CfP Inscriptions 5, n1: Being and Event

Deadline for proposals: 15 September 2021. Full manuscripts due 15 October 2021.

Is the historical event described in Heidegger’s philosophy something we can endeavour to bring about, or will we have to wait for it to be handed down to us? Inscriptions, an international journal of contemporary thinking on art, philosophy, and psycho-analysis, invites contributions to our upcoming issue on Being and Event (vol. 5, no. 1). We are looking for well-crafted and skilfully written scholarly essays that in some way engage our theme and/or mandate.

When philosophy in the 20th Century took a renewed interest in the concept of event it was with a critique of the classical notion of substance and its modern heir, subject. Accordingly, what we find is a body of thought in which the ontological affirmation of pure becoming as the ground of the genesis of objects reflects the epistemological and ethical priority of events over subjective ideas or concepts. On this basis, the conference aims to provide a platform for conversations between different figures who, each in a way, belong to this body, from Henry Bergson, Alfred North Whitehead, and Martin Heidegger to Jacques Derrida, Gilles Deleuze, and Alain Badiou.

Prioritizing the event involves emphasizing existence and experience as well as Being. Here it might be relevant to cast a brief glance at Søren Kierkegaard’s concept, or rather non-concept, of mellemværende. The English translation ‘being-between’ unfortunately misses the additional connotation of the Danish word which implies accountability, or, to settle an account. This ethical demand involves the positing of the subject in a state of relationality. Existence and experience is a continuous process that precipitates the subject into a direct confrontation with reality and with others. This confrontation is on-going and cannot be resolved by thought; rather, the subject must choose her/his existence, or better the manner of her/his existence. The necessity of choice is highlighted in times of social, political and cultural crises where the deeper resources of the mind are evoked.

Key questions include:

• How does the event puncture the smooth flow of becoming?
• What is it like, the event in which we become ourselves?
• How can a thinking about events enable us to go from a static view of technology to an approach that is dynamic and freed from anthropomorphism?

Submission instructions: Academic essays should be 3,000 to 4,500 words, while scholarship in the form of interviews, reviews, opinion pieces, etc., may be shorter. We encourage potential authors to submit proposals (150 words) for review prior to their writing/submitting entire full-length manuscripts; include title, institutional affiliation, and a brief author bio with the text of your proposal.

Inscriptions is an interdisciplinary, double-blind peer-reviewed journal that welcomes a wide range of approaches to scholarship and writing. The journal is published online and in print. Inscriptions is indexed by the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and others, and archived by the National Library of Norway. Our authors include Wolfgang Schirmacher, Siobhan Doyle, Christopher Norris, and Jørgen Veisland.

Access to content in this journal remains open on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. We do not charge authors for submission or publication. We encourage our author, readers and supporters to subscribe to our printed edition. Single back issues can also be ordered through our distributor.

For a full overview of our policies for submission, review, and publication, please see our website.