everything you wanted to know about the undergraduate philosophy conference at ohio state and more

paper guidelines

so you're thinking about submitting a paper to osu's conference, eh? wonderful! here's what you should know:

papers should be 10-12 pages long, about 15-20 minutes' worth of presentation time. any topic philosophical is more than welcome. please do not put your name or any other identifying information on the paper, as the papers will be subject to blind review by a panel of grad students and professors. instead, please fill out the form found here and submit it with your paper. please include a 100-word abstract of your paper as per the instructions on the form. papers and forms may be submitted either electronically (please use a common format such as .doc or .rtf) to osuphilosophyconference@gmail.com or via snail mail. our address is: undergraduate philosophy club at osu 350 university hall 230 n. oval mall the ohio state university columbus, oh 43210 the extended deadline for e-mail submissions or snail-mail postmarks is MARCH 20, 2008. you may submit a paper afterwards, but we can't guarantee it will get read or accepted.

what will the conference be like?

depending on what kind of papers we receive, we plan on splitting them into simultaneously running blocks starting friday morning, continuing friday afternoon, and wrapping up saturday morning. friday night will feature a fancy banquet for the conference participants at the university's faculty club with a keynote speaker t.b.a., and saturday afternoon will feature an awards ceremony after all papers have been presented. if there are enough participants in town, we may put together a social event on thursday night to get to know one another. again, this schedule is tentative based on how many papers we are anticipating, but once the deadline passes, you will certainly know for sure as soon as possible.

say, what kind of costs are involved here, mac? for conference participants: none! well, that's not entirely true, see below. but the conference itself is free! if you'd like to bring guests to the banquet, we are in fact selling tickets for $25 each.

what about meals and lodging? how about transportation and/or parking?

we will provide breakfast both days and dinner at the banquet on friday evening. if donations come through, we might even be able to finagle you lunch on friday. unfortunately, we have nothing in the way of funding for transportation or lodging. however, if you are flying into port columbus airport, we will be more than happy to go and pick you up! if you are driving in, there are a limited number of parking spaces available at club members' houses, though these are first come, first serve. parking is also available in one of the many campus garages at very reasonable prices, and also on most campus streets after 5 pm on friday. as for lodging, there will also be a limited number of spaces available at club member houses, if you don't mind a couch or sleeping bag. if you prefer a hotel, there are several nearby. please find their contact information below:

the blackwell inn at osu
2110 tuttle park place
columbus, oh 43210
(614) 247-4000

holiday inn on the lane
328 w. lane ave.
columbus, oh 43201
(614) 294-4848

fairfield inn & suites by marriott - osu (if you are driving)
3031 olentangy river rd.
columbus, oh 43202
(614) 267-1111

hilton garden inn, university area (if you are driving)
3232 olentangy river rd.
columbus, oh 43202
(614) 263-7200

university inn (if you are driving)
3160 olentangy river rd.
columbus, oh 43202
(614) 261-0523

university plaza hotel and conference center (if you are driving)
3110 olentangy river rd.
columbus, oh 43202
1-877-677-5292

the varsity inn (if you are driving)
1445 olentangy river rd.
columbus, oh 43212
(614) 291-2983

so what's in it for me?

besides the chance to hone your presentation skills, the respect and adulation of your philosophical peers, and the chance to see beautiful columbus? well, every participant will receive a conference prize package just for attending, and there will be at least four best-o'-conference awards given out, consisting of a monetary sum and gorgeous plaque. other awards will be added as funding permits.

any other questions? please e-mail osuphilosophyconference@gmail.com. hope to see you in columbus the weekend of may 9-10!