious orientation, national origin, gender, political or methodological orientations are invited to submit abstracts to participate in this meeting. No specific political, religious, philosophical, or methodological statement is recognized as the official position or result of this conference.

This conference aims at promoting inter-disciplinary discussions that examine Public Spheres in the context of the Middle East and North Africa but also at addressing cross-regional/cross-national comparisons and advancing theoretical approaches to the notion of the Public Sphere.

• The historical and contemporary nature of 'publics' and 'public spheres' and the emergence of political communities (national, transnational, diasporic, virtual) through conflict as well as consensus.
• The construction of states and nations through the inclusion and exclusion of difference in public domains; the politics of creating distance, as well as contact, between publics and centralized power; and public means and mediums of social and political communication.
• The city in the public imagination and the emergence and/or fragmentation of urban public spheres through practices of visibility, events and performances as well as conceptions of the private and the public.

• Ética y medio ambiente
• Política y educación ambiental
• Por un mundo sustentable
• El ambiente desde una perspectiva interdisciplinaria e histórica

The conference addresses several inter-locking dimensions. First, what is the nature of transatlantic relations in the past and the present? What do we mean by the western community, western values and the western project and what often are addressed as westernization? Second, what constitutes a cross-Atlantic culture and what roles do language, religion, literature, music and art play in the cross-Atlantic relationship and its development? Third, how do we understand western democracy and the western political culture? What constitutes western democracy and is there a unified perception of the content of such values and the way they are promoted in a post-Cold War era?
The overall aim of the conference is to bring together scholars from across the world and from across the arts, humanities and social sciences, to discuss the nature and changing traits of Democracy and Culture through the lens of the transatlantic perspective. Papers can be theoretical, methodological or empirical in their scope. They should address topics and phenomena from both European and American angles. In addition, priority in the selection process will be given to papers that in depth problematise the transatlantic dimension – e.g. comparative, cross-cultural and intercultural methodologies, analytical perspectives and pedagogic approaches.

• Religions-Cultures-Globalization: Living Together in a Global Society
• Globalization, Syncretism, and Postmodern Religiosity
• Globalization and Identity
• Global Horizons: Interculturality and Interspirituality
• Traditional Values and the Challenges of Globalization
• Fundamentalism and Religious Pluralism in the Global Era
• Anti-Globalization Movements
• Historical Dimensions of Cultural and Religious Syncretism
• Gandhis's View on Globalized Economy
• Social Exclusion and Religious Intolerance in the Global Era
• Globalization, Transnationalism, and Dislocation
• Religious and Philosophical Perspectives of Globalization

In our contemporary global context, it would seem that religion and violence are inextricably linked – in phenomena ranging from Islamic jihads to democratic crusades underwritten by appeals to God. The links and overlap between religion and violence have raised a host of questions: How are we to understand the connection between religious confession and violence, including war? Is religious confession inherently violent? Or is violence "in the name of" religions always an aberration and distortion of religion? Is Islam, despite fundamentalist claims, in fact a religion of peace? Is the 'answer' to religious violence a new "secular religion" – a 'religion without religion'? Or are determinate confessional and theological traditions the only resources for peace?

• Multicultural/intercultural politics:
  Theoretical framework, challenges and opportunities
• The challenge and the reality of multiculturality in the CEE region:
  Case studies, threats and solutions
• Multicultural education. Achievements and prospects

The conference will bring together experts on multiculturalism and the welfare state in Europe and the Americas, to discuss drafts of papers for a forthcoming volume on the topic, to be edited by Keith Banting and Will Kymlicka.

• Idea de Identidad: en este apartado se incluyen todos los análisis filosóficos del concepto (culturalista) de Identidad, como también los originados en el ámbito antropológico, psicológico, histórico, etc.
• Características de la Multiculturalidad: esta sección incluirá todos los análisis acerca de aspectos de tipo histórico, antropológico, sociológico, político, económico, etc., de la inter y multiculturalidad, pudiendo aludir a temas como la globalización, la transculturación, el nacionalismo, la crisis de la identidad cultural, la pérdida de la soberanía, el auge de los fundamentalismos religiosos, etc.
• La identidad dominicana, caribeña, latinoamericana y europea: incluye las discusiones de los estudiosos dominicanos que abordan con profesionalidad la dominicanidad y sus retos. Así como también, aquellos que tienen una preocupación, desde el punto de vista filosófico, por las formas de pensar en el Caribe, Latinoamérica y Europa en general.
• La reflexión filosófica en el contexto interculturalista y multiculturalista: este espacio estaría cubierto por aquellas reflexiones que se preocupan por situar a la filosofía en el momento actual. Podrán presentarse comunicaciones que traten problemas como la etnofilosofía, la filosofía en el contexto de la globalización y la tecnología, etc.

