Held annually since 1947, the Mountain-Plains Philosophy Conference is a friendly gathering of scholars who get together to read, to speak, to listen, to argue, and above all to do good philosophy in each other’s company.

About the conference

We accept papers from all areas of philosophical concern, and we’re always looking for volunteers to host the conference and to help put together the program. We typically run a set of single — rather than concurrent — sessions attended by all participants over a couple of days (often Thursday night through Saturday morning). We’ve been fortunate enough to have some terrific keynote speakers, who often participate actively in the conference.

How it works

The Mountain-Plains Conference has historically been hosted by institutions in the Mid- and Mountain West (with occasional forays elsewhere), originally alternating between “mountain” and “plains” locations. Each year, someone volunteers as Local Arrangements Chair (our institutional host), and another volunteer takes on the job of Program Chair. We’re run by a loosely organized Executive Committee, and any interested scholar is welcome to join (we are always on the lookout for new institutional hosts)! Our goal is to keep it friendly, informal, affordable, and fun. We have recently run the conference online, but our goal is always to find a way to get together in person!

Meet the Executive Committee

The Executive Committee is a freewheeling group of volunteers, many of whom have served as institutional hosts, program chairs, and submission reviewers. We are always happy to welcome new members — join us!