Conferences

The OU Philosophy Department sponsors a variety of colloquia, lecture series and conferences.

Visiting Speakers and Departmental Colloquia
The OU Philosophy Department has an active program of lectures by visiting speakers and department members. Everyone is welcome to attend and to participate in discussion. Lectures are typically held on Friday afternoons.

The David Ross Boyd Lectures
The David Ross Boyd lecture series is a biennial event in which a philosopher of the highest distinction comes to campus for approximately a week to deliver a series of public lectures and (usually) an additional paper to the philosophy department. The 2011 David Ross Boyd Lecturer was Jerrold Levinson. The previous Boyd Lecturers were Elliot Sober (2009), Christine Korsgaard (2007), Hilary Putnam (2005), Julia Annas (2004), Bas van Fraassen (2002), Jerry Fodor (2000), Jaegwon Kim (1998), Martha Nussbaum (1996), Alvin Plantinga (1994), Joel Feinberg (1991), and Donald Davidson (1990).

Undergraduate and Graduate Philosophy Conferences
From 1996 to 2008, the OU Philosophical Society (a group composed primarily of OU philosophy graduate students and undergraduate philosophy majors) sponsored an annual Undergraduate Philosophy Conference. This event brought a number of promising undergraduates to campus to deliver papers selected by peer review, as well as a distinguished keynote speaker. In spring 2009, the Philosophy Department hosted a conference on Epistemic Goodness in place of the Undergraduate Conference. In spring 2011, the department hosted an in-house epistemology conference and a Graduate Philosophy Conference with speakers from across the US.

Faculty Research Workshops
In order to facilitate their own research, the faculty hold Faculty Research Workshops approximately once a month throughout the regular school year. At these informal gatherings, individual faculty members present a work in progress to the rest of the faculty to get feedback while the work is still in progress.

Conferences on Special Topics
From time to time, the department organizes conferences on specific topics, attracting national and international specialists. In spring 2011, the department hosted an in-house epistemology conference. In spring 2009, we hosted a conference on Epistemic Goodness. In spring 2007, we hosted Why Formal Epistemology?, an international workshop with speakers Luc Bovens (London School of Economics and Political Science), David Chalmers (Australian National University), Branden Fitelson (University of California-Berkeley), Alan Hajek (Australian National University), Jonathan Kwanvig (Baylor University), Adam Morton (University of Alberta, Edmonton), Scott Sturgeon (University of London) and Paul Weirich (University of Missouri).