Conference: Early Modern Women on Metaphysics, Religion and Science
21-23 March 2016, University of Groningen
During the early modern period (c. 1600-1800) women were involved in many debates that tangled together metaphysics, religion and science. The women included figures such as Margaret Cavendish, Emilie Du Châtelet, Princess Elisabeth of Bohemia, and Damaris Cudworth Masham. The debates surrounded issues such as atomism, determinism, motion, mind-body causation, mechanism, space, and natural laws.
The last twenty years have seen an increasing interest in women philosophers that have been neglected by the history of their discipline. A substantial body of work now exists on early modern women philosophers, much of it concerning ethics and political philosophy. This conference will focus on metaphysics, religion and science, and in doing so provide a fresh perspective from which to view the work of early modern women, throwing light on areas that are relatively underexplored.
The conference will be held from 21-23 March 2016, at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Groningen. The program will be comprised of both invited speakers and speakers drawn from an open call for papers; please see below for details. Subject to peer review, conference papers will be published as part of a collection.
Confirmed Invited Speakers:
- Sarah Hutton (Aberystwyth, UK)
- Jacqueline Broad (Monash, Australia)
- Susan James (Birkbeck, UK)
- Andrew Janiak (Duke, USA)
- Karen Detlefsen (University of Pennsylvania, USA)
- David Cunning (University of Iowa, USA)
- Deborah Boyle (College of Charleston, USA)
- Tom Stoneham (York, UK)
- Ruth Hagengruber (Universität Paderborn, Germany)
- Mirjam de Baar (University of Groningen, Netherlands)
For more information, please see the conference website.
