Philosophy Born of Struggle
Annual Meeting
16-17 October 2026
“’I’m Buildin Me A Home’: Education as Struggle, Education as World-Making”
Call for Abstracts
Submission Deadline: August 29th, 2026.
Hosted this year at Mississippi State University, Mississippi
PBS has been in existence since 1993. Since that time, much of the focus by way of its conference CFP’s has been centered around philosophical discussions concerning aspects of liberation thinking. This year’s focus will continue in the same vein, but will bring to the fore the topic of education and its role in human/community development and social transformation. To this end, papers which focus on critical examinations of education (both historical and current iterations), phenomenologies of education, or questions concerning the possibilities of education [today] functioning as a tool against oppression, marginalization, and underdevelopment are welcomed.
Questions emerging from this year’s theme include but are not limited to the following:
- How can education function as a tool for liberation in the face of systemic oppression and marginalization?
- In what ways have historical educational practices contributed to or hindered community development and social transformation?
- What phenomenological perspectives can illuminate the lived experiences of education as both struggle and world-making?
- How might current educational institutions be reimagined to better serve the goals of human and community development?
- What challenges and opportunities exist in using education to resist underdevelopment and foster social change today?
Hosted this year at Mississippi State University, Mississippi. Philosophy Born of Struggle asks for papers or panel proposals attempting to answer the aforementioned questions.
The submission deadline is August 29th, 2026. PBS welcomes any papers inspired by or creatively engaging this year’s theme. In keeping with PBS tradition, papers concerning other liberation traditions, or which reclaim/expand upon the work of someone within this tradition, especially African American thinkers, are always welcomed.
Please state the proposed title and 300-word abstract of your paper in a Word document that you attach to an email. In the body of the email please state your preferred name, pronouns, and affiliation. In the subject line please put PBOS 2026 Abstract. Email to aneal@philrel.msstate.edu.
Registration Fee: $50.00 (Graduate Students’ registration fee waived)
The Philosophy Born of Struggle (PBS) conference was first organized in 1993 by J. Everet Green at Rockland Community College, and officially took on the name Philosophy Born of Struggle several years later to continue the study and traditions announced by Leonard Harris’s anthology Philosophy Born of Struggle: Anthology of Afro-American Philosophy from 1917. Every year PBS enjoys being hosted by universities, colleges, and community colleges throughout the country. For over two decades, PBS has remained a traveling conference dedicated to bringing Africana philosophy to various communities, be they academic or not, in the United States.
PBS is an interdisciplinary and open philosophical community. We welcome interlocutors from all traditions, including but not limited to Afrocentrism, womanism, feminism, queer/quare/trans theory, Marxism, Pan-Africanism, pragmatism, and existentialism. We also welcome participants regardless of discipline and professional affiliation. More information on Philosophy Born of Struggle including interviews of African American philosophers, past keynote speakers, and various literatures can be found at: https://pbos.com/
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