SPEP 63

The 63rd Meeting of the Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy

October 17–18 and 24–25, 2025

This year’s conference will be held online.

SPEP Public Outreach Committee Graduate Assistantship

The SPEP Public Outreach Committee is looking for a Social Media Assistant. Applicants should be current graduate students working on continental philosophy with an interest in public-facing philosophy and experience in social media content creation. The assistant will be responsible for starting and maintaining SPEP social media accounts in order to foster a community of continental philosophers online and share information about relevant events, conferences, and ideas. If you are interested, please email the committee at publicoutreachspep@gmail.com with a short message explaining a) what you like about social media, b) what your strengths are relative to this position, c) what your experience is with content creation, and d) your social media handles. The assistant will receive $2000 for 1-3 hours of work per week, from Dec. 2024 until the end of the next SPEP conference (Oct. 25, 2025). Submit by December 10.

Call for Papers for the 63rd Annual SPEP Conference

Submission Deadlines:
Book Session: December 1, 2024, 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time
Papers and Panels: January 20, 2025, 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time

Submission Categories:
Single paper submissions: submit complete papers of no more than 3,000 words, along with an abstract of 75-100 words.
Panels (2- or 3-person): submit a panel abstract of no more than 500 words, as well as complete papers from each panelist (each paper up to 3,000 words).
Book submissions: submit a book to be considered for a special session.

Papers, panels, and books from diverse philosophical perspectives in all areas of Continental Philosophy (broadly construed) are welcome.

Membership Requirement:
All participants must be registered for the 2025 conference and have paid membership dues for the 2025-2026 year. Failure to do so will disqualify you for future considerations until outstanding balances are paid.

Read the full call for papers here.

Call for Book Nominations for the 63rd Annual SPEP Conference

In order for a book to be considered for a special session, please fill out the linked form. The form will ask you to upload a digital copy of your book. Please also send two physical copies of the book to the Book Selection Advisory Committee Chair, whose address is below. The deadline for receipt of the form, digital book, and print books is December 1, 2024. An author may submit only one book for consideration. Read more…

Thomas Flynn, In Memoriam

by David Carr, Emory University

With sadness we learned of the death on Feb. 29, 2024, of Thomas R. Flynn, Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Emory University. He was 87. Tom joined the Emory department in 1978, after study at the Gregorian University in Rome and at Columbia University, where he received his Ph.D in 1970. Tom was an esteemed scholar and a beloved and gifted teacher. Known  for his work on Sartre, on Existentialism and Marxism and on Michel Foucault, he contributed much to our understanding of French philosophy. Read more…

Calvin Schrag, In Memoriam

by William McBride, Purdue University

The recent death of Calvin O. Schrag at an advanced age is an unhappy milestone in the history of SPEP. The offspring of a Dakota Mennonite family with impressive intellectual credentials, Cal earned a Master’s degree at Yale Divinity before graduating with a Doctorate in philosophy from Harvard, where he famously served as teaching assistant to University Professor Paul Tillich (the source of many of Cal’s stories). Read more…

Johanna Meehan, In Memoriam

It is with shock and profound sadness that we share with SPEP the news that Johanna Meehan died unexpectedly on January 8, 2024 from complications of a bacterial infection.  Johanna was McCay-Casady Professor of Humanities in the Department of Philosophy at Grinnell College, where she had taught since 1990 and had just begun a phased retirement plan. Johanna was a scholar of the highest rank. Her primary focus was on the Critical Theory tradition, and she published articles in leading journals, including Philosophy and Social Criticism, Constellations, and Human Studies. Read more…