RGCS postdoc 2014-15

The Research Group on Constitutional Studies at McGill University invites applications for a postdoctoral fellowship for academic year 2014-15, renewable for 2015-16.  The Fellow will receive a stipend of $C 50,000 per year as well as a research fund and benefits.  

The Fellow will be expected to be in residence at McGill throughout the academic year, and to take an active part in workshops, conferences, and the intellectual life of RGCS and appropriate related research groups and centres (for political theorists, the Groupe de Recherche Interuniversitaire en Philosophie Politique, GRIPP).  The Fellow will also be expected to teach one course per year, most likely an upper-level undergraduate course on "Philosophy, Economics, and Society," though other matches between curricular needs and the Fellow's interests are possible.

The competition has a preference for political theorists, but is also open to those whose research in comparative politics or the public law field of political science falls within the theme of constitutional studies: constitutional design, constitutional law, and the operation of constitutional-level political institutions.  

Applicants should send a cover letter, CV, research statement (including a plan of the work to be pursued in the next two years), one writing sample of no more than 10,000 words, to RGCS.McGill@gmail.com by June 20, 2014, and should arrange for 2-3 letters of recommendation to be sent to the same address.  It is helpful and welcome if the cover letter specifies one or more political science members of RGCS' faculty roster ( http://www.mcgill.ca/rgcs/faculty ) who might be most appropriate as a research advisor, but the final match with an advisor or advisors may differ. 

The competition is open with respect to nationality; knowledge of French is an advantage but not required.  Other information on postdoctoral fellowships at McGill is available at http://www.mcgill.ca/gps/postdocs/fellows , including information on obtaining a Canadian work permit if necessary.  Ph.D. must have been awarded between January 1, 2010 and the date of application, or else the dissertation must have been successfully defended and all requirements for the degree completed by the date of application (i.e. with formal awarding of the degree still pending).

All e-mailed parts of an application including letters of recommendation should include the applicant's name in the subject line.  Applications submitted as one complete interfolio file are welcome. 

Visiting Fulbright Chair, 2014-15

Visiting Fulbright Chair in the Theory and Practice of Constitutionalism and Federalism at McGill University, 2014-15. 

The Fulbright Visiting Research Chair in the Theory and Practice of Constitutionalism and Federalism at McGill University in the Department of Political Science and the Research Group on Constitutional Studies is open to established or emerging scholars in political theory and political science, and open with respect to methodology. The Chair will pursue research in constitutionalism broadly construed; an interest in federalism in particular is desirable but not necessary. The ability to engage with scholars and students across methodologies—normative, empirical, intellectual-historical, jurisprudential, and formal, for example— is more important that particular areas of emphasis. The Visiting Fulbright Chair takes an active part in the intellectual life of RGCS and normally delivers one public lecture as well as one research paper to a works-in-progress workshop.

The stipend is $US 25,000 for a one-semester or one-year stay in 2014-15. Open to US citizens who do not reside in Canada. Application deadline is August 1, 2013; application information is here: http://www.fulbright.ca/programs/american-scholars/visiting-chairs-program.html Those interested in applying are welcome to contact Jacob Levy jtlevy@gmail.com and Caitlin McNamara CMcNamara@iie.org .

CFP: The Foucault Circle at McGill

CALL FOR PAPERS

The thirteenth annual meeting of the Foucault Circle at
McGill University
Montreal, Canada
April 18-20, 2013

Papers on any aspect of Foucault’s work, as well as studies, critiques, and applications of Foucauldian thinking, are welcome. This year's conference also includes two special sessions: 

a discussion of Foucault’s text I, Pierre Rivière;

a session on Foucault and the family for which we are seeking individual paper submissions.

Please send an ABSTRACT (as a “.doc” attachment) of no more than 750 words by 
e-mail to program committee chair Erinn Gilson (e.gilson@unf.edu) on or before Friday, November 16th, 2012. Indicate “Foucault Circle submission” in the subject heading.

