Sunday, June 24

Arrivals

Pick up from airport and train station
Check-in and orientation
7 p.m.: Welcome dinner, Phillip Spencer House

Friday,
June 29
4:30-6 p.m.

Sarah Vitale, “Are We Democrats?”

In this talk, I situate Jacques Rancière’s notion of democracy against liberal democracy. Rancière's uses of “politics” or “democracy” are atypical. Politics is not about institutions and law-making, campaigns and elections, deals and bribes. Politics is about dissensus. Democracy is a moment of disruption. Politics is the attempt to disrupt the given order by those who have had no part in it and who are testing the hypothesis of equality.

Rancière argues that most of us who claim to be democrats in fact hate true democracy. We instead believe in institutions and order, which Rancière calls the “police” and distinguishes from politics. Rancière also indicts Plato with failing to understand politics. In the Republic, Plato shows his own fear of equality and offers an account of a city-state governed by a philosopher king.

In the end, we will consider the different views of democracy – Plato’s fear of it; the liberal view of democracy as institution based on consensus-building; Rancière’s view of democracy as dissensus and eruption. I will call on the audience to collectively examine the following questions: Are we democrats? According to which definition? Should we be democrats? Why?

Dr. Sarah Vitale is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Ball State University. Her research focuses on Marx and post-Marxism, especially on the notions of production, creativity, and utopia and their deployment in Marx’s and post-Marxist texts, as well as contemporary feminism and gender studies. She is Co-Editor of the Radical Philosophy Review, the journal of the Radical Philosophy Association, and her publications include “Castoriadis, Marx, and the Critique of Productivism” (Telos 174).  At Ball State, Vitale teaches classes on contemporary philosophy, especially 19th- and 20th-century continental philosophy and critical theory.

Prof. Vitale’s talk will be followed by dinner in the KJ Second Floor Atrium.

Saturday,
June 30

Adirondack Trip

Hike to Stillwater Mountain

Rain Date Sunday, July 1

TA Panel: "Philosophy Graduate School: What I Wish I Knew Before I Applied"

• Austin Heath, Hopkins

• Mandy Long, Connecticut

• Amitpal Singh, Toronto

Wednesday,
July 4

Independence Day

Regular class day

6 p.m. Shuttles to Clinton
BBQ at Chez Marcus
11 Chestnut Street

Independence Day Fireworks
Seen from Clinton School Yard, Chenango Avenue

Friday,
July 6

Closing Banquet

KJ, Second-Floor Atrium

Student Departure

Shuttles to be arranged

Saturday, July 7

Decompression Dinner

Faculty and TAs

Monday, July 9

HCSPiP Post-Program Conference

Open to the public.
Each teacher in the summer school presents their project.
Lunch will be provided for all participants.