Extended deadline: abstracts before 15th of August

We kindly invite you to take part in (parts of) our two-day conference ‘Privilege on a warming planet: climate change, racism, and patterns of denial’.

In this conference, we aim to think about the effects that colonialism and imperialism have on the understanding of, and response to, climate change. We analyze the concept of ‘climate privilege’ as described inClimate Change is Racist by Jeremy Williams and investigate the consequences of Leon Sealey Huggins’ claim that COPs mainly prioritize the interest of imperial elites on our thinking about climate change.

What are the implications of understanding climate breakdown as racist? What does acknowledging the effects of colonialism and imperialism imply for communication around climate change? Can we talk about ‘climate privilege’? Are there similar mechanisms at play that prevent privileged white people from acknowledging both the disastrous effects of climate change as well as the ongoing effects of colonialism, slavery, and imperialism? In this interactive two-day conference we’ll dive into these subjects and more!

We especially encourage philosophers early in their academic career to send in abstracts. We’ll let people know at the end of August which papers are selected. Papers don’t have to be fully finished, but presenters should be able to provide a meaningful fifteen-minute talk and Q&A. If covid permits, we’ll have a hybrid conference, parts online (the lectures), part offline (some of the reading groups and some of the paper presentations).

We ask everyone who wants to participate to send a short motivation letter (max 500 words) about their interest in the topic.

To enrol for parts of the program, please fill in this google form: https://forms.gle/z5CfGEjeTxyicWKu9​

To ask for more information, or send in abstracts, get in touch with harriet.bergman@uantwerpen.be!

What:

Hybrid conference ‘Privilege on a warming planet: climate change, racism, and patterns of denial’.

Where:

Zoom and at the city campus of the University of Antwerp

When:

Thursday 23d and Friday 24th of September

Speakers:

Anneleen Kenis, Jeremy Williams, Leon Sealey-Huggins