The Public Issues and Public Reason conference (PIPR) is a multidisciplinary conference at which graduate students from a variety of programs and disciplines will present papers analyzing current social and global challenges through the lenses of political theory, applied ethics, and critical social sciences.

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Ami Harbin, Oakland University
Thursday, October 31, 2019
4:30 P.M. in Dunton Tower, rm 2017

“Controlling Threats”

This presentation is part of a broader feminist relational moral psychology of fear in contemporary times, focusing on great threats in need of our attention. What individuals perceive to be the threats in need of most urgent attention can in fact be stand-ins for deeper, less manageable threats. It outlines four strategies individuals often use to attempt to manage perceived (substitute) threats: (1) removal; (2) escape; (3) destruction; and (4) overpowering. While these efforts may be partially satisfying, insofar as they allow individuals to feel a sense of control, I argue that the four strategies are ultimately disappointing and often morally and politically damaging.

Conference Presentations
Thursday, October 31, 2019
12:00 P.M. in Dunton Tower, rm 2017
and
Friday, November 1, 2019
8:30 A.M. in Canal Building, rm 3400