We live at a time when the imperial designs of the United States have become starkly visible and frighteningly attainable, and it is an empire like none before it. We welcome papers and presentations that critique the reality of the American Empire. They may look at racism, class exploitation, male dominance, heterosexism, able-ism and other forms of domination. They may examine the ecological impact of the present global order, speaking for the living creatures and future generations who cannot speak. They may be devoted to constructing feasible and normatively attractive alternatives to empire. Or they may discuss the special pedagogical challenges that arise from attempting to teach philosophy in the present historical context.

• Oikos/Nomos
• Production/Distribution/Consumtion
• Constructions of Knowledge
• Biopolitics
• GenderTransitivities
• Discourse Analyses
• Power Structures
• Marxologics & Criticism of Ideology
• LanguageRituals & Representations
• Hybrid Cultures
• Ethics after Postmodernism
• Postcolonialisms
• BodyFormations
• MediaExperiences and MediaPerspectives
• Free and Open Source-Software Development

• Current Challenges to Social Policy and Social Well-Being:
  Economic; Political/Legal; Demographic, Unemployment, etc.
• Social Policy and Populations with Special Needs:
  Social Exclusion, Poverty, and Inequality
  The Elderly, Children, Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Persons with Disabilities, Immigrants, Workers, Persons with Chronic Mental Illness, etc.
• Gender, Class, and Social Policy:
  How Well Can Welfare States Do?
  Desirable and feasible models for the 21st century

• The Rights Tradition in the United States
• U.S. Contributions to the origins and development of the international Human Rights Regime
• U.S. Human Rights policy-making
• America and the International Criminal Court
• Civil Rights and Human Rights within the United States
• Human Rights case studies
• U.S. policy toward specific countries and under specific presidencies
• The role of American NGOs in the global Human Rights Regime
• The United States and the United Nations
• American Sovereignty and Human Rights

The Conference will explore the role of Christians in the movement to preserve human rights around the globe. The language of human rights has become deeply embedded in international discourse. A transnational network of activists and scholars has pressed, with growing success, to hold global political and economic leaders accountable for their actions. Those inspired by Christian teachings and the life of Christ have been an influential part of the global effort to safeguard human rights. The role of these groups, their sometimes clashing goals and interpretations of human rights, their relations to non-Christian human rights groups, and the more general ability of these groups to function in a world in which human rights are still far from universally respected: all of these issues will be explored in this Conference.

• Urban Spaces in Africa: Past Memories and Present Communities
• The Power of Expression: Political Transitions, Civil Conflict, and Democracy
• Philosophy and Religious Studies
• Changing Places: Environmental Patterns in Africa
• Expressions of Power: Economic Development
• The African Diaspora: Contemporary Memories and New Identities
• Historical Narratives, Memory, and Identity in Africa and the Diaspora
• Colonialism, Imperialism, and Resistance: Expressions of Power
• Expressions of Power: Agriculture and Rural Development
• Expressions of Power: International Relations
• Visual and Performance Culture in Africa and the Diaspora
• Expressions of Power: Health Issues
• Gender and The Power of Expression
• Information Technologies and Development: New Communities
• Identities and Memory: African Languages and Literatures

The increasing diversity of liberal-democratic states and corresponding demands of recognition have forced political theorists of various camps to reformulate their account of how to approach the goal of solidarity. Despite variation in their accounts, the majority of these theorists hold that modern constitutions can recognize and accommodate cultural diversity. For example, liberal culturalists speak about common history and language and shared law-making as the ties that bind us in multicultural societies; critical theorists speak about the principle of universalization in constitutional norms that are sensitive to difference by virtue of procedures of law-making; and minority rights theorists invoke constitutional conventions of mutual recognition, continuity, and consent in order to accommodate cultural diversity in contemporary societies. Hence, one can speak of a convergence of political ideas around the thesis of constitution-making in diverse societies as capable of fostering solidarity. Our aim in this conference is to further explore these different perspectives, and to consider their areas of agreement and disagreement.

