The British Society for Phenomenology (BSP) is an organisation whose purpose is to pursue and exchange philosophical ideas inspired by

phenomenology Phenomenology may refer to: Art * Phenomenology (architecture), based on the experience of building materials and their sensory properties Philosophy * Phenomenology (Peirce), a branch of philosophy according to Charles Sanders Peirce (1839� ...

. It was established in 1967 by

Wolfe Mays Wolfe Mays (1912 – 21 January 2005) was a British philosopher. He was the founder of British Society for Phenomenology and the editor of its journal. Mays is known for his efforts for introducing phenomenology in England. He taught at the Uni ...

. The current president of the BSP is Dr Keith Crome. The society accomplishes its aims through a journal, an annual conference (as well as other events), and a podcast.

''Journal of the British Society for Phenomenology'' (JBSP)

The ''Journal of the British Society for Phenomenology'' was launched in 1970. Edited by Wolfe Mays, the president of the BSP, it began by publishing a volume each year consisting of three issues. Wolfe Mays remained the editor up to his death in 2005. Assistant editor Ullrich Haase then took on the editorship. During Haase's leadership, the journal went from three issues a year to four. Haase also moved the journal from a private publisher to

Taylor and Francis Taylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in the United Kingdom that publishes books and academic journals. Its parts include Taylor & Francis, CRC Press, Routledge, F1000 Research and Dovepress. It is a division of ...

, allowing the membership and the public to easily access a wealth of material online, going back to 1970 when the JBSP began. 2019 was the 50th anniversary of the journal, and after 14 years as editor, Haase signalled his intention to stand down from his role, while completing his work on the remaining 2019 volume publications as well as some planned special issues for 2020 and beyond. To celebrate the 50th anniversary, Haase convened a three-day event titled the 'JBSP 50th Anniversary Conference' in Manchester at the International Anthony Burgess Foundation. Keynote speakers were the renowned international academics Prof.

Babette Babich Babette Babich (born 14 November 1956, New York City) is an American philosopher who writes from a continental perspective on aesthetics, philosophy of science, especially Nietzsche's, and technology, especially Martin Heidegger's and Günther And ...

, Prof.

Robert Bernasconi Robert L. Bernasconi (born 1950) is an American philosopher who is the Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of Philosophy at Pennsylvania State University. He is known as a reader of Martin Heidegger and Emmanuel Levinas, and for his work on the concept ...

, and Dr. Francesca Brencio. In the wake of Hasse stepping down as editor the society instituted an editorial collective. In February 2019 Darian Meacham was appointed as editor-in-chief of the editorial collective, working towards the 2020 volume. Other members of the collective include Keith Crome (former BSP president), Andrea Rehberg, William Large, Matt Bernard, Michaela Summa, and Haase (thus continuing his association with the journal). The JBSP is an internationally refereed journal and operates a process of at least two referees blind peer-reviewing. It publishes papers on phenomenology and existential philosophy as well as contributions from other fields of philosophy, the humanities and the human sciences. The journal also publishes book reviews. The online version of the ''Journal of the British Society for Phenomenology'' is hosted at Taylor & Francis Online.

BSP Events

Annual Conference

Each year the British Society for Phenomenology convenes an annual conference at a different location within the UK. Most recently the society has held its annual conference at

Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Education ...

(MMU) (2019 and 2016);

University of Kent The University of Kent (formerly the University of Kent at Canterbury, abbreviated as UKC) is a Collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom. The university was granted its roya ...

(2018); and

University of Brighton The University of Brighton is a public university based in Brighton on the south coast of England. Its roots can be traced back to 1858 when the Brighton School of Art was opened in the Royal Pavilion. It achieved university status in 1992. T ...

(2017). In 2020, the conference went online in response to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, although it was still co-organised with an academic institution, the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...

. The conferences usually have between two and four high-profile keynote speakers who are invited by the conference committee. Recent keynotes have included the renowned international academics and practitioners Havi Carel, Felix O’Murchadha, Tanja Staehler, Luna Dolezal,

Niall Keane Niall Keane is an Irish philosopher and senior lecturer in philosophy at the University of the West of England. Previously he taught at the University of Limerick, Ireland. Keane is known for his works on Gadamer's thought and hermeneutics ...

, Linda Finlay, Mariana Ortega, Sophie Loidolt, and

Dan Zahavi Dan Zahavi (born 1967) is a Danish philosopher. He is professor of philosophy at the University of Copenhagen. Biography Dan Zahavi was born in Copenhagen, Denmark to an Israeli father and a Danish mother. He initially studied phenomenology at t ...

. As well as keynote speakers, there is a call for papers for academics and practitioners to apply to present their work. All applications are blind peer-reviewed by the conference committee. Between 2016 and 2019, the conference format was a single track event, in 2020 the online conference had dual parallel sessions.

Workshops and Symposia

The BSP also funds and convenes workshops and symposia. Most recently, these have included 'Intentionality and the Human' at the

Great North Museum The Great North Museum: Hancock is a museum of natural history and ancient civilisations in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The museum was established in 1884 and was formerly known as the Hancock Museum. In 2006 it merged with Newcastle Unive ...

(Newcastle upon Tyne, 2016); '

Cormac McCarthy Cormac McCarthy (born Charles Joseph McCarthy Jr.; July 20, 1933 – June 13, 2023) was an American author who wrote twelve novels, two plays, five screenplays, and three short stories, spanning the Western, post-apocalyptic, and Southern Got ...

and Philosophy' at the

People's History Museum The People's History Museum (the National Museum of Labour History until 2001) in Manchester, England, is the United Kingdom's national centre for the collection, conservation, interpretation and study of material relating to the history of wor ...

(for MMU, 2017); and 'Embodied Subjects – Phenomenology, Literature, and the Health Humanities' at the International Anthony Burgess Foundation (for MMU, 2018). Speakers have included Francis Halsal, Patrick O’Connor, and

Raymond Tallis Raymond C. Tallis (born 10 October 1946) is a philosopher, poet, novelist, cultural critic and a retired medical physician and clinical neuroscientist. Specialising in geriatrics, Tallis served on several UK commissions on medical care of the a ...

''BSP Podcast''

The BSP Podcast was launched on 10 October 2016. It was created by Matt Barnard, a member of the British Society for Phenomenology's executive committee. The podcast is a free audio streaming service which is organised into seasons, with episodes released each week. It is hosted on the podcast platform, Podbean. It aims to ‘preserve, archive, and share the work of phenomenologists associated with the society’. The content comes from recordings of papers given at BSP events, such as the annual conference as well as workshops and symposia.

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Philosophical societies in the United Kingdom 1967 establishments in the United Kingdom Scientific organizations established in 1967 Continental philosophy organizations Phenomenology