This is a friendly reminder of the Call for Papers sent out earlier; please feel free to pass this along to anyone you believe may be interested.  If you have any questions/concerns, please contact me directly (my email is below).  I apologize for cross-posting.
Jami Anderson

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Call for Papers: The Philosophy of Autism

Editors:   Jami L. Anderson, Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Michigan-Flint; Simon Cushing, Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Michigan-Flint

We invite contributions for the edited collection The Philosophy of Autism.

Autism is much in the news.  Not a day goes by that there is not an article in the newspaper, speculating on the causes, the cures, the hardships (both social and individual), that result from autism-spectrum disorders.  Yet despite the autism-hype, there has been very little philosophical analysis of the classificatory frameworks and interpretive theories that psychologists have put forward or discussion of the social and normative implications of the particular talents and limits common to those "on the spectrum."  This is all-the-more surprising given, not just the steadily-increasing numbers of diagnosed individuals in the general population, but the comparatively high incidence of behaviors amongst academics and their family members that are symptomatic of being on the spectrum. 

This collection will be firmly in the analytic tradition of philosophy and will work from the premise that Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) raise interesting philosophical questions that need to be addressed in a manner that is clear, jargon-free and accessible.  We encourage papers that approach issues surrounding Autism from the background of social and political theory, ethics, philosophy of (social) science and metaphysics, but we are keen to be surprised by interesting papers in other fields of philosophy as well.  In all cases, however, autism should be the main focus of the paper; it should not be a side or incidental example used to motivate a discussion only tangentially relevant to autism.  It is, therefore, expected that authors should have a more-than-passing knowledge of what it is to be "on the spectrum".

We invite submissions in the format of traditional academic papers of no more than 7000 words (including footnotes).  Here is an incomplete list of possible topics:

analyses of the meaning of autism/autism spectrum disorder
justification for, and social implications of, being "labeled" 
the creation (and recent elimination) of "Aspergers" as a sub-category of ASD
the heterogeneity of autistic disorders
gender/feminist analyses of the description of autism as a "extreme male brain"
analysis and critique of mindreading and mindblindness 
what empathy is, to what extent those on the spectrum are hampered in it, and the implications (both actual and perceived) of any restrictions for their role as moral agents
the autist community/autism as a source of identity
social injustices experienced by autists 
parenting/family matters (schooling, disciplining, use of restraints) 
friendships, moral development in autistic children/teens 
loving/affectionate relationships with or between/among autists
philosophical analysis of various therapy models and/or the goals of therapy models

Completed articles should be directed to both editors, [log in to unmask] and [log in to unmask]

All submissions must be received via electronic file no later than December 15, 2010.  We encourage prospective authors to contact the editors with questions about submissions.


Dr. Jami L. Anderson
Chair, Philosophy Department
University of Michigan-Flint