Program decisions will be announced in mid-December.

The meeting will begin with a Thursday afternoon screening and discussion of René Allio’s film, “Moi, Pierre Rivière…” (English subtitles), followed by an informal welcome session and dinner. There will be morning and afternoon paper sessions on Friday, followed by a business meeting and dinner. The conference will conclude with paper sessions on Saturday morning. Each speaker will have approximately 35 minutes for paper presentation and discussion combined—papers should be a maximum of 3000 words (15-20 minutes, preferably 15). 

Logistical information about lodging, transportation, and other arrangements will be available after the program has been announced.

For more information about the Foucault Circle, please see our website. 

Book launch tomorrow

The Research Group in Constitutional Studies and the Department of Philosophy are pleased to invite you to a Joint Book Launch to celebrate the recent achievements of some of our colleagues.

In celebration of:

Hasana Sharp (Philosophy), Spinoza and the Politics of Renaturalization (University of Chicago Press), and

Robert Alan Sparling (SSHRC Postdoctoral fellow, Political Science), Johann Georg Hamann and the Enlightenment Project (University of Toronto Press).

Speakers: Jacob T. Levy, Natalie Stoljar, Matthias Fritsch, Rob Sparling, and Hasana Sharp.

Thursday, April 19
3 to 4:30 pm
Paragraph Books
2220 McGill College Avenue

There will be a wine and cheese reception.

Charles Taylor at 80: An international conference

Event celebrates prominent philosopher’s career and contributions

McGill: Forum on Open Expression

The next open forum on free expression chaired by Dean Manfredi will be held Monday, March 12th from 10:30-12:00 in the Break Out Room (2nd floor) of the SSMU building.

Fulbright Visiting Research Chair in the Theory and Practice of Constitutionalism and Federalism

Applications now being accepted for 2013-14. $US 25,000 stipend for a semester of research in residence at RGCS at McGill. (US citizens only, post-PhD.) See full description here.

Student protest communications

(Need for this post mooted by http://6partylive.tumblr.com/)

The MHERC Postdoctoral Fellowship in Health Equity Research
2012 Call for Applications

The Montreal Health Equity Research Consortium (MHERC) is seeking to appoint up to four post-doctoral fellows doing research related to health equity and the social determinants of health (SDH). Applications on any dimension of this general theme will be considered, but the following areas are of particular interest:

The epistemological, conceptual, and ethical foundations of health equity and SDH.
Conceptual and practical problems raised by the measurement of health inequalities and SDH.
Experimental (e.g. cognitive psychology, behavioral economics) approaches to decision-making and health policy development.
Case studies in the analysis of health equity or SDH.

The duration of the award is 12 months, renewable for a second year, commencing on September 1, 2012. The value of each award will be CA$40,000. Fellows will be in residence at the Université de Montréal or McGill University in Montreal.

Applicants should have at the time of award completed a PhD in a relevant discipline including, but not restricted to, philosophy, cognitive psychology, epidemiology, health economics, and sociology. Applicants may not have received their PhDs more than 5 years before the beginning of the fellowship.

MHERC is a collaboration between the MEDEC Lab (http://www.medeclab.net/) at McGill University, and the Centre de recherche en éthique de l’Université de Montréal (CRÉUM), under the direction of Principal Investigators Daniel Weinstock (Université de Montréal) and Nicholas King (McGill University). Funded by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Programmatic Grant on Health and Health Equity, the project is comprised of a multidisciplinary team of researchers conducting research in philosophy, epidemiology, sociology, and cognitive psychology.

Successful applicants will be provided with office space in one of the two participating research centers associated with the project, and will be expected to participate in all of MHERC’s activities.

Applications should be written in English, and include a cover letter describing the candidate’s background, qualifications, and research interests; a complete Curriculum Vitae; a writing sample; and the names of three referees. Applications should be sent to Pierre-Yves Néron at py.neron@gmail.com.

