91³Ô¹ÏÍø

What possibilities for examining selfhood do films offer? What films are particularly successful in revealing aspects of human psychology or psychological development? What can we learn about human selves from particular films? What films or directors develop promising analyses of human selfhood?

You are invited to take part in an engaging interactive conversation on “Psyches, Personae, and Characters: Human Selves in Film” with a group of 12-15 film scholars and fans over the weekend from Thursday evening, October 9, to Saturday evening, October 11, 2025 on the campus of 91³Ô¹ÏÍø University, in Spokane, WA. The Seminar employs a unique approach in which scholars read and discuss one another’s papers in a collegial setting over a weekend. Participants of the Seminar have in past years found the conversations that take place very helpful for polishing work in progress to move it closer to publication.

Key Highlights

• Unique seminar format: accepted papers will be distributed to participants prior to the seminar; seminar focus is on interactive conversation
• 12-15 proposals will be accepted for participation in the seminar
• Each participant will have approximately ten minutes for a summary presentation and thirty-five minutes for questions, discussion, and feedback directly focused on his or her paper
• Proposal limit of 500 words; final paper target length 3000-3500 words
• No registration fee; all meals Friday and Saturday provided by the 91³Ô¹ÏÍø Faith & Reason Institute; participants responsible for travel and lodging
• Travel stipends available for selected participants traveling to Spokane from a distance greater than 500 miles

Call for Proposals

Proposals are due via email to faithandreason@gonzaga.edu (.doc, .docx, or .pdf format) by midnight Monday, August 18, 2025

Get details about the seminar topic and instructions regarding proposal submission.

Submission / acceptance schedule:

Related Events

The Faith, Film, and Philosophy Seminar is part of a week of film-related events on the 91³Ô¹ÏÍø University campus, the 2025 Faith, Film, and Philosophy Series, which include a series of lectures, a film screening and panel discussion, and a student panel, all related to the seminar theme of “Human Selves in Film.” Members of the seminar are welcome to attend any of these events. A highlight of the events leading up to the Seminar will be a public lecture by Joel Mayward (Theology, George Fox University).

The Seminar will begin with a public lecture by Thomas Hibbs (Philosophy, Baylor University) on Thursday night, October 9. A second public lecture will be delivered on Friday night, October 10 by Vernon W. Cisney (Interdisciplinary Studies, Gettysburg College). Both featured speakers will will participate in the seminar discussion.

Featured Speakers

Thomas Hibbs (Baylor University)

Thomas Hibbs, Rayzor Professor of Philosophy and Dean Emeritus at Baylor University, is a prolific Catholic author, speaker, philosopher, and university administrator. His research and teaching focus on moral philosophy and aesthetics. He has published eight books, the most recent of which is Theology of Creation: Ecology, Art, and Laudato Si’ (University of Notre Dame Press, 2023), as well as many scholarly and popular articles, and has delivered lectures across the U.S. and abroad. Hibbs was the inaugural dean of the Baylor Honors College (2003-2019) and the founding Director of Baylor in Washington (2015-2019). He has held administrative appointments as department chair (Boston College), dean (Baylor), and president (University of Dallas). Hibbs directs a summer program for Baylor undergraduates in Washington, DC on religion and social life.

Dr. Hibbs offered a public lecture at the inaugural Faith, Film, Philosophy Seminar in 2007.

Vernon W. Disney (Gettysburg College)

Vernon W. Cisney is chair and Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies and is a contributing faculty member in philosophy and cinema and media studies and Jewish studies at Gettysburg College. Cisney’s research and teaching emphasizes the intersections of philosophy, religion, literature, cinema, the sciences, and political philosophy, with particular focus on contemporary continental philosophy (with a focus on Deleuze, Foucault, and Derrida), Philosophy of Film, and Philosophy of Literature. Thematically, he is concerned with questions pertaining to the nature of and relations between difference and identity, the nature of selfhood and literature's power to transform the world, and the intersections of ontology, agency, aesthetics, and social and political practice. Cisney has written and coedited several books on Deleuze and Derrida, coedited The Way of Nature and the Way of Grace: Philosophical Footholds on Terrence Malick's Tree of Life (Northwestern, 2016), and published papers and book chapters on filmmakers such as David Fincher and Paul Schrader. Cisney has participated in Faith, Film, and Philosophy on several occasions and has also organized a similar event at Gettysburg College.

Contact

If you have any questions or encounter any problems with submitting your proposal, please contact David Calhoun, Director of the 91³Ô¹ÏÍø Faith & Reason Institute, at faithandreason@gonzaga.edu.