Just Theory Lecture Series

Faculty and students after a lecture.

The Just Theory Lectures Series is an annual series of presentations hosted by and held within the Comparative Literature Department. These lectures bring some of the most well-known and influential thinkers working in the fields of literary criticism and philosophy to the department to present new research. These lectures are free and open to the public and bring together students and scholars from the larger UB community.

SPRING 2025 JUST THEORY DATES

February 20 at 4:00pm in Clemens 708
Romy Opperman, The New School 
“Revolting atmospheres and climate revolutions"

March 6 at 4:00pm in Clemens 708
Daniela Vallega-Neu
 "Rethinking the Body-Soul with Aristotle and Nancy."

March 13 at 4:00pm in Clemens 708
Stuart Elden
“French Theory and the Indo-Europeans”

March 25-27 all events will be held at 4:00pm in Clemens 708
Eugenio Donato Seminar
Kristina Mendocino, Brown Univeristy 
"Logos: On Riddles, Gaps, and Remainders in Heraclitus, Heidegger, and Lacan"
-"On the Way to Logos: Heidegger’s secondary Revision"
-"The Significance of ‘Saying'(λέγειν, legen, léguer)"
-"Virtual Homologies: From the Hearing the Other to the Truth that will have been"

2025 LATINA/X FEMINISMS ROUNDTABLE

April 4-5, 2025
University at Buffalo, NY (both in-person & via Zoom)

2025 Organizers:
Andrea Pitts (University at Buffalo)
Denise Meda-Lambru (Univ. of North Texas)
Maria Chaves Daza (SUNY Oneonta)

Invited Speakers:
Taína Asili (she/her/ella)
Kristie Soares (she/they)
Emma Velez (she/they)

This year’s theme for the Latina/x Feminisms Roundtable is Desorden Aesthetics: Translocal Art and Communities and we invite engagement with Latina/x, Latin American and Caribbean feminist theories, practices, and creative works on this theme. 

  • REGISTRATION is available here.

  • GENERAL DATES and SCHEDULE: Friday, April 4th and Saturday, April 5th. Both days will begin at 8AM for breakfast with our first sessions at 9AM. Friday will conclude at 8PM, including dinner, and Saturday's conference sessions will wrap up around 6:00PM, with a closing reception beginning at 7PM, including a free dinner buffet and live music by Taína Asili y su Banda, a free bachata lesson by local dance instructor Fanny Olaya, and a community dance social afterwards playing salsa, bachata, timba, merengue, reggaeton and more!

  • FULL SCHEDULE available here

  • KEYNOTE & HONORED GUEST information available here

  • BUFFALO AREA MAP is available here. On this map, you'll find all our conference venues, hotels, parking info, and a number of local districts and attractions.

  • IN-PERSON VENUE: The conference will be held at the University at Buffalo's South Campus in Diefendorf Hall (Fri) and Hayes Hall (Sat). Please also be sure to tell us about any accessibility needs in the registration form.

  • HYBRID SETUP: We will have a hybrid option for attendees and presenters via Zoom. We are requiring registration for all online attendees, and are taking precautions to avoid any outside disruptions to the event. Please indicate on the registration form how you plan to attend the event (in-person, online, or both).

  • LODGING: Several conference guests are staying at the Wyndham Gardens Buffalo Downtown Hotel and the Hampton Inn Buffalo-Williamsville. There will be transportation to/from the conference venue for guests staying at these hotels (but unfortunately not other hotels).

    There are also a number of other hotel and lodging options in the area, although, unfortunately, we cannot provide transportation from other venues.

    If you are interested in sharing a hotel room or lodging option with someone else, please indicate this on the registration form and we'll put you in contact with others who are also interested in this option.This can help reduce your travel costs.

  • FLIGHTS/TRAIN: We suggest flying into Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF). This is the central airport in Buffalo, and there are Lyft/Uber/taxi services available from this airport. (A rideshare trip from BUF to the Wyndham Gardens hotel would likely be between $30-45). There is also an Amtrak train line to Buffalo with route information available here.

  • MEALS: Breakfasts, lunches, and dinners will be provided for Friday (Apr. 4th) and Saturday (Apr. 5th) of the conference. There will be vegan and gluten free options available. Please indicate any dietary needs on the registration form as well.

  • LOCAL TRANSPORTATION: Buffalo has a central rail line from the downtown to UB's South Campus, the conference venue. There are also local buses and rideshare services available quite easily across the city. Buffalo, as a city, is quite small geographically, so most local rides are often within $15-25 (excluding the suburbs like Amherst, Williamsville, Kenmore, Cheektowaga, and other neighboring towns, which would cost more).

  • ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS: Please contact the conference organizers at latinaxfeminismsroundtable2025@gmail.com.

International Symposium:

"After Europe: On Rodolphe Gasché and the Ends of an Idea"

Date: April 23-25
Time: 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
Location: M&T Auditorium
Jacobs School of Medicine and Biological Sciences
955 Main Street, Buffalo, New York 14203

Admission: Free and open to the public

Must register by April 18, 2025

Join us for an international symposium exploring the legacy of Rodolphe Gasché and the idea of Europe.

Bringing together leading scholars from across the globe, this event will engage with Gasché’s influential work on European thought, philosophy and the limits of the European idea. Through interdisciplinary dialogues, panel discussions and presentations, participants will critically reflect on the philosophical, political and cultural dimensions of "After Europe."

Featured Participants Include:

  • Simon Glendinning, European Institute, London School of Economics, London, England 
  • Cristóbal Garibay-Petersen, European Institute, London School of Economics, London, England
  • Juan Manuel Garrido, Universidad Alberto Hurtado, Santiago, Chile
  • Pablo Oyarzún, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile 
  • Hans-Georg Rheinberger, Max Planck Institute, Berlin, Germany
  • Donald Cross, University of North Carolina, Charlotte USA
  • David E Johnson, University at Buffalo, Buffalo USA 
  • Élise Lamy-Rested, Lycée Henri Wallon de l'Académie de Créteil
  • Myrto Drizou, Nord University, Norway 
  • Héctor González Castaño, Institute of Philosophy, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan
  • Francesco Vitale, Università di Salerno, Italy (at Yale U, USA spring 2025)
  • Aïcha Liviana Messina, Instituto de Filosofía, Universidad Diego Portales, Santiago, Chile
  • Gerhard Richter, Brown University, USA  
  • Geoffrey Bennington, Emory University, USA
  • Stephen Gingerich, Cleveland State University, USA 
  • Dennis Schmidt, University of Western Sydney, Australia

FALL 2024 JUST THEORY DATES

September 26 at 4:00pm in Clemens 708
Gareth Williams, University of Michigan
"Politics and the Intolerability of Life: ‘Place,‘ Destitution, and the Spanish Republic in Peter Weiss‘ The Aesthetics of Resistance"

October 3 at 4:00pm in Clemens 708
Katherine Davies, University of Texas at Dallas
“A Critical Temporal Phenomenology of Family Policing”

October 24 at 4:00pm in Clemens 708
Bruno Bosteels, Columbia University 
“The Retreat of the Political: What Is To Be Undone?”

Jorge Gracia Critical Race Theory/Critical Race Philosophy Seminar
All events will be held at 4:00pm in Clemens 708
Surya Parekh, Binghamton University

    Wednesday, November 13
    “The Black Subject and Kant”

    Thursday, November 14
    “Sitting with Wheatley”

    Friday, November 15
    “Swimming in the Mainstream: Black Studies at the turn of the 20th Century and     the Learning of Languages”