FNS CONFERENCE 2020: CALL FOR ABSTRACTS.

The Friedrich Nietzsche Society (FNS) invites the submission of abstracts to be considered for presentation at the 26th annual FNS meeting. The conference will take place from the 10th-12th of September in Lisbon, at the Universidade de Lisboa and the Universidade Nova de Lisboa.

Confirmed keynote speakers:

• Judith Norman (Trinity University, Texas)
• Paul Patton (Wuhan University)
• Maria Cristina Fornari (University of Salento)

Call for abstracts

Nietzsche’s writings abound in references to ‘woman’ and the feminine. His predominately controversial remarks on this subject pervade in his philosophical questioning about the notions of humanity, Western culture, nihilism, modernity, life and death, nature, suffering, art and creativity, illusion, truth and philosophy itself. It is therefore not surprising that his thoughts on women and the feminine should have raised diverse, and even opposed interpretations. What is perhaps more surprising is how these issues have remained somewhat under-interpreted. In other words: there is  much more to be thought and said on this topic.

This conference addresses the mysterious, polemical and in many cases unexpected relationship that Nietzsche establishes between women and philosophical thought throughout his writings. Presenters will examine the way Nietzsche uses and thematizes the notion of ‘woman’ and the feminine (and related concepts such as motherhood, pregnancy, love, desire, difference, the representation of life and truth as a woman), the importance these concepts had for the development of his thought, and their intersection with other themes and ideas in his work. In addition, this conference considers the influence Nietzsche has had and may still be having in the development of feminist theories. The organizers therefore also invite discussions of feminist readings of Nietzsche and Nietzsche’s influence on Feminism. 

Possible questions and topics include:

1. On Weib (and possible differences with other approaches from Schopenhauer, to Wagner, the Romantics, etc.)
2. Nietzsche’s critique of feminism or ‘feminine emancipation’ in modernity
3. Nietzsche’s understanding of ‘masculinity’
4. Dionysus and the feminine
5. Women and
   1. Nature and life (suffering, beauty, creativity)
   2. reason and unreason (madness, animality, feeling, play, ambiguity…)
   3. truth and falsehood (deceit and masks)
6. Sexual difference
7. Love, marriage, friendship and the relation(s) between man and woman
8. Love, pleasure, desire, and possession
9. Nietzsche on philosophers as lovers (of truth)
10. Artists, women, creation and procreation
11. Nietzsche on pregnancy, motherhood, and children
12. Identity and difference
13. Weakness and strength
14. Nietzsche and Feminism(s) and feminist critique of Nietzsche
15. Nietzsche’s experience with women (mother, sister, Cosima, Lou, Malwida, etc.)
16. Contest and conflict between the sexes, and its potential creativity

Paper proposals on additional topics related to the conference theme are also welcome.

Abstract Guidelines

• Submitted abstracts should be 300-500 words long. Abstracts should clearly describe proposals for a 25 minute presentation, must be written in English, and must be received by 16 March 2020.
• Abstracts must follow this template, and include a paper title, research question, description of approach, references to both primary and secondary literature, and 3 – 5 Keywords (to assist with parallel session organization).
• Abstracts should be sent to the FNS Conference Committee – at friedrich.nietzsche.society@gmail.com – as a plain Word (or Word compatible) document.
  • Please include a title in the body of your abstract.
  • Please save your file using the following format: FNS2020ABSTRACT_YOURLASTNAME 
  • In the body of the email, please state the following information for potential inclusion in the conference programme:
    • The title of the paper
    • Your name and institutional affiliation
    • Your preferred email contact address
  • In the subject line of the email, please state only the following: FNS2020ABSTRACT_YOURLASTNAME

Practical Information:

• All conference presenters must register to attend the conference, in order to have their paper included in the conference programme.
• Presenters are strongly encouraged to become members of FNS. FNS membership information is available here: https://www.fns.org.uk/join.html. 

Important Dates

• Abstract submission deadline: 16 March 2020 (midnight, CET)
• Acceptance notifications: 17 April 2020

Website: www.fns.org.uk/conference-2020-cfa.html#

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