Other platform alert

I've been tweeting about the McGill protest and police response.

I'm puzzled.

I'm also unsympathetic, but I mean to keep that separate from this puzzle.

Some Arts undergraduates are "striking" tomorrow to demand the abolition of tuition.

They are also mass-emailing professors asking the professors to cancel classes in support of the strike.

But if the professors cancel classes, in what way are the students on strike? The professors are then on strike for a day. Students-- if we continue to use the labor law language that doesn't really make sense in this context anyways-- are then being subjected to a lockout. But their refusal to show up becomes irrelevant, because there's nothing to show up to.

Conceptually, wouldn't faculty compliance with this request abolish the student strike and just turn it into a faculty strike?

Reading list

Two former McGill theory faculty and one recent McGill theory visitor with new or forthcoming APSR pieces.

Alan Patten, Rethinking Culture: The Social Lineage Account.

James Booth, "'From This Far Place': Social Justice and Absence.

Andrew Rehfeld, "The Concepts of Representation

Egalitarianism workshop at McGill


Egalitarianism Workshop 2012
Call for Papers
Egalitarianisms: Current Debates on Equality and Priority in Health, Wealth, and Welfare

March 30th -31st, 2012

McGill University, Montreal, Canada

Confirmed Speakers

Nir Eyal (Harvard)
Iwao Hirose (McGill)
Nils Holtug (Copenhagen)
Dennis McKerlie (Calgary)
Shlomi Segall (Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
Workshop Description

Egalitarian theories of distributive justice have recently encountered fundamental challenges. Is egalitarianism susceptible to the leveling down objection? Is it less plausible than prioritarianism? Does it support reducing the inequalities resulting from brute luck, but not option luck? Does it aim to equalize the distribution of welfare at each time or over a lifetime? What does egalitarianism make of the strong correlation between inequalities in health and inequalities in socio-economic conditions? In this two-day workshop, we will discuss current theoretical issues and seek common and unified grounds for future research into egalitarian theories of distributive justice.

Call for Papers

We invite high quality papers on the recent philosophical challenges to egalitarian theories of distributive justice. We will include at least 5 submitted papers in the program. Papers should be suitable for blind-review and no longer than 6,000 words (must include a 200 word abstract in the first page). Please submit paper (Word or PDF file) through www.mcgill.ca/aggregation/submit We welcome submissions from graduate students. For accepted papers, the organizers will cover the cost of accommodation (up to 3 nights in downtown Montreal) and workshop banquet.

Deadline for submission: November 20, 2011 (Notification of acceptance by December 20, 2011)

Click here to submit your paper

Hasana Sharp, Spinoza and the Politics of Renaturalization

Now in print.

There have been many Spinozas over the centuries: atheist, romantic pantheist, great thinker of the multitude, advocate of the liberated individual, and rigorous rationalist. The common thread connecting all of these clashing perspectives is Spinoza’s naturalism, the idea that humanity is part of nature, not above it.

In this sophisticated new interpretation of Spinoza’s iconoclastic philosophy, Hasana Sharp draws on his uncompromising naturalism to rethink human agency, ethics, and political practice. Sharp uses Spinoza to outline a practical wisdom of “renaturalization,” showing how ideas, actions, and institutions are never merely products of human intention or design, but outcomes of the complex relationships among natural forces beyond our control. This lack of a metaphysical or moral division between humanity and the rest of nature, Sharp contends, can provide the basis for an ethical and political practice free from the tendency to view ourselves as either gods or beasts.

Sharp’s groundbreaking argument critically engages with important contemporary thinkers—including deep ecologists, feminists, and race and critical theorists—making Spinoza and the Politics of Renaturalization vital for a wide range of scholars.

When last we looked in on biking at McGill

... just over a year ago, there was a big public forum at which sentiment was strongly (though not unanimously) against the environment-unfriendly categorical ban on bikes on McGill's downtown campus. Associate Vice-President Jim Nicell dismissed the forum as drawing an unbalanced crowd, though without saying what drove the selection process, and though for weeks beforehand the upcoming forum had been used to tell bikers that their concerns would get a public airing.

