Warwick Continental Philosophy Conference 2026

Keynote speakers:

Alexander Prescott-CouchLink opens in a new window (University of Oxford)

Catarina Dutilh NovaesLink opens in a new window (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)

Tracing Genealogy

Call for Papers (open)

We are delighted to announce the eighth annual Warwick Continental Philosophy Conference (WCPC), ‘Tracing Genealogy’, to be held at the University of Warwick from 29th–30th of June 2026. This graduate conference aims to explore the genealogical method as it has been diversely interpreted across the continental and, more recently, anglophone philosophical traditions.

 Conference Theme

Within Continental Philosophy, geneaology is most associated with Friedrich Nietzsche’s psychologising treatments and historicisations of our moral and metaphysical practices and beliefs—and with Michel Foucault’s subsequent ‘histories of the present’ investigations into the contingent development of contemporary institutions, social structures, and the moral, epistemic, or theological discourses with which they are bound up. However, the notion of genealogy is not confined to the Nietzschean tradition. For example, David Hume’s ‘experimental’ inquiries into the origins of religious and causal beliefs, and their anticipations in Xenophanes’ scepticism about anthropomorphised theologies—offering more traditional debunking arguments against ostensibly grounded or even common-sense assumptions—are also increasingly considered to come under its methodological umbrella.

Conversely, Bernard Williams, drawing on Locke and Hobbes, develops a vindicatory form of genealogy—that seeks to legitimate our existing ethical virtues by uncovering the genuine moral and political needs they address. More recently, Julian Ratcliffe has labelled a strand of contemporary Anglophone work, associated with figures such as Robert Brandom, Catarina Dutilh Novaes, and Matthieu Queloz, rationalising genealogy, This approach seeks to uncover normative commitments latent within existing conceptual resources, thereby connecting genealogy to Hegelian reconciliation and Carnapian conceptual engineering.

These geneaological approaches raise fundamental questions about critique, normativity, historical explanation and philosophical method, questions that remain pressing across both Continental and Angolphone divides. This conference aims to foster a constructive and supportive environment for philosophical commentary on, and response to, these questions by bringing post-graduate researchers into dialaogue with leading senior scholars for an intense and rewarding two-day academic exchange on the problems, development and futures of genealogy.

Presenters will deliver a 30-minute paper, followed by a 5-minutes response and a 25-minute open discussion. We aim to arrange faculty respondents for all graduate speakers.

We also welcome submissions from current graudate students and by early career researchers who have obtained their PhDs in recent years. In addition, we look forward to receiving submissions from researchers who may fall within groups traditionally not represented in philosophy.

Submission Expectations

Prospective applicants from across the philosophical landscape might equally consider whether the concept of genealogy can be applied to thinkers outside of the above areas of inquiry, which, although they do not explicitly employ the notion, advance plausibly genealogical (as well as quasi- or pseudo-genealogical) arguments. Sacha Golob and Amy Allen, for example, have notably investigated whether Heidegger’s ‘history of ontology’ and Marx’s account of the emergence of capitalism can reasonably be considered genealogical. Mark Fisher’s suggestion that the quasi-axiomatic, ‘ontological’ dominance neoliberal capitalism exercises over the realm of conceptual possibility be combatted by cultivating alternative historical imaginaries, for example, might profitably be read in this mode. What could speculative histories of our future, as opposed to our past or present, yield for philosophical inquiry?

While submissions thus mapping or theorising genealogy are more than welcome, we especially encourage applicants who seek to marshal genealogy to approach outstanding philosophical problems in novel ways. Relatedly, we are eager to receive submissions which seek to put the anglophone and continental traditions into dialogue—conciliatorily, critically, or polemically—from either side of the aisle. To this end, we also welcome submissions relating to the history in philosophy more broadly, as method or as philosophical problematic—although applicants explicitly engaging with genealogy will be prioritised in the event of a surplus of high-quality submissions.

Submission Guidelines

Your submission should include:

1. A fully anonymised paper suitable for a 30-minute presentation (max. 3,500 words, excluding bibliography and/or abstract).
2. A separate cover sheet containing:

• Name
• Institutional affiliation
• Contact information
• Paper title
• Brief biographical note (max. 300 words)

Please send all documents to the WCPC committee at by 18:00 GMT on 15th April 2026.

Please use ‘Submission: Tracing Genealogy’ in the subject line and title your submitted paper as follows: WCPC_short_title (e.g.: WCPC_Nietzsche’s_Genealogies ). Near final drafts are also welcome and will be given equal consideration.

Hosting and Travel Bursary

Subject to funding, a limited number of travel bursaries may be available. Applicants from junior, non-traditional, or underrepresented backgrounds, including women, are encouraged to indicate this on their cover sheets and will be given priority for support.

Enquiries and Detailed Instructions

For any enquiries, please contact Link opens in a new window

Registration: please complete the form above.

Organising Commitee

Rozemin Keshvani (Lead Organiser)
Keyu Qiu (Lead Organiser)
Oscar Crocker
Shifan Zhou
Sam Ronalds

Summary of Dates

• Conference dates: 29th–30th of June 2026
• Submission deadline: 18:00 (GMT) on 15^th April 2026
• Notification of acceptance: By 15^th May 2026

Additional information

The WCPC is an annual event within The Centre for Research in Post-Kantian European Philosophy (University of Warwick). This conference is tailored for national and international post-graduate researchers, and early-career scholars from both analytic and continental traditions interested in the geneaolgical method. As our conference will follow the the BPA/SWIP guidelines for accessible conferences, the BPA/SWIP good practice scheme for gender equality, and the BPA environmental travel scheme (ETS), we also warmly invite colleagues to endorse the BPA/SWIP Good Practice Scheme and follow the BPA Environmental Travel Policy.