Call for Abstracts
Post-Punk and Philosophy: Edited by Joshua Heter and Richard Greene
Abstracts are sought for a collection of philosophical essays related to punk and post-punk. This volume will be published by Carus Books (this is the same editorial team that was long with Open Court Publishing). We are seeking abstracts, but anyone who has already written an unpublished paper on this topic may submit it in its entirety. Potential contributors may want to examine other volumes we have edited to get a sense of what we are looking for (Punk Rock and Philosophy, Westworld and Philosophy, The Man in the High Castle and Philosophy, Conspiracy Theories and Philosophy, and The Princess Bride and Philosophy). The abstracts and resulting selected papers should be written for an educated but non-specialized audience. The style should not be academic, but relaxed, conversational, and easy reading.
Contributors are welcome to submit abstracts on any topic of philosophical interest that pertains to post-punk. We are happy to receive submissions that engage philosophical issues/topics/concepts in Punk in creative and non-standard ways.
We’re especially looking for chapter ideas based on post-punk 1977-1984 as well as post-punk revivals, but we’re also interested in and would accept submissions on post-punk and punk-adjacent bands broadly construed.
Please feel free to forward this to anyone writing within a philosophical discipline who might be interested in contributing.
Contributor Guidelines:
1. Abstract of paper (100–750 words)
2. Resume/CV for each author/coauthor of the paper
3. Initial submission should be made by email (we prefer email with MS Word attachment)
4. Deadlines:
Abstracts due 2/1/2023
First drafts due 6/1/2023
Final drafts due 9/1/2023
(Early submissions are encouraged and welcomed!)
Email submissions and queries to: postpunkandphilosophy@gmail.com
Steven Pinker: Critical Responses Edited by: Ray Percival
The fourth book in the Critical Responses series will be a collection of chapters on Steven Pinker’s ideas. The first three books in the Critical Response series feature Jordan Peterson: Critical Responses, Sam Harris: Critical Responses, and Mattias Desmet: Critical Responses. While complying with scholarly standards of accuracy and cogency, we’re looking for user-friendly papers with immediate appeal to general readers who follow Pinker (sympathetically or unsympathetically)—direct and unpretentious prose which will be immediately readable by the intelligent non-academic. So, substantial critical content, but written in a clear and entertaining style, aimed at a savvy lay audience.
Papers must focus on topics that are significantly connected to the life, work, or cultural impact of Steven Pinker, but especially to the actual content of the ideas he advocates. We expect the chapters to come from diverse points of view rather than reflecting any specific standpoint.
Papers should not be primarily expressions of agreement or disagreement with Pinker’s general outlook but should critically and fairly assess particular aspects of his oeuvre. Any relevant topic will be considered. Some possibilities include his ideas on moral emotions, human nature, behavioral genetics, rationality, language acquisition, linguistics, cognition, artificial intelligence, and human progress.
Submission Guidelines:
1. Submit an abstract (approx. 300 words) and CV by e-mail to Ray Scott Percival at profpercival@yahoo.com by 1st March, 2023.
2. Notification of accepted abstracts: 1st April, 2023.
3. Final papers should be approximately 4000 words. Submission deadline for drafts of papers: 15th May, 2023.
Mattias Desmet: Critical Responses Edited by: Sandra Woien
We’re looking for abstracts of essays that will become chapters in an edited collection titled Mattias Desmet: Critical Responses. We are shooting for a publication date of Christmas 2023.
This book will be the third in the Critical Responses series published by Carus Books under its Open Universe imprint, following Jordan Peterson: Critical Responses (2022) and Sam Harris: Critical Responses (2023). The series focuses on thinkers who have a popular online following in addition to their scholarly reputation. The books are aimed primarily at general readers interested in the thinker in question, though we also expect a significant minority of readers to be scholars.
Chapters must focus on topics that are closely connected to the life, work, or cultural impact of Mattias Desmet, and especially to the actual content of the ideas he advocates. Chapters should not be merely exposition, nor merely expressions of agreement or disagreement with Desmet’s ideas, but should critically and fairly assess particular aspects of Desmet’s thinking. The prose style should be unpretentious, relaxed, and conversational, not stuffily academic.
Mattias Desmet is best known for his book The Psychology of Totalitarianism (2022), but chapters may also focus on his other writings and numerous online interviews and presentations. Any aspect of Desmet’s ideas may be tackled. Some possibilities include the inadequacy of materialist metaphysics, the psychology of groupthink, the causes of totalitarianism, the perversions of science including the replication crisis, the cultural implications of ‘bullshit jobs’, the social and political mechanisms involved in mass formation, and the limits of rationality. We seek a diverse range of viewpoints.
Contributor Guidelines:
1. The due date for the initial round of submissions is December 15, 2022. Please submit an abstract (approx. 300 words) and CV by e-mail to Sandra Woien at sandra.woien@asu.edu
2. Notification of accepted abstracts: January 10, 2023
3. Final chapters should be approximately 4000 words. Submission deadline for first drafts of papers: April 30, 2023.
To propose ideas for future volumes, please contact David R. Steele at david@carusbooks.com.