Dear list members,
it is a pleasure to share with you our Call for Abstracts for the upcoming international workshop „𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞: 𝐏𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲,“ taking place on 𝟏𝟎-𝟏𝟏 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 at the Husserl Archives Cologne.
𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐎𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐫𝐬:
Marco Cavallaro (University of Cologne)
Jesus Guillermo Ferrer Ortega (University of Wuppertal)
𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞: 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟏, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔
𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞: 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟏𝟓, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔
𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥
Phenomenology has long presented itself as a method capable of freeing thought from unexamined assumptions. Through the epoché, it seeks to suspend habitual beliefs and theoretical prejudices in order to return to experience as it is originally given. This aspiration has often been interpreted as offering powerful resources for ideology critique, especially when ideology is understood as the naturalization of historically and socially conditioned meanings.
Yet phenomenology’s self-understanding has been repeatedly challenged. As many phenomenologists have emphasized, “experience is always situated within historical, social, and political horizons that cannot simply be bracketed.” Critical, political, and Marxist phenomenologies have shown how power relations, social structures, and historical narratives shape the very field of appearing. From this perspective, phenomenology cannot claim neutrality but must interrogate its own embeddedness within ideological formations. At the same time, external critiques—most notably from Marxism and Critical Theory—have argued that phenomenology risks functioning as an ideological philosophy. Adorno famously contended that its focus on immediacy and consciousness can obscure the socio‑historical mediations that constitute subjectivity, thereby contributing to reification.
This workshop aims to explore these tensions, with particular attention to the role of political ideologies, mythologized histories, and ideological narratives in shaping—and often legitimizing—the violent events of the twentieth century and the present. We invite contributions that examine how phenomenology can illuminate, critique, or fail to grasp the ideological forces that sustain war, nationalism, coloniality, and other forms of collective violence.
𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 & 𝐓𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐬
- Is phenomenology a method of ideological critique, or does it risk becoming an ideological enterprise itself?
- Can the epoché genuinely suspend ideological presuppositions, or does it reproduce them in subtler forms?
- What are the limits of phenomenological critique when experience is already shaped by political, historical, and social conditions?
- How have phenomenologists addressed the ideological narratives and myth-making that fuel violence, conflict, and domination?
- Can phenomenology help uncover the persistence of past ideologies within contemporary political imaginaries?
- To what extent can phenomenology analyze the ideological structures underlying war, nationalism, and other violent phenomena?
Topics may include, but are not limited to:
- The epoché and ideological critique
- Phenomenology and political ideologies
- Phenomenology, myth-making, and historical narratives
- Phenomenology and Marxism
- Adorno’s critique of phenomenology
- Critical and political phenomenology
- Ideology and the lifeworld
- Phenomenology and reification
- Experience, power, and ideology
- Phenomenology and ideology in Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre, Merleau-Ponty, Paci, Thao, etc.
- Phenomenology and ideology in relation to race, gender, coloniality, or class
- Phenomenology and the ideological underpinnings of violence and conflict
𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬
Researchers working in phenomenology, social and political philosophy, Critical Theory, and related fields are invited to submit proposals.
- Abstract length: 300–500 words
- Workshop date: September 10-11, 2026
- Workshop language: English
- Location: University of Cologne, Husserl Archives, Kerpener Str. 30, 50937 Cologne (Germany)
𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞:
- title of the presentation
- abstract (300–500 words)
- short biographical note (max. 100 words)
- institutional affiliation (if applicable)
𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨: sara.dameno@uni-koeln.de„>sara.dameno@uni-koeln.de
𝐀𝐜𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠
The workshop is generously funded by two research projects supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG): „Denken im Exil. Eine andere Geschichte der spanischen Philosophie im 20. Jahrhundert“ (Project No. 523132116) and „Italienische Phänomenologie: Rezeptionen, Konstellationen und Fluchtpunkte der Phänomenologie in Italien, von Banfi bis heute“ (Project No. 530495411).
𝐀𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
Selected papers may be considered for publication in a special issue or edited volume following the workshop.
The CfA is also available on the ItaPhen Official Website: https://itaphen.hypotheses.org/4747.
