News

This conference, to be held at the University of Melbourne on Saturday 2 June 2012, will have a dual focus on:
(a) facilitating thoughtful dialogue in primary school classrooms – as modeled, for example, by the practice of ‘Philosophy for Children’; and
(b) overcoming educational disadvantage.

It will be a full day event organised by the University of Melbourne in partnership with FAPSA (the Federation of Australasian Philosophy in Schools Associations).

For information visit the FAPSA site here: http://fapsa.org.au/conference/the-thoughtful-classroom/

The 2012 Conference of the Australasian Association of Philosophy will be held at the University of Wollongong, in Wollongong, New South Wales, July 1st - 6th. Registration for the conference is now open!

The keynote speakers for this year’s conference are:

Prof. Rebecca Kukla (Georgetown)

Prof. Galen Strawson (Reading)

Prof. Robert Wilson (Alberta)

To register and submit an abstract, visit the conference website at:

www.aap-conferences.org.au

Papers in all areas of philosophy are welcome. Alongside the regular sessions, we are organizing a small number of special streams on more focused topics:

Causal Mechanisms and Levels of Explanation
Global Ethics
Philosophy of Biology
Philosophy in Schools
The Ethics and Epistemology of Surveillance

These streams are open to all conference delegates.

In addition to the conference dinner and opening night reception, there will be a special celebration of the 90th anniversary of the Australasian Journal of Philosophy, sponsored by Routledge and Taylor and Francis.

For more information, visit the conference website or contact the organizers at:

AAP 2012 Organizing Committee
University of Wollongong

e: aap-2012@uow.edu.au
p: +61 2 4221 5676
f: +61 2 4221 5341

The AAP subcommittee to enquire into relations between the AAP and sub-disciplines within philosophy in the Australasian Region has released a short summary report of its findings. You can find it here.

The report includes a summary of the survey findings, as well as conclusions and recommendations. The Survey Monkey Results are also available on this page.

The AAP invites entries for the 2012 AAP Media Prize and AAP Media Professionals' Award:

AAP Media Prize

The Australasian Association of Philosophy offers an annual prize of $500 for the best philosophical piece(s) published by a professional philosopher in the popular media in Australasia. First awarded in 1999, the main criterion for the award of the prize is the ability of the piece(s) to engage the interest of the general public in philosophy or some philosophical issue. Consideration is also given to the quality of the philosophical discussion and to the size of the audience reached. Previous winners of the AAP Media Prize include Peter Slezak (2011), Caroline West (2010), John Armstrong (2009) and Geoffrey Levey (2008).

The AAP invites entries/nominations for media work from professional philosophers (including postgraduates and also retired academic philosophers) published in 2011. Entries/nominations may come from the author or from others. Entries may be submitted in either electronic or hard copy via email to mediaprize@aap.org.au or post to GPO BOX 1978, Hobart, 7001, Australia. If providing hard copy, please provide 3 copies of your nominated piece(s). The closing date for entries is 30th March 2012.

Further information about the AAP Media Prize, including conditions of entry, can be found at: http://aap.onefireplace.com/mediaprize

AAP Media Professionals' Award

The Australasian Association of Philosophy offers an occasional award of $500 to journalists and other media professionals for excellence in the presentation of philosophy or philosophical issues in the media. The main criterion for the award of the prize is the ability of the piece to engage the interest of the general public in philosophy or some philosophical issue. Consideration is also given to the quality of the philosophical discussion and to the size of the audience reached. Previous winners of the AAP Media Professionals' Award are Natasha Mitchell (All in the Mind) and Alan Saunders (Philosopher's Zone).

The AAP invites entries/nominations for media work from journalists and other media professionals. Entries/nominations may come from the author or from others. The AAP Media Professionals' Award is offered no more than once each year, and may not be made every year. Entries may be submitted in either electronic or hard copy via email to mediaprize@aap.org.au or post to GPO BOX 1978, Hobart, 7001, Australia. If providing hard copy, please provide 3 copies of your nominated piece(s). The closing date for entries is 30th March 2012.

Further information about the AAP Media Professionals' Award , including conditions of entry, can be found at: http://aap.onefireplace.com/mediaprofessionalsaward

The Australasian Postgraduate Philosophy Steering Committee (APPC) is now welcoming all proposals to organize and host the 2012 Australasian Philosophy Postgraduate Conference.

The APPC provides the opportunity for postgraduate students studying all over Australasia to present their work, debate their ideas, and meet others in their field around our region.

For over two decades, we have sought to provide postgraduate attendees with programming suited to their needs, including public forums and a publishing workshop with the editor of the Australasian Journal of Philosophy. Recent conferences have been in Christchurch, Sydney and Melbourne, and we welcome bids from anywhere in NZ, Australia and Singapore that teaches postgraduate Philosophy.

A comprehensive guide to hosting the APPC is attached (or can be sent upon request), and we are happy to assist organisers with any questions that they might have.

Bids close on January 15th, with the successful bidder notified by January 30th.

Successful bids will likely contain a budget, details of local facilities, a basic plan for accommodation, and a conference timeline. Further details concerning bid evaluation criteria are available upon request. Bidders are encouraged to be both realistic and creative with their bids!

If you are interested in hosting the 2012 conference, or would like further information, then please feel free to contact me at Michael.couchATcanterbury.ac.nz.

Sincerely,

Michael Couch

AAP Postgraduate Committee Chair

The Victoria Foundation has launched a fundraising appeal to establish an annual Maurice Goldsmith Lecture in Philosophy, in honour of our former colleague and past Editor of the Australasian Journal of Philosophy. The Foundation has secured a little over NZ$50,000; to establish the Lecture we need a minimum total of NZ$100,000. If you're interested in donating, please go to www.victoria.ac.nz/foundation/ and click on the "Goldsmith Appeal" button. Thanks!

Ken Perszyk
Head of School
History, Philosophy, Political Science & International Relations

Jeff Speaks, John A. O'Brien Associate Professor of Philosophy University of Notre Dame, IN, was awarded the AJP Best Paper Award (Volume 88) for his paper, 'Epistemic Two-Dimensionalism and the Epistemic Argument' Australasian Journal of Philosophy, Vol 88, 2011, Issue 1, pp. 59 78. more>>

Associate Professor Peter Slezak from the School of History and Philosophy at the University of New South Wales, was awarded the AAP Media Prize in 2011 for the pivotal role that he played in the production of the Compass program, The Trials of Galileo, which appeared on the ABC in May 2010. In this program the trial of Galileo at the hands of the Roman Catholic Inquisition is re-examined. more>>

At the AGM, held on Wednesday 6th July, Professor Peter Anstey, from the University of Otago was elected President of the Association in 2011-12.


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