CALL FOR ABSTRACTS
CYCLING & PHILOSOPHY
Jesús Ilundáin, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Linfield College
jilunda@linfield.edu
Mike Austin, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Eastern Kentucky University
mike.austin@eku.edu
Abstracts are sought for a new title in the Wiley-Blackwell series Philosophy for Everyone, under the general editorship of Fritz Allhoff. Cycling & Philosophy will integrate the insights of philosophers, interdisciplinary academics such as sociologists and psychologists, and cycling insiders. The abstracts and resulting selected papers should be written for an educated, but non-specialized, audience who love the sport. For examples of this type of work, see Running & Philosophy, Beer & Philosophy, Wine & Philosophy, and/or Food & Philosophy.
Possible topics include, but are not limited to: cycling and the meaning of life, existentialism on the bike, the phenomenology of cycling and the varieties of cycling experience, the ethics of doping, the beauty of the sport, the bike as a work of art, environmentalism and cycling, cycling and rails to trails, elitism and cycling aesthetics, individual virtues and vices as they relate to cycling, the role of tradition in cycling and in life, the politics of the professional cycling world, arguments for or against a union for professional cyclists, issues related to race and gender in the sport, the ethics of peloton cooperation, how technology has changed the sport, philosophical tour of bicycling in film (Breaking Away, American Flyers, The Triplettes of Belleville, The Flying Scotsman, and others), Zen and bicycling, karma and the bike, the bike as an instrument of charity, fixed gear riding, mountain biking, emergence of BMX as an Olympic sport, philosophical discussions of individual cyclists (e.g., Lance, Merckx, Indurain, Major Taylor, LeMond, etc.), the world of touring, cycling fanatics, the state of nature among cyclists and automobile drivers, and the pros and cons of the Critical Mass movement.
Guidelines for Abstracts and Contributions:
- Abstract of paper (approximately 200 words) due by: Dec 15, 2008
- Accepted authors will receive notification by Jan 10, 2009
- The submission deadline for accepted papers will be August 31 2009
- Final papers must be between 4000-5000 words and be aimed at a general, educated audience.
Abstracts should be submitted electronically to mike.austin@eku.edu and jilunda@linfield.edu
Other proposals for series titles are also welcome; please direct those to Fritz Allhoff at fritz.allhoff@wmich.edu.