• Metamorphosis of Criminal Justice System towards Victim oriented Justice System: A Transnational Perspective
• Dimensions of Victimization: A cross-cultural Perspective
• Victim Types and classification: Contemporary Developments
• Restoring Justice to Women and Child victims: A need based intervention analysis
• Victim Services: An attempt at convergence of existing services

A. General Topics

• Kant and Methodical Developments in Contemporary Philosophy
• Kant and the Question of Modernity
• A Study of Kant's Thoughts after Two Centuries
• Kant and Comparative Philosophies
• A Critique of Kant's Thoughts after two Centuries
• Transcendental Logic and Other Logical Methods
• Kant Posthumous Writings

B. Kant and Critical Philosophy

• New Interpretations on 1st Critique
• New Interpretations on 2nd Critique
• New Interpretations on 3rd Critique
• Transcendental Method and Critical Philosophy
• Kant and Leibniz-Wolff Philosophy
• Kant and Empirical Philosophy of England

C. Kant and Metaphysics

• Metaphysics and New Sciences
• Metaphysics and Kant Successors
• Metaphysics and Contemporary Philosophy
• Metaphysics and Philosophical Theology
• Metaphysics and Philosophy of Religion

D. Kant and Political-Social Thoughts

• Kant's Political Thoughts and New Interpretations
• Influence of Kant's Thoughts on Western Political Developments
• Kant and Cosmopolitanism in the Era of Globalization
• Kant and Enlightenment
• Kant's Critique of Western Political Models

Orality is an essential means for mental and emotive exchange as well as for artistic expression. However, oral communication in African languages has taken on new dimensions given by the increasing presence of literacy and technical media. Therefore, in this conference we intend to address the actual forms that African Orality takes in present contexts of communication and literary creation marked by the diffusion of print, radio, television and more recently the Internet. We ask attention for oral communication in rural, urban and new international spaces (created by electronic media) as well as for interactions between languages and styles.

• the various relationships between 'interculturalism' and 'multiculturalism'
• interculturalism in an educational context
• religious issues and interculturalism
• interculturalism in art, literature and film
• the philosophy of interculturalism
• interculturalism and the politics of the academy i.e. interculturalism and inter-disciplinarity
• interculturalism and language
• resistance to interculturalism through monoculturalism
• race, ethnicity and interculturalism
• racism, violence and interculturalism
• interculturalism and sexuality
• the ethics of interculturalism
• interculturalism and subculture
• interculturalism between 'West' and 'East'
• interculturalism and politics

Auf die Frage, wie das Menschenrechtssystem auf die zunehmende Bedeutung von "Global Players" als Gestalter der Lebensumstände der Menschen reagieren kann, sollen aus theoretischer, juristischer und praktischer Sicht Antworten gefunden werden. Es geht daher um Fragen nach Globalität und Regionalität, nach der Rolle und Wirkungsweise von Wirtschaft und Recht sowie nach konzeptueller Weiterentwicklung des Menschenrechtssystems.

• Knowledge Pluralism
• Ecological Pluralism
• Managerial Pluralism
• Designing Pluralism
• Political Pluralism
• Social, Cultural and Economic Pluralism
• Religious Pluralism

States can use their legal coercive power to motivate their citizens to obey political norms. However, existing states do not necessarily have a foundation in basic moral or cultural values to legitimize these norms. The project of a rational justification of political norms tries to legitimate norms only by reference to the benefit maximizing behaviour of individuals and some basic and universal interests. Therefore it appears to be interesting especially for pluralistic or multicultural societies.
Within the conference several suggestions for a rational legitimization will be discussed. The conference focuses on the empirical conditions that are relevant for a rational legitimization. Examples for these empirical conditions are assumptions about the behaviour of individuals and the functioning of certain possible societies. Therefore they appear to be relevant for the conditions and possibilities of an advantageous and stable state.

• Allgemeine Betrachtungen zu den Menschenrechten
• Migration, Minderheiten und Menschenrechte
• Individuelle und kollektive Menschenrechte

• Said and Literary Criticism
• Orientalism
• Intellectuals and Responsibility
• Said and the Palestinian Problem
• Said and Resthetics

The theme of the conference extends the scope of the debate on modernity to encompass the larger dimension of the question involving dialogue between cultures, between civilizations, between religious and political ideologies, and between the present and the past. The idea of modernity, which was disseminated throughout the world under colonial dispensation, was both a spatial mode of intervention across cultures and a reflection on the nature of residual temporality of the past through the present.
The emergence of poststructuralist thinking and its profound impact on contemporary thought have made us aware that the old-fashioned dichotomies and polarities are no longer helpful in re-conceptualizing the nature of the human world; there is a need for a fresh look from the vantage point of the new century and new millennium, which is expected to offer us a vision of a new future. By using the term "dialogics" from Mikhail Bakhtin and implying its opposition to the Marxist term "dialectics" we have tried to understand the more complex but valuable interplay of ideas across cultures and time as a way of making sense of the intricate process of encounters between cultures, despite the more obvious signs of many forms of conflicts resulting in violent political and ideological clashes.
The conference will try to examine through close studies of cultural forms as well as the nature of philosophical debates through history how there has been a persistence of dialogical impulses, even when conflicts among cultures have been more open and bloody.

This event will address the possible repercussions of the different perceptions of justice in light of the tension(s) between the communal, national, and global interests.