Thursday, April 9, 2026 (all day)
Friday, April 10, 2026 (all day)
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Carolyn McLeod, Western University
Patient Belonging
Belonging has recently become a strategic priority for many institutions or organizations, particularly in education and business. A similar rise in interest in belonging has not occurred in health care. ‘Belonging’ in this context refers to feeling at home or at ease and an integral part of something. Belonging in health care can refer to health care providers, health professional students, or patients feeling this way within a health care system or specific health care organizations (e.g., a hospital or medical school). The focus of this talk will be patient belonging. I will ask whether the relations patients have with health care institutions and providers should be oriented by belonging. While skeptics will say that patient belonging is inconceivable or unnecessary, I will argue that it is the ideal we should strive for.
| time | speaker/ event |
|---|---|
| 10:20 — 10:30 a.m | Opening Remarks – Kyle Adams |
| 10:30 — 11:15 a.m |
Speaker #1: Manuela Rondón, McMaster University “Standpoints and Accepting you Belong to a Minority Group (argument from the testimony of some autistic/disabled and indigenous people)” |
| 11:30 — 12:15 p.m |
Speaker #2: Johan du Plessis, University of Ottawa “Population Ethics After the Singularity or Post-Human Population Ethics” |
| 12:15 — 1:30 p.m | Lunch. |
| 1:30 — 2:15 p.m |
Speaker #3: Sara Varón Echeverri, Western University “How to know where we belong and who we owe things to?” |
| 2:30 — 3:15 p.m |
Speaker #4: Connor Cosgrove, University of Ottawa “In Defense of Anecdotal Reason: Anecdote as a Facilitator of Epistemic Community” |
| 3:30 — 4:15 p.m. |
Speaker #5: Cathy Zhu, McMaster University “Culpable Ignorance and Akrasia” |
| 4:30 — 5:15 p.m |
Speaker #6: Carmela Vieites Figueiras, University of Valencia “Who are we? Slurs, target groups and reclamation.” |
| 5:30 p.m. | UW Graduate House Social |
| time | speaker/ event |
|---|---|
|
9:45 — 10:00 a.m. |
Opening Remarks – Dr. Mathieu Doucet |
| 10:00 — 10:45 a.m |
Speaker #7: Carson Johnston, Western University “Epistemic Technologies, Epistemic Agents, & Knowledge work” |
| 11:00 — 11:45 a.m |
Speaker #8: Amanda Narvali, University of Guelph “Menstrual Tracking Apps and Self-Trust: Belonging in Digital Spaces” |
| 11:45 — 1:30 p.m | Lunch (provided) |
| 1:30 — 2:15 p.m |
Speaker # 9: Wilfred Jensen, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador “Belonging in Philosophy: Disciplinary Hostility towards Queerness and New Methodologies for Knowledge-making” |
| 2:30 — 3:15 p.m |
Speaker # 10: Vivian Deng, McMaster University “Subordination and Asymmetrical Grounds for Discrimination: A Case for Intersectional Identities” |
| 3:30 — 5:00 p.m |
Keynote: Dr. Carolyn McLeod, Western University “Patient Belonging” |
| 5:00 p.m | Closing Remarks –Kyle Adams |
| 6:00 p.m | Conference Dinner at Solé Uptown (for speakers and organizers) |
Acknowledgements
The 33rd Annual PGSA Graduate Conference is made possible by generous support from the Canadian Journal of Philosophy, the Graduate Studies Endowment Fund, and the University of Waterloo Department of Philosophy