Philosophy for Girls: An Invitation to the Life of Thought
Co-edited by Meilssa Shew, Ph.D. and Kim Garchar, Ph.D.
Call for Abstracts
ABSTRACTS ARE DUE MAY 31, 2018
Complete essays due October 1, 2018
ABOUT THE BOOK
Dr. Melissa Shew (Marquette University) and Dr. Kim Garchar (Kent State University) are co-editing a volume of essays for philosophically curious girls and young women ages 15-20. The book is called Philosophy for Girls: An Invitation to the Life of Thought and will be a collection of essays written exclusively by women philosophers. Contributors will write chapters in areas of their expertise and thus will empower the book’s audience to think, know, and question.
The goal of the book is not to provide a comprehensive introduction to philosophy but instead to provide an entry point, via authors’ relevant areas of expertise, to philosophical reflection about and inquiry into the lives, experiences, and ideas of young women. To that end, we firmly believe that diversity is a necessary component of philosophy for girls and will be seeking diverse contributions from diverse authors. Lastly, while this book is undoubtedly a feminist project, the chapters need not be devoted to the content of feminist philosophy nor employ an explicitly feminist methodology. Further, the chapters should not lean too heavily on current events; we hope that this book will have a long lifespan. The book format and table of contents are at the end of this document. Instructions for authors regarding audience, voice, and pitch can be found here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rS4JAfuIvcERMs-2webMMY7J_YdFF1muXkOETFrFWDU/edit?usp=sharing
Given the dozen topics already chosen by the committed contributors for this book, we are especially interested in the following topics corresponding to the following sections. We are also, though, willing to consider additional topics/ideas. If you wish to discuss an idea prior to writing the abstract, you are welcome to contact us.
Knowledge: science, truth, art, disability
Justice: deliberation/choice, forgiveness, oppression, hope, power
Virtue: Any specific virtue EXCEPT empathy, courage, pride
Reality: volition, spirituality
CHAPTER SUBMISSION SPECIFICATIONS
- Maximum chapter length of 5,000 words (approximately 100,000 words total for the book)
- Style is lively and engaging with a tone appropriate to girls and young women and others outside of the academy
- Jargon should be used minimally and, when jargon is necessary, it should be explained thoroughly
- When/if secondary sources are used, scholarship by women in the field should dominate
- All examples in all chapters must involve or be about girls/women
- Submissions should have a one-word title for the chapter (e.g., “Hope,” “Justice,” “Consciousness,” etc.)
- Submissions must begin with a specific example (hypothetical, fictional, or actual, from literature/art/myth/science, etc.) that features girls/women in order to lead in to the chapter’s topic (e.g., Henrietta Lacks for science, Deer Woman for truth, Joan of Arc for faith, etc.)
- ITEMS TO INCLUDE IN SUBMISSION
- The name of the section in which you ask for review (Knowledge, Justice, Virtue, Reality)
- The one-word title of the chapter you wish to write (Volition, Science, Truth, etc.)
- A brief (no more than 250 words) description of the anecdote from art, literature, film, life, etc.
- An abstract of your proposed chapter of no more than 500 words
WORKING TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION I: Knowledge
Confirmed contributors: Elisabeth Camp (Rutgers)
Julianne Chung (University of Louisville)
SECTION II: Justice
Confirmed contributors: Myisha Cherry (Harvard, UC-Riverside)
Shannon Winnubst (Ohio State)
SECTION III: Virtue
Confirmed Contributors: Lori Gruen (Wesleyan)
Claudia Mills (CU-Boulder)
Karen Stohr (Georgetown)
SECTION IV: Reality
Confirmed Contributors: Saray Ayala-López (Sacramento State)
Susan Brison (Dartmouth)
Skye Cleary (Columbia, CUNY, Barnard)
Meena Dhanda (Wolverhampton)
Serene Khader (CUNY)
WHEN AND WHERE TO SUBMIT
Submit only one document containing all of the requested information
Document must in Word format or a PDF
Submit via email to both kgarchar@kent.edu and melissa.shew@marquette.edu
Submit before midnight on May 31, 2018
Complete essay of no more than 5000 words due October 1, 2018