Events

CANCELLED: 

Our upcoming, final work in progress seminar series has been cancelled (Freya Gerz on 17^th June 2026, Wednesday, 3pm – 4.30pm BST). 

EVENT: Poetry Readings: A Celebration of philosophy, poetry and the More-Than-Human-World: 

Monday 15th June | 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm | The Lit & Phil 23 Westgate Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 1SE

Join us for an evening of philosophical reflection on the role that poetry can play in connecting us with non-human animals and the environment. Inspired by the writings of Newcastle-based philosopher Mary Midgley, we present insights from the global multi-species poetry experiment, Philosophy in the Wild: Finding Hope in Mixed Communities.

The evening will begin with a short introduction from the project’s director, poet-philosopher Dr Mara Daria Cojocaru, who will explain the concept of multispecies poetry and share poems co-authored with bats, bison and eider ducks.

After that, there will be two presentations. Dr Karen Simecek will talk about poetry as a site of community and explore the limits of felt connections to others through a poem. Dr Vid Simoniti will consider the claim that art is a form of worldmaking, and query what it would mean for art to help us reframe our relationship to the climate crisis.

After the talks there will be a chance to get a glass of wine or soft drink, before joining us for a roundtable discussion and Q&A.

For more about the event and speakers, visit this webpage. 

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: Work in Progress Seminar Series:

The Women in Parenthesis project is pleased to issue a Call for Abstracts for its 2026-7 online Work in Progress series. We welcome abstracts on topics within the Women in Parenthesis scope of interest. This includes the thought of its central figures – G.E.M. Anscombe, Philippa Foot, Iris Murdoch, and Mary Midgley – as well as the women’s intellectual environment, e.g. work by Dorothy Emmet, Mary Warnock, Susan Stebbing, Donald MacKinnon etc. See our website for more information, and our news section for details of previous talks.

The meetings will be held on Zoom, starting in October 2026 and continue every two months, with the last meeting in June 2027. Talks are expected to last around 45-50 minutes, followed by a 35-40 minute Q&A. Dates and times of the talks are to be determined. Please send your anonymised abstracts of around 250 words (but we’re not fussed about length), with your details on a different attachment, to anabarandalla@me.com, by the end of 31st July 2026.

2ND PRE-DOCTORAL CONFERENCE ON THE WARTIME QUARTET: 

We are excited to announce that Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) and University of Liverpool will host this year’s pre-doctoral conference on the Wartime Quartet of Iris Murdoch, Mary Midgley, Philippa Foot, and Elizabeth Anscombe. Some more information is available here. The event will be taking place in Manchester on 18th-19th June, 2026. Our