Student, Community Events Take Center Stage
Student presenters assemble for a group photo with conference coordinator Prof. John Gibson and keynote speaker Dr. Sara Protasi (University of Puget Sound).
21st Humphrey Colloquium
Thanks to its namesake’s continuing generosity and support for student philosophers, the Steven Humphrey Undergraduate Philosophy Colloquium returned for its 21st year! Keynote speaker Dr. Sara Protasi (University of Puget Sound) presented a novel philosophical exploration of the activity of sleeping. Students from around North America presented exciting research, met with the editorial board of the undergraduate journal Stance, and had a Q&A with representatives from the University of Kentucky’s PhD program on graduate study in Philosophy. The day concluded at the lovely banquet hosted by Dr. Humphrey and his family. Already one of the papers presented at the conference has been published, and we look forward to seeing these Humphrey alums’ names as leaders in their fields, whatever path they choose to pursue.
1st Philosophy Slam!
What’s logical and rational and just might be found at your local high school? That’s right, a Philosophy Club! The groundswell of philosophical engagement by area high school students hit the UofL campus this year as teams from Atherton and Manual showed out on World Philosophy Day 2023 for the first annual Philosophy Slam! The event saw these promising students vying to give the most compelling and insightful interpretations and evaluations of profound philosophical epigrams such as “We possess art lest we perish of the truth” (Friedrich Nietzsche) and “I don’t know whether there are any moral saints. But if there are, I am glad that neither I nor those about whom I care the most are among them” (Susan Wolf).
The Philosophy Slam is part of the Department’s initiative to bring the joy of philosophical dialogue to high school-age populations that often have little opportunity to just puzzle out challenging ideas. The Philosophy Slam will be back for its second go-round on World Philosophy Day 2024, when we hope to include teams from additional high schools.
Career Day
Our third annual Philosophy Career Day featured graduates Brandon Habenstein ’11, Distillery Team Leader at Bardstown Bourbon Company; Tejas Shastry ’10, Assistant Director of Development for Scholarship Giving at UofL; and Heather Stewart ’15, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Oklahoma State University. These alums reflected on what they did in college to prepare them for their diverse career paths, how Philosophy plays into their lives, both inside and outside of the workplace; and what they might have done differently if they’d known then what they know now.
