It took a mix of motivation, hard work and creativity, but the AV俱乐部 Undergraduate Philosophy Society (DUPS) hosted a big first this past weekend: the first international undergraduate philosophy conference in North America to be fully organized and led by students.
鈥淭he purpose was to bring ideas from around the world together,鈥� explains Veromi Arsiradam, the fourth-year honours philosophy student who coordinated the AV俱乐部 International Undergraduate Philosophy Conference.
She was inspired to plan the event after presenting at the AV俱乐部 Arts and Social Sciences Society (DASSS) Conference last month. Fellow DUPS members Greg Slack and Dave Dexter pitched in and their project was underway.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a really rewarding experience,鈥� says Ms. Arsiradam. 鈥淎nd little by little, it got done.鈥�
Going global
Technology played a key role during the conference, incorporating class discussions and Skype sessions to make the event accessible and affordable for everyone involved. As a result philosophy undergrads from Canada and the U.S. to Australia and the U.K. were able to showcase their work.
The conference had 40 proposals submitted, narrowed down to 14 presenters. Students from Brown University, University of Leeds, Mount Allison University, Stanford University, Macquarie University, University of Victoria and Memorial University of Newfoundland presented via Skype.
Six AV俱乐部 students also took part, including: Max Ma with 鈥淜ant and Aesthetics鈥�; Erik Nelson with 鈥淐utting off Your Nose to Spite Your Face鈥�; Keiran Pattullo Graf with 鈥淲ho Owns Whom in the Clash of the Dialecticians鈥�; Shane Bryson with 鈥淭he Bad Touch: Masculinity, Man Hands and Care Work鈥�; Greg Slack with 鈥淨uine鈥檚 Naturalized Epistemology: Not Epistemology鈥�; and Dave Dexter with 鈥淜idnappings and Coordination Problems.鈥�
鈥淭here鈥檚 really nothing more rewarding than sitting down with your peers and talking philosophy. That鈥檚 what this whole day is about,鈥� said Mr. Dexter, who was also a conference co-organizer.
Mr. Slack, the conference鈥檚 moderator, finds this sort of learning a nice accompaniment to the typical classroom experience.
鈥淭he real passionate ones (students) are the ones you get at a conference like this. You get a higher level of enthusiasm and knowledge. Everybody wins. In a classroom, while you鈥檝e got the guiding light of a professor, here you鈥檝e got more variety.鈥�
And with the success of the conference, Ms. Arsiradam hopes it will become an annual DUPS event.
鈥淭o put something like this together is just鈥ow,鈥� she adds.
The AV俱乐部 Student Union, AV俱乐部 Alumni Relations and the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences all were supporters of the conference.聽