April 16: Hear Scholarly Research of Faculty Representing Eight Colleges - New England Society of Continental Philosophy Workshop

New England Society for Continental Philosophy Workshop

Open to All

Thursday, April 16, 2026

The Humanities Institute and the Department of Philosophy will host the New England Society for Continental Philosophy (NESCP) Workshop here at Fairfield University. Open to all, join us anytime throughout the day on Thursday, April 16 to hear panels of scholarly research, lively philosophical discourse, and enjoy networking opportunities. The workshop emphasizes the importance of social justice in the Humanities and awareness of underrated fields in philosophy.

In addition to Fairfield's own, Aaron Bentley, panels of scholarly research will be presented by faculty and students representing eight different colleges. Colleges attending include Boston College, Fordham University, Villanova University, Boston University, Bridgewater State University, Central Connecticut State University, Rhode Island School of Design, Seton Hall, Smith College, CUNY - Lehman College & City Tech, and Westfield State University.

Schedule of Panels - attend the sessions which interest you! 

8:00-10:00 am: Reflexivity, Temporality, History: Dialogues in Phenomenology

• Patrick Fahey, Boston College: “Phenomenology, Mindfulness, and Theravāda Buddhism: A New Approach"
• Yidi Wu, Boston University: “Krüger, Strauss and Gadamer: Three Hermeneutical Approaches to Platonic Eros- Mythical, Political or Dialectical?”
• Theodore Cao, Boston College: “There arises only innumerable separate now, now, now”: An “Affective Indifference” Account for Schizophrenic Time Fragmentation”

10:00-12:00 pm: Destructive Creation / Creative Destruction: Racialization, Revolution, and Violence

• Sanjana Rajagopal, CUNY (Lehman College and City Tech): “October’s Legacy Re-Evaluated: Hannah Arendt and the Russian Revolution”
• Bryan Knittle, Villanova University: “Sociogeny and Race in Fanon and Anti-Oedipus”
• Aaron Bentley, Fairfield University: “Arendt and Lugones on the Uses of Violence and Anger"

1:00-3:00 pm: Violence Against Empire: Political Freedom Reimagined

• Thomas McGlone, Jr., Villanova University: “Presume Not That I Am the Thing I Was: Marx and Césaire on Contradictory Normativity”
• Jesse D. Goodman, Boston College: “Cugoano’s Divine Violence: Theology and Revolution in Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil of Slavery”
• Preston Carter, Fordham University: “Poetics of Work in the “‘Manifesto for ‘Products’ of Dire Need”

3:00-5:00 pm: Science, Technology, and the Self: Disquieting Tensions Past and Present

• Santiago Cervantes, Boston College: “Thrown into Uncanniness: Tranquilization, Calculative Thinking, and the Flight from Indefiniteness in Heidegger”
• Avalon Swanson-Reid, Seton Hall University: “Hume, Husserl, and Science”
• Bua Pungsomwong, Smith College: “Fujoshi-to-Male: The Cultural Seduction of Asian American Manhood"

Many thanks to our sponsors:

Black Studies & Latinx, Latin and Caribbean Studies

About NESCP:

The New England Society for Continental Philosophy (NESCP) is a professional organization focused on supporting work in Continental philosophy and adjacent fields in the New England area. Continental philosophy describes a group of philosophical traditions focused on questions of subjectivity, experience, history, and culture. This includes sub-traditions like existentialism, hermeneutics, phenomenology, and poststructuralism. However, we understand Continental philosophy in the broadest sense possible, with specific interest in theories and traditions that have been overlooked within traditional Continental accounts. This includes Indigenous philosophy, queer and crip theory, critical philosophy of race, environmental philosophy, Black philosophy, Latin American existentialisms, and other associated traditions. 

Need more information about NESCP?

https://www.nescp.org/

Email: nescp@nescp.org