SOPHIA is excited to launch our second round of chapter seed grants, for up to $600 of support to start or grow local or online SOPHIA Chapters. The timeline has changed slightly this year. We have decided to accept applications on a rolling basis, but will give priority to applications submitted by November 15th. Groups that cannot meet that deadline are still encouraged to consider creating a chapter and applying for a seed grant.

In addition, this year we now have three resources available or well established. We have established, for instance,

1. That MeetUp.com is an excellent tool for growing local communities of philosophical conversation. No group is required to use that platform, but groups are encouraged to consider it. Its costs at just under $200 per year can be covered by SOPHIA grant funding, among other things.
2. We have created a Meeting Resources page, which is meant to make organizing your first or next meeting easy and simple. Note that the list of “one-sheets” at the bottom of the page is intended to grow rapidly, in time offering a wide variety of important and fun topics to talk about easily with the help of the sheet for easy facilitation.
3. SOPHIA has also created and published our very first Chapter Handbook here. The tool is meant as a guide for introducing people to what it could mean to launch as well as how to build and maintain a successful SOPHIA Chapter. We are in early planning stages, furthermore, of organizing online meetings featuring the leaders of our first chapters who might make themselves available to talk with prospective chapter leaders or the officers or members of existing new chapters.

Application document with instructions: in MS Word format or in Adobe PDF format

Application-only files: in MS Word format or in Adobe PDF format

Applications should be emailed to us at PhilosophersInAmerica@gmail.com, preferably in Adobe PDF format. While applications will now be accepted on a rolling basis, applications received by November 15th, 2018 will be given priority in this funding cycle. We are happy to answer questions in advance, sent to the same email address.

We are calling for applications for seed grants for up to $600, to support efforts to start SOPHIA Chapters at the local or online levels. The deadline for applications is October 15th, 2017.

Application document with instructions: in MS Word format or in Adobe PDF format

Application-only files: in MS Word format or in Adobe PDF format

Applications should be emailed to us at PhilosophersInAmerica@gmail.com, preferably in Adobe PDF format, by October 15th, 2017. We are happy to answer questions in advance, sent to the same email address.

As SOPHIA’s mission is to build communities of philosophical conversation, one thing we’ve begun to do with many new members is to create “introduction videos,” asking people to introduce themselves, in video, to our group. We generally ask: 1) Tell us about yourself, 2) Why are you interested in philosophy in general and in SOPHIA in particular? and 3) What’s something unusual or unique about you?

Our newest member is Dr. William (Bill) Irwin of King’s College in Pennsylvania. Bill’s case is a little different, because you can be introduced to Bill in a special way — Check out his interview on CNN! This is a fun introduction to Bill and to some of his work in and on popular culture. Check it out!

By the way, Dr. Irwin is a member of SOPHIA’s Editorial Board for Civil American and has agreed to come on Philosophy Bakes Bread sometime this fall!

Check out Bill’s profile page, where you can learn more about him, and find his Facebook and Twitter info.

SOPHIA is still working on the technical system that we will use to manage our chapters. For now, we will announce our chapters with a post like this one, for chapters that we’ll have made official, such as the Oxford MS Chapter. We have groups around the country, who’ve been working with SOPHIA for years, but we are just now formalizing our new system and mechanisms for making these chapters official. More information will be coming out soon about what’s involved. We will also be offering mini-grants to initial chapters who apply for the support. Here’s info about the chapter in Oxford, MS!

Chapter President: Dr. Deborah Mower

Membership Officer: TBD

Operations Officer: TBD

Core Members: 

Dr. Robert Barnard

Dr. Deborah Mower

Dr. Neil Manson

Dr. Steven Skultety

Inaugural Meeting

The University of Mississippi chapter of SOPHIA held its inaugural event of “The Great Debate” on April 27th, 2017. Each year, students from the UM Ethics Bowl Team will address a difficult question and debate the issues for an audience of students, faculty, staff, and all members of the community. This year’s question was “Should the governor of the state of Mississippi declare April ‘Confederate Heritage Month’?”

Governor Phil Bryant has declared April to be ‘Confederate Heritage Month’ in both 2016 and 2017. In 2016, the proclamation was on the Governor’s website with the purpose of the designation: “it is important for all Americans to reflect upon our nation’s past, to gain insight from our mistakes and successes, and to come to a full understanding that the lessons learned yesterday and today will carry us through tomorrow if we carefully and earnestly strive to understand and appreciate our heritage and our opportunities which lie before us” [CNN]. In 2017, the Governor’s office did not post the proclamation on the website, but a copy was posted on the Mississippi Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans website [MDSCV and now on their Facebook page]. As stated on the website, the purpose of the organization is “to encourage the preservation of history, perpetuate the hallowed memories of brave men, to assist in the observance of Memorial Day, to aid and support all members, widows and orphans, and to perpetuate the record of the services of every Southern Soldier” [MDSCV’s About page]. In addition, the home page explains that “The citizen-soldiers who fought for the Confederacy personified the best qualities of America. The preservation of liberty and freedom was the motivating factor in the South’s decision to fight the Second American Revolution. The tenacity with which Confederate soldiers fought underscored their belief in the rights guaranteed by the Constitution. These attributes are the underpinning of our democratic society and represent the foundation on which this nation was built” [MDSCV].

In The Great Debate, audience members were presented with a case with pertinent details, arguments, and concerns on both sides of the issue, along with a copy of common fallacies made in arguments. The UM Ethics Bowl Team each took a side of the issue and presented careful arguments, which were projected on screens via PowerPoint to help the audience follow the intricacies of their position. After the debate presentation, the team members fielded questions first from three guest judges (who modeled the kind of civil and insightful inquiry of the event) and then from the audience designed to clarify their initial arguments and to press follow-up points. After the Q and A and discussion, everyone was invited to a catered reception to continue the conversation informally. Through the clear presentation of claims and civil dialogue, we hope to institute this as a yearly event to demonstrate how to make progress on thorny ethical and political questions in our society through civil dialogue.

For more information about the Oxford MS Chapter of SOPHIA, contact Chapter President Mower.

Head over to our Philosophy Bakes Bread collection at SOPHIA’s CafePress page. Get’em while they’re hot!