Further dialogue and consultation was promised.

Like I said: just over a year ago.

Pearson Chair at McGill University

The Katherine A. Pearson Chair in Civil Society and Public Policy

Applications are currently invited for The Katharine A. Pearson Chair in Civil Society and Public Policy tenable jointly in the Faculty of Arts (www.mcgill.ca/arts) and in the Faculty of Law (www.mcgill.ca/law), McGill University. The appointment is expected to be at the rank of Full Professor. The Katharine A. Pearson Chair in Civil Society and Public Policy was created through a generous gift from the McConnell Foundation.

The Faculties of Arts and of Law seek applications from scholars of international renown with impeccable academic credentials in Arts and in Law, and demonstrated interdisciplinary expertise. The purpose of the Chair is to contribute to the teaching and supervision of undergraduate and graduate students in the two faculties. The holder of the Chair will also be expected to assume leadership within a new Civil Society Program at McGill University, develop new research directions in civil society and foster research grant applications to sustain the Program.

The Civil Society Program will rest on a broad meaning of civil society as an analytic term for the social sciences and humanities. Moving beyond the now-standard opposition of civil society to the State, the Program will explore both formal non-governmental structures and organizations (the “community sector”), and informal associations, practices, beliefs and values that mediate between the self and the State. The Program will study the role of individuals and non-governmental institutional forms, groups, communities and organizations in the development of legal and public policy. It will explore innovative, pluralistic and adaptive approaches to governance in meeting local and global challenges posed by health, environment, personal and economic well-being, social diversity and equity in a context of declining public resources.

The Civil Society Program will draw on McGill University’s identity as a socially important institution in public life in Canada and a respected voice internationally. McGill’s embrace of the advantages of study in Montreal – bilingualism, bicultural and bijural institutions, a cosmopolitan urban setting – are understood as central to the success of this venture. It will focus on Canada as a laboratory for study and public action, and recognize that Canada represents, at its best, a model setting for teaching, research and public outreach on matters relating to civil society in the international community.

Applicants shall provide a letter of intent, a summary of research interests (including proposed research program), complete curriculum vitae, copies of three representative publications, and the names of at least three references to the Staff Appointments Committee by October 15, 2011. However, applications will be accepted until an incumbent for the Chair is found. Email applications are preferred (linda.coughin@mcgill.ca) but hard copy applications can also be mailed to:

Staff Appointments Committee
c/o Dean’s Office
Faculty of Law
McGill University
3644 Peel Street
Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3A 1W9

All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority. McGill University is committed to diversity and equity in employment. It welcomes applications from indigenous peoples, visible minorities, ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, women, persons of minority sexual orientations and gender identities and others who may contribute to further diversification.

Visiting Fulbright Chair in the Theory and Practice of Constitutionalism and Federalism, McGill University, 2012-13

Application deadline: August 1
Stipend: $25,000 for one-semester or yearlong visitorship
Eligibility and how to apply
Call for applications

Political theory in Montreal

A busy couple of weeks.

Tonight:

Michael Zuckert (Notre Dame), public lecture, Concordia, Hall Building, Room H-767, ƒ455 de Maisonneuve W: "Slavery and the Constitutional Convention."

