Gregory Brown
513 Agnes Arnold Hall
Department of Philosophy
University of Houston
Houston, TX 77204-3004

Leibniz Society of North America Newsletter (2007-2008)

APA Sessions

  • EASTERN APA: Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel, Washington, DC (27-30 December 2007)
    • Saturday, 29 December 2007
    • Group Session X (GX-6), 8:00 - 11:00 PM, Dover C (Third Floor)
      • Chair: Martha Bolton (Rutgers University)
      • Speaker: Mark Kulstad (Rice University)
      • Topic: "Leibniz on the Relationship of God and the World"

LSNA Essay Contest

  • The winner of the 2007 Leibniz Society Essay Competition is Jeffrey McDonough (Harvard University), for his essay, "Leibniz: Creation and Conservation and Concurrence." The winning essay was presented at the First Annual Leibniz Society of North America Conference (Rice University, Houston, TX, 25-27 January 2008).
  • Twenty-sixth annual competition (2008): In an effort to encourage the study of the philosophy of Leibniz in North America and to give recognition to deserving scholars, the Leibniz Society of North America (LSNA) is continuing its annual Essay Competition. Submitted essays should be on some aspect of the philosophy of Leibniz. They should be from twelve to twenty-five pages in length (double-spaced), and should be submitted by June 1, 2008, as determined by postmark. The winning essay (or essays) will be presented before the Society at the 2008-09 Annual Conference of the LSNA, with the Society retaining final discretion as to the specific site. In addition, the author of a winning essay will have the option of publishing it in the Leibniz Review. To facilitate anonymous judging, the author's name should be given only on a separate title page or cover sheet and should not appear in the body or footnotes of the paper; neither should identifiable information such as full references to publications by the author. Judges reserve the right not to name a winner in the event that none of the submissions is deemed to be of sufficient quality or suitability for the award. Suitability for oral presentation may play a role in the judging. Full scholarly apparatus is preferred but not required; sufficiently developed works-in-progress will, therefore, have a chance in the competition and may be submitted. Previous one-time winners are encouraged to re-enter, but a given person can win the competition at most twice. Essays in French or German may be submitted as well as those in English, but all applicants should keep in mind the condition of presentation and should not submit an essay unless they will be able to read their paper at the Annual LSNA Conference.  There is no reimbursement for travel possible.  Please send submissions to the Coordinator of the LSNA Essay Competition: Professor Mark Kulstad, Department of Philosophy, MS-14, Rice University, Houston, TX 77251-1892, U.S.A. // (713) 348-2724 // kulstad@ruf.rice.edu

First Annual Leibniz Society of North America Conference

Minutes of the LSNA Executive Committee Meeting (25 January 2008, Houston, TX)

Leibniz Society Executive Committee Meeting
January 25, 2008
Present:  Brandt Bolton, Brown, Garber, Hartz, Kulstad, Levey, Look, Rutherford
Meeting called to order: 7:20pm

  1. The nominating committee decided to propose the following individuals for various posts: Secretary/Treasurer (Larry Carlin); Executive Committee (Ursula Goldenbaum, Sukjae Lee); Vice-President (Nicholas Jolley).
  2. Amending the Constitution. It was discussed whether to formalize the relationship between the LSNA and The Leibniz Review. The sense of the executive committee was that the relationship should be formalized by: (i) having the editor of The Leibniz Review be an ex officio member of the executive committee, and (ii)  having the editor be selected by the executive committee to serve for (renewable) terms of fixed-length (e.g., five years). Garber proposed that a subcommittee – Martha Brandt Bolton and Michael Murray – should circulate a draft of the required amendments to the society’s constitution.
  3. Planning the Next Conference. It was agreed that the LSNA would continue to host annual conferences. Member volunteered to host the next three conferences: (i)  in AY 08-09, Daniel Garber (Princeton); (ii) in AY 09-10, Brandon Look (Kentucky); (iii) in AY 10-11, Greg Brown (Houston).
  4. APA Sessions. It was decided to continue holding an LSNA session at the Eastern Division Meeting of the APA but that the society try to get a time (e.g., in the afternoon) that would draw greater participation.

Meeting was adjourned at 8:10pm.

Respectfully submitted,
Brandon C. Look

Minutes of the LSNA Business Meeting (26 January 2008, Houston, TX)

  1. The Nominating Committee proposed the following candidates for office: Vice President (Nick Jolley); Secretary-Treasurer (Larry Carlin) Members of the Board (Ursula Goldenbaum and Sukjae Lee). A motion to close the nominations was made by Bob Sleigh, seconded by Greg Brown, and approved. All nominees were unanimously elected. (All of these positions on the Executive Committee of the Leibniz Society of North America have four-year terms, with the terms officially beginning on December 1, 2008. Special thanks are extended to those whose terms will end at that time. Your service to the Leibniz Society has been, and continues to be, very much appreciated.)
  2. Announcement of location and host for up-coming Conferences: 2008-09, Princeton University hosted by Dan Garber; 2009-10, University of Kentucky hosted by Brandon Look; 2010-11, University of Houston hosted by Greg Brown. Those attending the meeting expressed lively appreciation to the conference hosts.
  3. Informal report that the Executive Committee voted at its meeting to regularize the relation between the Leibniz Society and The Leibniz Review by making the Editor of the Review an officer of the Society and an ex officio member of the Executive Committee. The Constitution of the Society will need to be amended to accomplish this. The necessary changes are being drafted and will be circulated to all members of the Society several weeks before the next (2008-09) Conference. They will be voted on at the Business meeting there.
  4. The President declared the meeting adjourned.