“Particular, Possible, Universal: Reflections on History, Literature, and Philosophy”
A two-day conference
Boston University, Boston, MA
April 21-22, 2017
"Particular, Possible, Universal: Reflections on History, Literature, and Philosophy" is a 2-day conference bringing together a rare group of philosophers and literary scholars, who will discuss the role of historical explanation in our interpretation of aesthetic works and literary texts. How do artworks reflect and/or shape historical circumstances? What counts as a relevant "historical context" when talking about poems, novels, and plays? How have recent developments in literary studies and philosophy understood the relation of aesthetic presentation to social, political, economic, and intellectual history?
The twelve conference speakers will be:
- Charles Altieri (English, UC-Berkeley)
- Rita Felski (English; University of Virginia)
- Philip Fisher (English & Comparative Literature; Harvard University)
- John Gibson (Philosophy; University of Louisville)
- Lydia Goehr (Philosophy; Columbia University)
- Robert Guay (Philosophy; Binghamton University)
- Andrew Miller (English; Johns Hopkins University)
- Alexander Nehamas (Philosophy, Humanities, Comparative Literature; Princeton University)
- Yi-Ping Ong (Humanities Center; Johns Hopkins University Press)
- Monique Roelofs (Philosophy; Hampshire College)
- Allen Speight (Philosophy; Boston University)
- Sarah Vandegrift Eldridge (German; University of Tennessee)
The conference is free and open to the public, and will take place on Friday, April 21 and Saturday, April 22, in the Colloquium Room of the Photonics Center (8 St. Mary's St., Boston). Information about sponsors, speakers, papers, location, and the schedule is available at the conference website: sites.bu.edu/phil-lit-hist.