Tomorrow and Saturday:
Conference on Aristotle's Politics

Friday:Thomson House, room 406:

9:00

Opening 
remarks

9:30‐11:00
Andrés 
Rosler,
 University 
of 
Buenos
 Aires
“Political 
Virtue:

 Citizenship, 
Democracy, 
and 
War”

11:00‐12:30
Fred
 D.
 Miller, 
Jr., 
Bowling 
Green 
State 
University
“The 
Rule 
of 
Reason”

2:00‐3:30
Karen 
Margrethe 
Nielsen, 
University 
of 
Western 
Ontario
“On
 Economy 
and
 Private
 Property”

3:30‐5:00
Donald 
Morrison, 
Rice 
University
“The 
Common
 Good”

Saturday, Leacock 927

9:30‐11:00
Marguerite 
Deslauriers,
 McGill 
University
“Unity
 and 
Inequality”

11:00‐12:30
Richard 
Kraut, 
Northwestern 
University
“Aristotle
 and
 Rawls
 on
 the 
Common
 Good"

Tomorrow:
GRIPP: Catherine Zuckert, Notre Dame: 'Plato’s Philosophers: The Political Payoff.' New CHancellor Day Hall, 3644 Peel, room 200-- please read the paper in advance.

Tuesday March 15

Global Justice and Health Inequalities
Ferrier 456

Introduction and welcome (coffee served): 8:45-9:15am
Patti Tamara Lenard, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Ottawa
Jacob Levy, Department of Political Science, McGill University
Christine Straehle, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Ottawa

9:15-10:45 am: Responsibility and health inequalities
Who is responsible for health inequalities? Who should bear the responsibility for remedying inequalities? Is health inequality distinct from other forms of inequality, or it is it derivative of wealth inequality more generally?
Garrett Wallace Brown, University of Sheffield, Global Health Inequality and the Demands of Cosmopolitan Global Justice
Mira Johri, Ryoa Chung and Ted Schrecker, Department of Health, University of
Montreal, Department of Philosophy, University of Montreal, Globalization and Health Equity Unit, Institute of Population Health, University of Ottawa, Global health and national borders

Angela Kaida, Simon Fraser University, Women and HIV: Our collective moral obligation to improve the health of HIV-affected women and children in developing countries
Disc: Pierre-Yves Néron, Centre de Recherche en Éthique de l'Université de Montréal

10:45-11:15 – coffee break

11:15-12:30: Boundaries and health inequalities
What is the moral status of boundaries that include some and exclude others from adequate health care? Do boundaries matter for delineating who carries the obligation to remedy health inequalities?
Yukiko Asado, Dalhousie University, Population boundaries for health inequalities
Phillip Cole, University of Wales, Westport, ‘Illegal’ Immigrants and Access to Health Care
Disc: Anna Drake, Queen’s University


12:30-2pm – lunch

2-3:15 pm: Globalization and health inequalities
How does an emphasis on our shared humanity, or the shared global space of justice, affect our sense of what we owe to others from the perspective of health
Lisa Eckenwiler, George Mason University, An ecological conception of global health equity
Ted Schrecker, University of Ottawa, Cartographies of obligation: the global marketplace and global health ethics
Disc: Sarah Weibe, University of Ottawa

3:15-3:45pm – coffee break

3:45-5:15 pm: Vulnerability, humanitarianism and health inequalities
How does an understanding of vulnerability add to our sense of our responsibilities to remedy global health inequalities? How should we think about health inequalities in times of humanitarian disaster? Do health inequalities and the vulnerabilities they induce warrant being termed a “humanitarian disaster” in and of themselves?
Christine Straehle, University of Ottawa, Health Care Migration, Vulnerability and Individual Agency
Patti Tamara Lenard, University of Ottawa, Treating inequality in health care access as a humanitarian disaster
Ryoa Chung and Matthew R. Hunt, University of Montreal, University of Montreal/McMaster University, Health inequalities, vulnerability and humanitarian crises

Disc: Adina Preda, Centre de Recherche en Éthique de l'Université de Montréal


5:15-5:45pm: Wrap-up


Graduate Student “Rapporteurs”:
Cathy Nguyen, University of Ottawa
Kate Wood, University of Ottawa

Wednesday March 16 - Saturday March 19

Annual meeting of the International Studies Association. See schedule for the International Ethics section here.

