2020 Philosophy of Disability Conference

UNC Asheville will host its third biennial Philosophy of Disability Conference, March 6-7, 2020, in Karpen Hall, Laurel Forum. The conference will feature presentations addressing disability studies from a philosophical point of view by scholars from many universities around the country and Canada, and a keynote talk by Elizabeth Barnes, professor in the Corcoran Department of Philosophy at the University of Virginia. All conference presentations are free and open to everyone.

The conference will begin at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, March 6, with a welcome from UNC Asheville Assistant Professor of Philosophy Scott Williams, and continue with presentations into the evening, and all day on Saturday, March 7.

Conference keynote lecturer Barnes is the author of The Minority Body: A Theory of Disability. Her talk, Gender without Gender Identity: Cognitive Disability and the Need for Gender Inclusion, will make the case that the growing popularity of views that equate gender with gender identity marginalize some cognitively disabled people. That lecture takes places at 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 7, and concludes the conference.

A schedule of conference presentations, along with online preregistration for the conference which is required for conference meals and beverages, is available at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/3rd-biennial-philosophy-of-disability-conference-registration-89059715005. Admission to conference presentations, without food and beverages, is free.

The Philosophy of Disability conference is part of the UNC Asheville’s Department of Philosophy’s ongoing effort to advance philosophy scholarship and engage the public in philosophical analysis. Other public conferences include the annual Southern Appalachian Undergraduate Philosophy Conference, and last year’s Philosophical Engagements with Trauma conference.

For more information, please contact conference organizer Scott Williams, swillia8@unca.edu, or 828.251.6349.

Visitor Parking on the UNC Asheville Campus – Visitors may park in faculty/staff and non-resident lots from 5:00 p.m. until 7:30 a.m., Monday through Friday, and on weekends, holidays, and campus breaks. Visitors are not permitted to park in resident student lots at any time. Campus map is here – use menu bars to find parking lot locations.

Building accessibility information is available here.