The North American Society for Philosophical Hermeneutics

NASPH was formed in 2005 in order to further the study of philosophical hermeneutics and to foster dialogue in light of difference. While honoring the rootedness of philosophical hermeneutics in the work of Hans-Georg Gadamer we find that the force and value of philosophical hermeneutics lie in the development of dialogue that brings life to history and illuminates contemporary issues.

The Society for Ricoeur Studies

The Society for Ricoeur Studies is an international, interdisciplinary body dedicated to the work of Paul Ricoeur among English-speaking scholars. The Society aims to preserve and build upon the legacy of Ricoeur’s work through collective study, critique, and interpretation. It hopes to engage in a close collaboration with the Ricoeur Collection (Fonds Ricoeur) in France.

Public Involvement of Philosophers: Interactions between Philosophers and Society (Link goes to the Department of Political Science as Current Site is Under Construction).

• Description: “This survey is part of an international study on interactions between philosophers and society, including philosophers’ media activities and participation in civil society, public policy, and politics” (Survey).

• Authors/organizers: Yarden Niv, Raanan Sulitzeanu-Kenan

• Organizational Affiliation: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Department of Political Science

Philosophy for Life: The Website of Jules Evans

• Description: This website houses a collection of work by Jules Evans on how philosophy interacts with everyday life. While much of the site seems self-promotional, Evans is the founder of the London Philosophy Club, one of the largest clubs on MeetUp. He has also conducted research on philosophy clubs and organizations and has done extensive work on how to connect philosophy with everyday life.

• Authors/organizers: Jules Evans

• Organizational Affiliation: Self

• Other Notes: This author seems to share a desire to create a digital space for the humanities. Evans has a particular interest in Stoicism. He also created the London Philosophy Club, which has 10, 909 members and is platformed on MeetUp. I think he aims more at the beginner level (as evidenced by his TedTalk on CBT). He does, however, have a proposal for a kind of global hub and links to the …

• • Socrates Café

• • • Also hosted on Meetup

    • 50,114 members with groups all over the world.

Australasian Society for Continental Philosophy (ASCP)

• Aims: “to foster interest and support research in the field of Continental/European philosophy, understood in a broad and interdisciplinary sense, in Australia, New Zealand, and in the Australasian region, and to provide a network for those interested in and/or working in this field both nationally and internationally” (Aims of the ASCP).

• Authors/Organization: Australian Society for Continental Philosophy

• Organizational Affiliation: Self

• Other Notes: This site links out to several other resources that have been curated and disseminated by a variety of philosophy-minded organizations. These resources include other communities, podcasts, audio readings, lectures, and forums.

Melbourne School of Continental Philosophy

• Description: “an independent teaching and research organization … set up in 2002 by a group of mildly disaffected postgrad students from the University of Melbourne philosophy department, whose ideas about university life, once formulated, drew support from well beyond the cloisters and compounds of unimelb.com – to the surprise of some and pleasure of many. It was set up to resist the spirit of hidebound conventionality prevalent in the modern-day Australian academy in general and in university philosophy departments in particular” (About the MSCP).

• Model: holds classes for a small fee for interested parties, aimed toward undergraduate and beyond, described as similar to a grad-level seminar. No credit offered, because the classes are aimed toward enhancing overall education in philosophy.

• Authors/Organizers: group of several academics engaged in philosophy across Australia and beyond. 

• Organizational Affiliation: Self-run, Melbourne School of Continental Philosophy Inc.

• Institute of the Humanities & Global Cultures: Connected to UVA and describes itself as a project that “assembles leading scholars from around the world to discuss the present state and future prospects of the humanities, their methods of research and circumstances of teaching, their institutional situations and budgetary constraints, their self-assessments and proposals for new engagements. The initiative will unfold in a series of conferences and colloquia held throughout the world” (IHGC). Their initiative builds an audience through partnering with a small amount of international universities in different countries across the world and aiming to grow their audience through additional contacts made through the initiative itself.

• Digital History & Hermeneutics: institution that describes itself as a “Doctoral Training Unit (DTU) [that} combines hermeneutic reflection on the new digital practices of humanities scholarship with hands-on experimentation in the field of digital history. … The central aim of the Doctoral Training Unit is to form a “trading zone” between these different fields to explore how the emergence of digital research technologies and infrastructures impacts the practices of historical research” (Digital History & Hermeneutics).

• -Subreddit r/Critical Theory has 62.0k members. Audience seems to vary across levels of expertise, students, scholars, and casual audiences with interest in critical theory are here. Subreddit statement characterizes the subreddit as “intended to be a massive theory HUB … for all things pertaining to criticism, including and especially social and literary theories. We are interested in long-form or in-depth submissions and responses, so please keep this in mind when you post so as to maintain high quality content” (r/Critical Theory).

• Critical Theory Workshop: describes itself as “an international school for trans-disciplinary, cross-cultural and committed research. As a non-profit educational institution, it seeks to bring affordable education with real use-value to a broad public by offering seminars and symposiums in Philadelphia, online courses, a summer workshop in Paris, as well as a video archive of select events as a free educational resource” (Critical Theory Workshop). Has an international advisory board. This is a good idea, because having a board like this would help market the project in a variety of areas with those who would know the local audience best. They work off of a pay-what-you-can-up-to-X model that allows access across economic ranges.