Friday March 18
Federalism, Security, Democracy, and the European Alternative
Ferrier 456

1. 9:00-10:15: Federalism and Its Levels

Jacob T. Levy, "Federalism contra Subsidiarity"
Frank Pasquale, "Federalism in an Age of Fusion Centers"
Jason Sorens, “The New Economics of Ethnofederalism”

Break 15 Minutes

2. 10:30-11-45: Has Europe failed?

Daniele Archibugi, “Cosmopolitanism at Europe's Borders”
Cassiano Hacker-Cordon, “Europe’s Struggles and Global Justice”
John Hall,”Europe: "Banalities of Success"
Glyn Morgan, “The Failure of Europe’s Constitutional Alternative”


Break 15 minutes

3. 12:00-2:00: Security, Justice, and Democracy (Lunchtime Session)

Glen Newey, “Security’s Sake”
Laura Valentini, “Justice and democracy"
Patti Lenard, "Security, Justice and Democracy"

March 21-25
Jon Elster


Traité critique de l’homme économique - le désintéressement
Lundi 21 mars, 18 h
UQAM - Bibliothèque centrale
400, rue Sainte-Catherine Est, local A-M204 (niveau métro)

La théorie du choix rationnel et ses critiques
Mercredi 23 mars, 18 h
UQAM - Pavillon Thérèse-Casgrain
455, boulevard René-Lévesque Est, local W-5215


Justice, Truth and Peace
Jeudi 24 mars, 17 h
McGill - Moot Court, New Chancellor Day Hall
3644, rue Peel (entrée par le 3660, rue Peel)

Le rôle des émotions dans l’explication de l’action
Vendredi 25 mars, 10 h
UQAM - Pavillon Thérèse-Casgrain
455, boulevard René-Lévesque Est, local W-5215

Department of unintended consequences

Bicycle locks endangering health of McGill’s most vulnerable trees

The tree in question, a 10-year-old magnolia acuminata, stands in front of the Macdonald-Harrington Building. It’s not much to look at, standing barely 10 feet tall, with a few spindly branches at its uppermost reaches – branches that carry fewer and fewer leaves in the summer months.
The tree, a protected species in North America and the only one of its kind on McGill’s lower campus, is dying. And it’s not dying of disease or as a result of an infestation of some exotic bug. Ironically, it’s being killed by cyclists.
With the greening of lower campus, more people are riding their bikes to McGill and the extra two-wheel traffic means crowded bike racks. The University is in the process of doubling the number of bike racks on lower campus from 1,200 to 2,4000. Nevertheless, some cyclists insist on chaining their rides to anything that doesn’t move, including fences, signposts, wheelchair access ramps – and small trees.
The problem with the latter is twofold. First, the constant rubbing and banging of locks, chains, pedals and pointy derailleurs cut into the protective bark, leaving the tree susceptible to disease, fungi and insects. It also impairs the flow of sap, which usually runs just below he surface of the bark.
Second, the relentless traffic of people and bikes at the base of the tree tamps down the soil, compacting it and making it more difficult for the roots to absorb water – another hindrance to the healthy flow of sap.
With its vital supply line of sap in an increasingly compromised state, the magnolia tree is literally withering to the point where its trunk at bike level is significantly thinner than it is higher up the tree (see photo). It is slowly strangling to death.
“This tree has almost stopped growing,” said Champagne. “It should be twice as large as it is now. And it’s a shame because in Canada this is a fairly rare tree.”
The situation is compounded because cyclists are locking their bikes to smaller trees all around campus, including just inside the Milton Gates. As a result, a generation of smaller, less robust trees is increasingly at risk of developing serious problems.

Gee, I wonder why bicycles are being inappropriately and excessively crowded just inside the Milton Gates?

SPEP Meeting, Montreal, November 4-6

The Society for Phenomenology and Existential PhilosophyANnual Meeting will be held in Montreal, November 4-6. The meeting is supported by SSHRC, McGill's Dean of Arts Development Fund, the Department of Philosophy of McGill University, and by the Université de Montréal.

The program is here.