The CSCP is a professional organization dedicated to the pursuit and exchange of philosophical ideas inspired by Continental European traditions. Our intent is to provide a forum for scholarly interests in such fields as phenomenology, critical theory, hermeneutics, existentialism, deconstruction, and feminism.
We hold an annual meeting in Canada each fall, to which members and non-members are invited to submit papers on any theme relevant to the broad concerns of contemporary Continental thought.
We also publish Symposium: Canadian Journal of Continental Philosophy.
A little history
The Society was founded in 1984 under the name “Canadian Society for Hermeneutics and Postmodern Thought”. Its broad purpose was to promote scholarship in several traditions of Continental philosophy by means of an annual conference and other activities. The Society’s founders were Gary Madison, Anthony Kerby, John van Buren, John King, Michael Yeo and Jeff Mitscherling. Former presidents are Gary Madison, Jeff Mitscherling, Linda Fisher, Marty Fairbairn, Paul Fairfield, Diane Enns, Iain Macdonald, and Shannon Hoff. The current president is Laura McMahon.
In 1997 the Society began publication of Symposium: Journal of the Canadian Society for Hermeneutics and Postmodern Thought, a peer-reviewed journal with an international editorial board. Its founding editor was Donald Ipperciel, who served in that capacity until 2001. Since then, the journal’s editors have been Paul Fairfield, Antonio Calcagno, Marie-Eve Morin, and current editor Lorraine Markotic.
The membership of the Society voted in 2004 to change its name to the “Canadian Society for Continental Philosophy” in recognition of the increasingly broad range of interests among its members. The journal was subsequently renamed Symposium: Canadian Journal of Continental Philosophy.
Current members include scholars and graduate students working in such fields as German Idealism, existentialism, phenomenology, hermeneutics, critical theory, feminism, postmodernism, poststructuralism, and deconstruction, from various disciplinary approaches within the humanities, social sciences and fine arts. The Society’s mission continues to be to promote original research and education in these fields through both its annual conference and its journal.