Description
Nursing philosophy has been an important part of nursing scholarship since the inception of the discipline. Philosophical writing, however, is a distinct genre. This workshop will provide an opportunity for participants to learn the genre: to learn how to critically read works in philosophy and to turn their critiques into publishable nursing philosophy essays.
The workshop will be a one semester/two quarter duration (from January 2022 to May 2022), during which we will meet via Zoom weekly at the start and move towards independent writing and group review toward the end of the workshop.
The workshop will begin with targeted readings and discussion of philosophical texts that will be selected based on participants’ stated interests. During the course of the workshop, participants will experiment with philosophical writing and be mentored by experienced faculty. By the end of the workshop the participant is expected to have produced a solid basis for an essay suitable for publication or conference presentation.
Note: The workshop is open to students/faculty from any university, but there are no course credits being offered.
Location
The workshop will be completely virtual and conducted via Zoom. We intend to create meeting times that will allow participants from multiple locations/countries to be able to attend. All participants will therefore need a computer with internet access and ability to use the Zoom portal.
Audience
This workshop is primarily intended for nursing PhD graduate students who have already obtained candidacy status. Nursing faculty are also encouraged to apply, especially those new to philosophical writing and scholarship.
A maximum of 10 participants will be admitted into the workshop.
Instructors
Dr. Mark Risjord is a Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Emory University and a Center for Nursing Philosophy steering committee member. He received his PhD in Philosophy from the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill. With respect to issues in health care, Risjord’s primary focus has been issues in nursing research. His book Nursing Knowledge: Science, Practice, and Philosophy (Wiley-Blackwell, 2010) studies the history of nursing scholarship and contributes to contemporary discussions in nursing about the character of nursing research.
Dr. Miriam Bender is Associate Professor at the University of California Irvine’s Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing and the Director of the Center for Nursing Philosophy. Empirically, Dr. Bender’s research focuses on the relationality between the organization of healthcare delivery, multi-professional practice dynamics, and patient care quality and safety outcomes. The challenges of inquiring into the dynamic complexities of healthcare has spurred a philosophical turn in her scholarship, including efforts to unpack and critique epistemological and methodological paradigms that paradoxically advance determinate theories in a discipline that is defined by a commitment to the non-reducibility of the health/care experience.
Josh Dolin is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Philosophy at the University of California, Irvine. His research interests lie primarily in virtue ethics and virtue epistemology. His essays have appeared in Ethical Theory and Moral Practice and American Philosophical Quarterly. Josh will serve as a graduate student researcher in the Center for Nursing Philosophy (supported through a Mellon-funded grant) and facilitate instruction in this workshop.
Application Period
The application period opens Sept. 1, 2021 and closes Oct. 15, 2021. Notification of acceptance into the workshop will happen by Nov. 15. A syllabus of readings and meeting times will follow, based on the interests and time zone locations of accepted participants.
The workshop will start the week of Jan. 10, 2022 and end the week of May 2, 2022.
Accepted participants must commit to full participation in all aspects of the workshop, which include weekly readings, weekly meetings, and regular writing.
Application Materials
Please submit the following application documents:
- Topic Proposal: Describe the philosophical questions or ideas you would like to explore in the workshop. Highlight the philosophical questions or ideas and explain how they are related to nursing scholarship or practice. (250 words maximum) Sample proposals are provided on the Center for Nursing Philosophy website.
- Personal Statement: Describe how nursing philosophy fits into your expected nursing career or practice, what attracts you to doing philosophy, and any previous education in or experience with philosophy (250 words maximum)
- A letter of support from your PhD advisor (for graduate students) or Chair/Dean (for faculty). This letter should acknowledge that the workshop will take time away from the participant’s other academic duties and make clear how the participant’s time will be protected by the participant’s department/school to ensure they can attend and complete all workshop activities (for example by being able to enroll in a directed studies course at their university to account for and provides credit for the workshop activities)
- Up-to-date curriculum vitae
Contacts
For questions, please contact either Dr. Mark Risjord (mrisjor@emory.edu) or Dr. Miriam Bender (miriamb@uci.edu)
