John Dewey Society
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John Dewey Society
@johndeweysociety.bsky.social
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The purpose of the John Dewey Society is to foster intelligent inquiry into problems pertaining to the place and function of education in social change, and to share, discuss, and disseminate the results of such studies.

https://www.johndeweysociety.org/
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johndeweysociety.bsky.social
The John Dewey Society 2026 conference Call for Proposals is officially open! The conference will be held in Montréal, Canada from August 10-12, 2026.

Proposals are due March 1, 2026.
This image contains information about the Call for Proposals for the John Dewey Society's annual conference. The John Dewey Society invites submissions for the 2026 annual meeting, to be held at Concordia University, and at Université du Québec à Montréal, in Montréal, Canada, from August 10th - 12th. The deadline for proposals in March 1, 2026. 2026 marks our 90th anniversary. In celebration of this important milestone, we are delighted to be cooperating with the International Network of Philosophers of Education (INPE) and the Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain (PESGB). Join us for what promises to be a unique opportunity to meet with others from around the world, engage in dialogue, and form new connections! We issue a broad call, acknowledging the impact of Dewey’s work across philosophical scholarship, education and community organizing. We invite proposals for paper or alternative sessions that take up the ideas and spirit of Dewey to analyze pressing social issues of our time, especially as these relate to education. We also encourage contributions on our conference theme: The John Dewey Society at 90 — Borders and Bridges For more details see the rest of the CFP or visit the conference website at https://www.johndeweysociety.org/conferences/montreal-2026/ This image contains information that details the conference theme: Our conference theme, Borders and Bridges, is designed to acknowledge the ways borders are and are not being crossed, and bridges are and are not being built in today’s educational, social and political worlds. We invite proposals that consider how Dewey’s thinking may help us locate those ideas and practices in our own time that create borders in our minds—divisiveness, distortion of truth and understanding, and suppression of free interchange of ideas—and those that might bridge communities, possibly releasing the “educative power” present in all human relations. Proposals might address, but are not limited to: 1) Democracy, education and justice: What can we learn by connecting past and present philosophical analysis of the relation between democracy, education and justice? (How) can we link Deweyan philosophy to contemporary Indigenous and decolonial theories to confront injustices and move towards equity and social justice? 2) The teacher and society: What is the teacher’s role in questions of equity, inclusion, and fostering democratic ways of life, given current societal challenges? What barriers to free association might we identify today within and between classrooms, schools and communities, and how might these be addressed? (How) might Deweyan thinking on teaching connect to contemporary dialogic, relational, Indigenous and/or decolonial pedagogies? 3) The arts, education and social change: What is the role of the arts in revitalising democracy as a way of life? Might Deweyan thinking inspire new creative, experimental approaches to education today (like Black Mountain College in the 30’s), that could help us confront current challenges in Higher Education? How can the arts, in all forms, intentionally incorporate what is cognitive, affective, and practice-based, opening new vistas for both democracy and education that go beyond the academic/intellectual? This image contains information about how to submit a proposal: How to Submit Deadline for all submissions: March 1, 2026 (midnight EST). We will employ EasyChair for proposal review (EasyChair.org). All proposal must be submitted on EasyChair by the deadline. Please create an account in EasyChair and then link your account to the John Dewey Society 2026 using the link provided: https://easychair.org/my2/conference?conf=jds2026 The system is now open for proposals. Questions about submissions may be directed to Jessica Heybach, JDS Program Chair (jessica.heybach@wmich.edu). Notification of acceptance by April 15, 2026. Full papers should be completed by June 1, 2026, and sent to the programme chair, so that discussants can prepare remarks. Awards and publication: Presented papers will be eligible for consideration for the JDS/Educational Theory Outstanding Paper Award. That award carries with it a $500 prize, with publication (after peer review) of the paper in Educational Theory. Graduate students are eligible for the Graduate Student Outstanding Paper Award. We also encourage accepted submissions to submit their completed paper to one of the Society’s journals: Education & Culture, the Journal of School & Society, and Dewey Studies. For further details see: conference page on the JDS website at https://www.johndeweysociety.org/conferences/montreal-2026/ This image contains information about proposal types: Proposals for papers: (1) The title of your paper (2) Your name, email, country/region, and institutional affiliation (if any) (3) A short abstract of the paper, up to 100 words (4) The status of your JDS membership (current member, interested in joining, needs more information, etc.) (5) Are you a graduate student who is interested in being considered for the John Dewey Society Outstanding Graduate Student Paper Award? (6) Upload a longer, 1000-word summary of your paper as an anonymized document in Word or PDF. That document should have all identifying information removed for anonymous review. In that Word (or PDF) document, please provide the following, using headers A and B: A. Title of the Paper B. Descriptive summary: provide a detailed summary of the paper (maximum length 1000 words), explaining your paper and its significance. List key references to place your contribution in the broader scholarly conversation. Proposals for alternate sessions of all kinds: (1) The title of your session (2) Organizer’s name, email, country. region, and institutional affiliation (if any) (3) A short abstract of the session, up to 100 words (4) Names and affiliations of all other participants, including the status of their JDS membership (current member, interested in joining, needs more information, etc.) (5) Upload a longer descriptive summary of your session as an anonymized document in Word or PDF. That document should have all identifying information removed for anonymous review. In that Word (or PFD) document, please provide the following, using headers for A and B: A. Title of the session B. Descriptive summary: provide a summary of the session (maximum length 1500 words), explaining the type of session, the paper topics and/or activities involved, and the role each participant plays in the session. List key references to place your contribution in the broader scholarly and practice-based conversation.
December 13, 2025 at 6:48 PM
johndeweysociety.bsky.social
🚨BREAKING NEWS🚨

The John Dewey Society 2026 conference Call for Proposals is officially open! The conference will be held in Montréal, Canada from August 10-12, 2026.

