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Dr. C. Michael Gelven NIU Graduate Philosophy Conference

The 18th Dr. C. Michael Gelven NIU Graduate Philosophy Conference (formerly the Northern Graduate Philosophy Conference) will be held October 24-25, 2025, on the campus of Northern Illinois University. Professor  Quill Kukla (Georgetown University) will deliver a keynote address to open the conference on Friday, Oct. 24.

Please direct questions about the conference to the NIU Graduate Student Advisory Council in Philosophy at niugsac@gmail.com.

2026 Call for Papers

Submission deadline: July 31, 2026

We invite graduate students to submit papers of approximately 3,000 words on any topic in mainstream analytic philosophy. Submissions accessible to a general philosophical audience will be favored. Only one submission per person will be considered. Philosophers from underrepresented or historically disadvantaged groups are particularly encouraged to apply. Please note that all papers must be delivered in person. Unfortunately, we cannot provide funding for travel to accepted speakers.

Submission Guidelines

Please send the following as one attachment in PDF format to niugsac@gmail.com. Title your file: LastNameFirstName_NPC.pdf.

  • A cover page that includes:
    • Author's name
    • Institutional affiliation
    • Contact information (email and phone number)
    • Title of paper
    • Topic area of the paper
    • Word count
  • The second page should begin with an abstract (no more than 150 words), followed by the paper itself. The abstract and paper must contain no identifying information.

Conference Schedule

All events will take place in Peters Campus Life Building, room 100.

Date Time Activity
Friday, October 24 3 p.m.

Professor Quill Kukla (Georgetown University)
Keynote address: Health, Neurodiversity and Respectability Politics
5 p.m. Reception
Saturday, October 25 9 a.m. Coffee and continental breakfast
9:30 a.m.

Rebecca Caithamer (University of Illinois, Chicago)
"Young Geniuses and Intellectual Virtue: Aristotle's Exception in Nicomachean Ethics VI.8"

Comments: Milie Smith
10:30 a.m.

Sumin Oh (University of Rochester)
"Is quasi-internalism internalism?"

Comments: Mahek Jain
11:30 a.m.

María Grazia Sibille (Georgia State University)
"New Gender Categories for Ameliorative Analysis"

Comments: Lottie Maynard

Lunch break
2:30 p.m.

Adam DeDobbelaere (University of Rochester)
"Dodging the Question: Non-Solutions to Benardete Paradoxes"

Comments: Kyrellos Ghattas
3:30 p.m.

Witt Spiller (University of Missouri-St. Louis)
"Do Moral Facts Influence the Justification of Our Beliefs?"

Comments: Lukas Amstutz

Past Conference Programs

Conference Origin

Since 2007, the philosophy department's M.A. students have hosted an annual graduate conference featuring speakers nationwide. Since 2025, the conference has been funded by an endowment established to honor the career and legacy of the late Dr. C. Michael Gelven, distinguished research professor emeritus. Author of a dozen books, Dr. Gelven inspired generations of students during his 46 years (1965–2011) of teaching at NIU. Dr. Gelven passed away on June 1, 2018.