FREEDEX 2012

Identity and Freedom of Expression, Paris International Conference (FREEDEX 2012)

Freedom of expression seems to gain more significance, especially after having been included in international conventions, such as the European Convention on Human Rights. It is nowadays used in all kind of situations; its context seems to enlarge as every time a political, economical, religious and generally any cultural idea is promoted, it is made legit if it respects the principle of the freedom of speech.

Today, all types of legal entities (from individuals to state institutions and international organisations or companies) make use of the freedom of expression in order to reach personal or common goals. In a globalizing world these claims of making known one’s message, together with the growing demands for freedom of expression go hand in hand with a greater sensibility to what is made public, especially in the case of those who acquire or maintain more traditional identities. Thus the conflict of values created by contemporary immigration and the ethical concerns raised by medical and technological research are a real challenge to what has been labelled by the Founding Fathers of Liberalism (especially by John Stuart Mill) as spheres of liberty.

Sometimes the same moral agents that make use of freedom of expression for their own goals are disturbed by discourses that, in their views, show less respect for traditional values. Consequently, in spite of the ideal of liberty, demands are often made for political regulation in ethical, religious, technological or social issues that gain widespread public attention. The demand for political action in this kind of issues reignites the need to go beyond a simple philosophical discourse labelled by Leo Strauss as esoteric or exoteric.

The International Conference Identity and Freedom of Expression (FREEDEX 2012) will take place in Paris, France, on 21-22 June 2012, at Centre Malher, 9 Rue Malher, 75004 Paris. It is organised by Ars Identitatis Cultural Research Association in collaboration with Université Paris 1 Panthéon –Sorbonne.

A selection of the proceedings will be published in a peer-reviewed paperback collection (a second selection will be also made for an e-volume).

Possible topics (but not limited to) may refer to: philosophical origins of the liberty of expression, literary studies, Liberalism, biotechnology and ethics, religious controversies, international conventions, human rights, Law and liberty of expression, art and liberty of expression, politically correctness, politically incorrectness, esoteric vs. exoteric, social contract, immigration and freedom of expression, globalization, economics and human rights, political action and moral issues, LGBT communities, feminism and expression, videogames and liberty of expression, religious vegetarianism or veganism, fashion, music or film with explicit content or having challenging moral ideas etc.

We are inviting anyone who can contribute to this debate (professors, researchers, journalists, NGO activists, lawyers, graduate students etc.) to participate to our conference.

Please send a 450 words abstract together with a short description of your activity (4-5 lines) to Teodora Rogozea (Paris 1 University) and to Ionut Untea (Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Paris) at registration[at]identitatis.org

The deadline for sending the abstracts is April 30.

For more information and updates, please visit our website: http://www.ars.identitatis.org/