IPSA RC31-Political Philosophy Conference: Decolonizing Western Political Philosophy

The IPSA-RC31 Political Philosophy and the Leiden Centre for Political Philosophy are delighted to invite you on 10 June 2022 to a 1-day conference on Decolonizing Western Political Philosophy. The conference will feature individual academic presentations and a roundtable that is open to all participants and attendants.

The conference will be held in a hybrid format. The virtual online space can be joined via https://universiteitleiden.zoom.us (Meeting ID: 625 6930 8701 Passcode: WmbD%8yX). The physical on-site space is Leiden’s Lipsius building, Room 2.07.

Registration is free. Please make sure to register by 7 June 2022 at: rc31conference2022@gmail.com with the short message “Register” and your full name. Please use your full name when connecting to the Zoom link provided above.

The conference will address two main sets of questions:

1. Questions that touch on decolonizing and/or globalizing the concepts, methods and theories of/in Western political philosophy;
2. Questions about the way in which decolonization questions play out in teaching techniques, as well as in political philosophy curriculum and syllabus design.

The conference is organized with the support of IPSA and the Centre for Political Philosophy at Leiden University. IPSA’s financial support will allow us to offer 2 bursaries of $300 each to help with transport and/or accommodation. 

Confirmed Keynote Speakers

Aditya Nigam (CSDS, India)

Thierry Ngosso (University of St.Gallen/Catholic University of Central Africa I Yaoundé-Cameroon)

Raewyn Connell (University of Sydney)

Simon Choat (Kingston University)

PROGRAM

9:00-9:15 am: Welcome Speech, by Michael Eze (Leiden University)

PANEL 1 – Chair: Andrei Poama (Leiden University, Netherlands)

9:15-10:00 am: Raewyn Connell (University of Sydney, Australia), Process and Practice in Decolonizing Political Philosophy 

10:00 am-10:45 am: Aditya Nigam (CSDS, India), Decolonizing Political Theory: Some Questions of Method 

PANEL 2 – Chair: Jingjing Li (Leiden University, Netherlands)

10:45-11:30: Mathias Kramm (Wageningen, Netherlands), How to Use Conceptions of ‘Western Philosophy’ While Preventing Epistemic Marginalization 

11:30-12:15: Andreas Sorger (LSE, UK), A Philosophical Colour Line: Racism as a Problem for Philosophical Thinking 

12:15-13:30: Lunch break

PANEL 3 – Chair: Hayden Weaver (Leiden University, Netherlands)

13:30-14:15: Thierry Ngosso (Catholic University of Central Africa, Cameroon/University of St. Gallen, Switzerland), The EthicsLab Experience: The Case for Decolonizing Political Theory in Africa 

14:15-15:00: Simon Choat (Kingston, UK), Decolonizing the Political Philosophy Curriculum

ROUNDTABLE: Chair: Humeira Iqtidar (King’s College London, UK)

15:00-15:45: Decolonizing Political Philosophy: Philosophical & Institutional Perspectives. This roundtable will focus on ideas, suggestions and experiences relevant for decolonizing political philosophy in the way it is studied and taught in (higher) education institutions around the world, as well as read and written in the context of current editorial practices (books, as well as journals and other publication venues). Conference speakers and participants are warmly invited to share and engage with each other’s perspectives.

15:45-16:00: Coffee break

PANEL 4 – Chair: Juliana Acosta López de Mesa (Universidad de Antioquia, Colombia)

16:00:16:45: Laura Ines Catelli (UNR, Argentina), Postcoloniality, Latin American Contexts and the Humanities. Situating and Territorializing Critical Thought 

16:45-17:30: Elena Ziliotti (TU Delft, Netherlands), Why Should We Decolonize Democratic Theory? The Case of Confucian Political Theory

17:30-17:45: General discussion – Chair: Tim Meijers (Leiden University, Netherlands)

The full programme of the conference is available here.