Proposals are due March 1, 2026.
December 6, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Reposted by John Dewey Society
rebeccataylor.bsky.social
Book 145: “Reconstruction in Philosophy” by John Dewey

Thanks to @thehangedman.com & @deweycenter.siu.edu for choosing this (new to me) Dewey text for our Fall book club read. Looking forward to our last session today 📚 // @johndeweysociety.bsky.social

#philsky #academicsky #booksky
November 21, 2025 at 4:09 PM
johndeweysociety.bsky.social
In this guest authored piece for the JDS Democracy Initiative, Gert Biesta asks, "What kind of midwifery education can perform vis-à-vis democracy?"

open.substack.com/pub/jdsdemoc...
November 22, 2025 at 5:44 PM
johndeweysociety.bsky.social
Ninni Wahlström responds to Dewey's quote: "Democracy is a way of life controlled by a working faith in the possibilities of human nature…"

open.substack.com/pub/jdsdemoc...
School and Democracy
Ninni Wahlström’s response to October’s quote was published in “School and Society,” a Swedish, online newspaper/blog.
open.substack.com
November 16, 2025 at 10:11 PM
johndeweysociety.bsky.social
Heidelberg Center for American Studies is calling for submissions to their conference on Contested Authority, Trust in Transition: Making Sense of the American Landscape.

Submissions include an abstract of 250 words and a short bio Due Nov. 15.

backend.hca.uni-heidelberg.de/de/dokumente...
November 5, 2025 at 2:19 PM
johndeweysociety.bsky.social
Fear, Faith, and the Fight for Democracy
open.substack.com/pub/jdsdemoc...
Fear, Faith, and the Fight for Democracy
Democracy is a way of life controlled by a working faith in the possibilities of human nature. John Dewey, 1939, “Creative Democracy: The Task before Us"
open.substack.com
October 20, 2025 at 1:57 PM
johndeweysociety.bsky.social
An Old Lesson, A New Perspective
open.substack.com/pub/jdsdemoc...
An Old Lesson, A New Perspective
Disinformation, Fear, and Normalizing Armed Troops: How Our Democratic Faith in Peace Enters Disharmony and Conflict
open.substack.com
October 20, 2025 at 1:56 PM
johndeweysociety.bsky.social
The Journal of School of School and Society is seeking submissions for their next issue (11.1). Their call for public scholarship asks: What does fear look like today, and how should we navigate it in our democratic and educational endeavors?
September 21, 2025 at 6:05 PM
johndeweysociety.bsky.social
Michele S. Moses and Terri S. Wilson (University of Colorado Boulder) recently published a chapter in the AERA Handbook on Policy Research (2025). Their chapter, titled “Philosophy and Education Policy,” explores the ways in which philosophical inquiry may contribute to policy research.
September 19, 2025 at 1:28 PM
johndeweysociety.bsky.social
Dialogue in Democratic Education Conference June 11-12, 2026

University of Oulu, Finland

Paper submissions due November 30
September 16, 2025 at 10:15 AM
johndeweysociety.bsky.social
Check out Jim Garrison’s interview in the “I Am An American Philosopher” series from the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy (SAAP).

american-philosophy.org/i-am-an-amer...
I Am An American Philosopher: Jim Garrison
“Extending Emerson’s essay “The American Scholar” suggests that American philosophy must mean what happens when those who colonized the Americas begin to think for themselves while pursuing w…
american-philosophy.org
September 10, 2025 at 11:16 AM
johndeweysociety.bsky.social
Check out the latest contribution to the JDS Democracy Initiative on Substack. Ninni Wahlstrom reminds us that schools are sites for conducive for renewing our democracy each generation.

open.substack.com/pub/jdsdemoc...
The Meaning of Belonging in a Globalized World
Democracy has to be born anew every generation, and education is its midwife.
open.substack.com
September 8, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Reposted by John Dewey Society
rebeccataylor.bsky.social
Book 116: ‘KNOWING AND THE KNOWN’ by John Dewey and Arthur F. Bentley

Found a new (to me) Dewey book! Still a few more to go to my goal of read EVERYTHING he wrote, but I’m working on it. // @johndeweysociety.bsky.social @deweycenter.siu.edu

#booksky #bookchallenge #philsky #academicsky #edusky
August 21, 2025 at 11:08 AM
johndeweysociety.bsky.social
Robert Karaba's letter to the editor reminds us of Dewey's claim that “democracy has to be born anew every generation, and education is its midwife.”

sfreporter.com/columns/lett...
Letters to the Editor: Aug. 20
sfreporter.com
August 21, 2025 at 2:03 AM
johndeweysociety.bsky.social
Subscribe for free to the John Dewey Society Democracy Initiative on Substack to engage with original essays written by Deweyan scholars. #democracy #philosophy #johndeweysociety

jdsdemocracyinitiative.substack.com
The JDS Democracy Initiative | Substack
With this Democracy Initiative, members of the John Dewey Society seek to bring the resources of the philosophy of pragmatism to bear in these fraught times. Click to read The JDS Democracy Initiative...
jdsdemocracyinitiative.substack.com
August 1, 2025 at 8:46 PM