Conferences are where philosophers help each other build knowledge. They're where we try out our ideas, where we hear what other philosophers are working on, where we think through counterarguments and edge cases, and where we make connections. For faculty, going to conferences is vital to staying connected to state of the art philosophical research. For students, participating in conferences is an essential experience to understand what it's like not just to be a philosophy student but to DO philosophy.
In times of rising costs and declining budgets, our Philosophy Conferences fund helps us send our students and our faculty to conferences, offsetting the costs of their travel and registration. This fund also helps us host an annual Philosophy Alumni Conference at SJSU, bringing together current students, alumni, current faculty, and emeritus faculty to present and discuss work-in-progress in a friendly and constructive environment. These experiences contribute enormously to the educational experience our Philosophy Department provides -- and they help connect our current students to the extended community of our alumni and the larger world of academic philosophers.
