João Ohara

27-29 October 2026

University of São Paulo, Brazil

“Theory and philosophy of history” is a contested label for a loosely connected set of research agendas about history (in the sense of our more or less systematic ways of studying the human past). It has been said that theorists tend to focus on history as a cultural product – one among many other ways in which people in the present relate to the past, both theirs and of others –, while philosophers tend to focus on the epistemology of what historians (actually or should) do; or that theorists tend to be closer to “continental” philosophy, social theory, and literary theory, while philosophers tend to be closer mainstream “analytic” philosophy. However, these distinctions themselves are also quite contested. In fact, there is little agreement on what “theory of history” and “philosophy of history” individually are, how they differ, and how they relate to one another.

Despite these problems with definitions, researchers who share an interest in the theoretical problems that our relations to the human past entail have managed to gather around certain journals, conferences, and networks, suggesting that some sort of connection may be found. Thus, the argument appeared that “theory and philosophy of history” is more like an interdisciplinary space where scholars from different fields can discuss a common set of objects from their respective perspectives. However, the details of what perspectives are those and what methodological or conceptual commitments they carry remain unknown. It is also not entirely clear what exactly the connecting thread is that makes such interdisciplinary dialogue possible.

This virtual workshop aims to discuss the methodological challenges and metaphilosophical commitments of different approaches to the theory and philosophy of history as currently (and broadly) envisioned. As such, we invite proposals for papers that clarify what these approaches consider to be the field’s proper objects, aims, and methods, as well as the basic presuppositions that make such considerations possible. Accordingly, proposals may deal with questions that include, among others, the following:

• What exactly is “theoretical” or “philosophical” about the theory and philosophy of history? What do “theory” and “philosophy” mean in this expression? Is “theory of history” different from “philosophy of history”? How so?
• What is the object of the theory and philosophy of history: texts, arguments, concepts, practices?
• What are the aims of the theory and philosophy of history? Are they descriptive, normative, or both?
• What is the role of case studies, conceptual analysis, and other methods in the theory and philosophy of history?
• How does our descriptive knowledge of historiography (acquired via history, sociology, or anthropology of historiography) relate to conceptual or normative problems in the theory and philosophy of history?
• What are the costs and benefits from the current heterogeneity of approaches in the theory and philosophy of history? Should we aim at integration or further dispersion?

Invited speakers: Herman Paul (Leiden University); María Inés La Greca (National University of Tres de Febrero/CONICET); Jouni-Matti Kuukkanen (University of Oulu).

Submission guidelines: Please submit an abstract (maximum 500 words) and a short biographical note by 11 September 2026. Acceptance letters will be sent by 25 September 2026.

Submissions and inquiries should be sent to João Ohara, ohara@usp.br.

Workshop format: 3 days (27-29 October 2026), with 2 sessions each (keynotes in the morning, papers in the afternoon, in Brasília Time, UTC−03:00)

Presentations will be 15 minutes long, followed by more time for discussion/Q&A.

This workshop is supported by a grant from the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) – process 25/09351-8.