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Academic conference and evening arts event.
This conference will explore the contributions of Czech philosopher Jan Patocka to our understanding of whether and how meaningful political action is possible—taking cues from his phenomenology, his essays on arts and culture, his writings on Europe, and his conception of sacrifice. The day will feature Patocka scholars and academics who worked underground in the former Czechoslovakia. A topical introduction to the ideas of this fascinating philosopher, offering novel ways of reflecting on our contemporary political crises.
Conference programme (draft subject to change)
9:00 Arrival and Coffee
9:30 Welcome from Graham Henderson (Rimbaud and Verlaine Foundation) and Erin Plunkett (University of Hertfordshire)
Panel 1 – Philosophical grounds
9:45 Francesco Tava (University of the West of England, (UWE), Bristol
10:15 Michaela Belejkanicova (UCL) on sacrifice in Patocka
10:45 Erin Plunkett leads a panel discussion
11:15 Coffee
Panel 2 – Patocka and Czech literature
11:30 Tim Beasley-Murray (UCL) on Czech philosophical and literary influences on Jan Patocka
12:00 Rajendra Chitnis (University College Oxford) on Patocka in the context of Czech arts and literature
12:30 Graham Henderson leads a panel discussion
13:00 Lunch
Panel 3 – Resistance
14:00 Ivan Chvatik (director of the Patocka Archive in Prague) on Jan Patocka’s influence on intellectual and political resistance to Communism
14:30 Jan Frei (deputy director of the Patocka Archive in Prague) on Jan Patocka’s cultural and political impact
15:00 Graham Henderson leads panel discussion
15:30 Tea
Panel 4 – Arts and Culture
15:45 Erin Plunkett (University of Hertfordshire)
16:15 Barbara Day (author of The Velvet Philosophers) on her participation in the underground philosophy lecture programme(the ‘Patocka universities’) in the former Czechoslovakia
16:45 Erin Plunkett leads a panel discussion
Tickets to attend the one day conference from 9:00-17:30 are £20 plus booking fee see Eventbrite link below
The conference will be followed by an evening arts event ‘Care for the Soul – Jan Patocka and the arts’. With live music and performances, this event will take place from 18:30-20:30 and requires separate registration. Tickets to attend the evening event from 18:30-20:30 are £10 plus booking fee. For full details and to book click here
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