The British Philosophy of Sport Association (BPSA) is delighted to announce our online work-in-progress seminar series for the spring 2022 semester. 

Our speakers include leading figures in the philosophy of sport community addressing fundamental and applied philosophical issues in sport:

January 

Dr. Sandra Meeuwsen (Erasmus University)

‘On the Relationship Between Sport and Politics’

26 January, 3 p.m. U.K. time

February 

Prof. Scott Kretchmar (Penn State University)

‘Game Complexities and Community’

16 February, 3 p.m. U.K. time

March 

Prof. Francisco Javier Lopez Frias (Penn State University) and Dr Christopher Yorke (Langara College)

“Return of the Grasshopper: Editing Suits’ Unpublished Works“

23 March, 3 p.m. U.K. time

April

Prof. Gwen Bradford (Rice University)

‘Failure’

27 April, 3 p.m. U.K. time

May 

Prof. Mitchell Berman (University of Pennsylvania)

“Eligibility Rules and Transgender Athletes: Lexicality Versus Balancing”

18 May, 3 p.m. U.K. time

June 

Winners of the BPSA Student Abstract Competition

(Details to be announced following the competition)

Each session will last 1 hour (30 min presentation and 30 min Q&A) and will be hosted on Zoom. Sessions are open to BPSA members only, and new members especially are encouraged to attend. The Zoom link will be circulated to members one hour in advance of each session.
Details of what membership includes and how to join the BPSA can be found here: http://philosophyofsport.org.uk/membership/

Any questions about the series can be directed to j.w.devine@swansea.ac.uk

The British Philosophy of Sport Association (BPSA) is delighted to announce a new online work-in-progress seminar series. 

Our speakers include leading figures in the philosophy of sport community addressing fundamental and applied philosophical issues in sport:

July – Dr. Christopher C. Yorke (Open University)

‘Examining the Ethics of Utilizing Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Competitive Sport’, 28 July (3 p.m. U.K. time); co-authors Jon Pike, Jo Morrison; sponsored by the International Olympic Committee

August – Prof. Leslie Howe (University of Saskatchewan)

‘Time, Digitisation, and Human Effort: An Existentialist Perspective on VAR’, 25 August (3 p.m. U.K. time)

September – Dr. Emily Ryall (University of Gloucestershire)

Title TBA, 15 September (3 p.m. U.K. time)

October – Dr. Alfred Archer (Tilburg University)

‘It’s Much More Important Than That: Against Fictionalist Approaches to Fandom’, 27 October (3 p.m. U.K. time)

November – McNamee Student Essay Prize Winner and Runner-up

Date and Title TBA. 

Details of how to enter the Essay Prize can be found here (deadline 1 September ’21):

http://philosophyofsport.org.uk/mcnamee-student-essay-prize-in-the-philosophy-of-sport/

December – Dr. Andrew Edgar (Swansea University)

‘Sport and Psychoanalysis’, 8 December (3 p.m. U.K. time)

Each session will last 1 hour (30 min presentation and 30 min Q&A) and will be hosted on Zoom. Sessions are open to BPSA members only, and new members especially are encouraged to attend. The Zoom link will be circulated to members one hour in advance of each session.

Details of what membership includes and how to join the BPSA can be found here: http://philosophyofsport.org.uk/membership/

Any queries about the series can be directed to j.w.devine@swansea.ac.uk

Sponsored by Routledge / Taylor & Francis

The British Philosophy of Sport Association (BPSA) invites submissions for the McNamee Student Essay Prize in the Philosophy of Sport. The Prize is named in honour of Prof. Mike McNamee (Swansea and KU Leuven), founder of the BPSA, and it is kindly sponsored by Routledge / Taylor & Francis. 

Prizes

Winner – £500 cash + £50 Routledge voucher

Runner-up – £200 cash + £50 Routledge voucher

Commendations x 3 – each of the three commended essays will receive £100 cash + £50 Routledge voucher

The Winner and Runner-up will be invited to present their essays at a BPSA online work-in-progress seminar in November ’21.

Essay Format

2500 words (including footnotes / endnotes but excluding works cited) on any topic in the Philosophy of Sport. 

To become acquainted with topics considered in the Philosophy of Sport, please consult the Association’s journal Sport, Ethics and Philosophy:

https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rsep20/current

Eligibility

Candidates must be enrolled in a full-time university undergraduate or graduate level course on 1 September ’21. Submissions must be single-authored and the candidate’s own work, and they must address an issue in the Philosophy of Sport. Each candidate may submit one essay only and submissions must be in English. There is no geographical restriction on eligibility.  

Criteria

In assessing submitted papers, the jury will place a strong emphasis on the following considerations:

• Originality of the essay topic and its treatment;
• Analytical rigour of the essay’s argument;
• Critical engagement with relevant philosophical literature, including relevant work in the Philosophy of Sport.

Candidates will not receive feedback on their submission. The jury reserves the right not to award a prize if submissions fail to achieve an appropriate standard. The decision of the jury is final.

To Enter

Submissions should be emailed in Word or PDF format to j.w.devine@swansea.ac.uk with subject line ‘BPSA Essay Prize’
Candidates should submit two separate documents: 

1. Cover sheet that includes the candidate’s information (i.e. name, email address, university, and essay title); and
2. Essay document that is anonymised so as not to reveal the identity of the candidate. 

Deadline

September 1st, 2021