Prof. Rossen Roussev's experience on international contemporary philosophy conference in New York

Prof. Rossen Roussev, supported by the Aleksander Foundation, participates in a prestigious academic research conference on pressing issues in contemporary socio-political philosophy - "Forms of War" - in New York. Read more about his first-hand experience on the conference below or check out live footage of the conference. Further details on Rossen's work and article will be provided after official publication.

Rossen Roussev's academic background:

Rossen is currently an Associate Professor of Contemporary Philosophy at “St. Cyril and St. Methodius” University of Veliko Tarnovo, as well as a Visiting Professor of World Culture at the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts “Krastyo Sarafov,” Sofia, Bulgaria. His teaching career includes also being a Visiting Professor of Philosophy at the North South University in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and the Kazakh British Technical University, Almaty, Kazakhstan, as well as an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Kyungpook National University, Daegu, South Korea, and St. John’s University in New York. His teaching career includes also the University of Aktobe, the City University of New York, and Mercy College in New York. He obtained his doctorate in philosophy from The New School for Social Research in New York (2005) under the direction of Professor Agnes Heller. His academic interests are in Contemporary Philosophy, including Critical Theory, Philosophy of Literature and Art, Feminist Philosophy, the intersections of Western and Asian philosophy, and Global Philosophical Thinking. His publications are in these areas and include the monograph Philosophy and the Structure of Modernity: Fragments of Actualization (East West Publishers, Sofia, Bulgaria, 2005). He is also the editor of the journal Global Conversations: An International Journal in Contemporary Philosophy and Culture.

Below Rossen shares more insights on the conference and his experience as a participant.

Conference "Forms of War" in New York, the U.S., 2023

"The conference was thematic with heading Forms of War and was organized by three academic and research institutions: Telos-Paul Piccone Institute, New York; John D. Calandra Institute, The City University of New York (Queens College); and the International Center for Critical Theory, New York University. It took place at the John D. Calandra Institute at 25 W 43rd St Suite 1700, New York, NY 10036, from March 31 to April 1, 2023. It was an academic conference that attracted scholars from the humanities and social sciences from around the globe to address issues relevant to the contemporary hybrid warfare.

Motivation to explore relevant contemporary philosophy topics

My participation was with paper titled "Critical Thought, Truth, and Political Action: Between Fake News, War 'Justification', and the Argument for Pacifism." The topic is currently pressing because of the ongoing war in Ukraine and the multifaceted flow of information and news associated with it. Much of these information and news is not reliable but is often manipulative and coming from dubious sources. The important in this regard is our ability to sort out the true from fake information and in essence amounts to a good critical thinking. As a professional step, it was extremely valuable for me to participate in this conference and exchange with researchers from the global academic community in the process of completing my paper. 

Impact of participation on his academic journey

I benefited from my participation in the conference because I got to know different viewpoints of colleagues from around the world, who have similar interests and work on related issues. I have currently almost completed my paper in the form of academic article. I expect the finished text of my paper to be published in the journal Telos, which is one of the most prestigious academic publications in the field of socio-political philosophy and critical theory. (The journal is in the highly valued listings for academic outlets Web of Science and Scopus). I have published in it before and I believe I can do it again."