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A Very Brief Overview and History of the Conference |
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A Very Brief Overview and History of the Conference |
On April 26-28, 2007 SUNY Oneonta will host our 12th Annual Undergraduate Philosophy Conference. Based on past experience, we anticipate a weekend marked by exemplary philosophical presentations, thoughtful reflection, and incredible intellectual exchange. Talented and capable students from a diverse array of prestigious institutions throughout North America will encounter new material, explore new perspectives, and forge new friendships.
To help them develop a broader sense of the discipline than I could otherwise convey, I have for many years invited students to attend academic conferences with me. During the fall of 1995, a group of students from my Metaphysics class took me up on the offer to tag along to a conference on Greek and Islamic Philosophy. It was an excellent conference with scholars from all over the world, but I could hardly have anticipated the consequences that would ripple out from that weekend. My students came back on fire: with a dream about holding a conference of their own, not for professors such as they had seen, but for undergraduates such as themselves.
I patiently explained that holding a conference was a lot of work, that there was no way of knowing how many other students would share their passion for a weekend of Philosophy, that we had no budget, etc. Each time I came up with a reason not to do it, my students came up with a reason to try. When I found that I could not dissuade them, I agreed to work with them as an advisor and faculty sponsor. We hosted our first conference the following spring. Even now I look back in astonishment at the unflagging commitment of our students, the enthusiastic response we received, and the remarkable quality of the papers.
By encouraging excellence, and by treating students with respect and professionalism, we have been rewarded in kind. Each year I am blessed with a small cadre of students willing to work long hard hours to bring this dream of an undergraduate conference to fruition. We have played host to students from over 100 institutions throughout the United States and Canada.
- To truly appreciate the experience, you will have to participate in one of our conferences. Meanwhile, please feel free to examine programs, abstracts, and similar information from previous conferences . Each year, I try to capture the spirit of the conference in my Preface to the Conference Proceedings. These, along with a Student Preface for each volume, are available on-line: Conference Proceedings.
Website constructed and maintained by
Douglas Shrader / Department Chair
Philosc@Oneonta.edu
September 20, 2006
Updated April 2, 2007