Frequently Asked Questions

What is the audience for the videos?

These videos are meant to celebrate the global impact and legacy of the Phenomenology. We are hoping the videos will be accessible to an audience beyond Merleau-Ponty scholars, e.g., to students in philosophy and in other disciplines, to those interested in humanities, human sciences or natural sciences, and those interested in the wealth of topics opened up by the Phenomenology. 

What sorts of videos are you looking for?

We expect that many contributors will choose to record themselves giving a philosophy talk, or conduct interviews or dialogues, but are open to many different forms, and encourage creative approaches to presenting engaging and inviting material on the Phenomenology. See our examples of forms of video for some starting points.

What are some considerations for recording video?

We expect that contributors will have different levels of experience with creating videos, and different levels of access to recording equipment or studio spaces.  We are also expect that video recording is also becoming familiar as a medium for emergency remote teaching during the Covid-19 crisis. If you are just getting started with making videos, perhaps the most important things to consider are good lighting, positioning yourself within the frame (many universities now have some suggestions online), and cutting down on room echo, to make it easier to hear and follow your words.

What language(s) should videos use?    

This is a global endeavour, so the language of videos is open, and a spectrum of voices and languages would be fitting. (Chiasmi International is a trilingual journal in Italian, English and French; Merleau-Ponty Circle conference papers are mostly in English and sometimes French.) Your video could also use multiple languages, e.g., an interviewer posing questions in one language and the interview responding in another, or a video with two segments in different languages, if you are in a bilingual country. You’ll be asked to indicate the language(s) of the video on the submission form.

What about accessibility?

We hope that contributors will be able to subtitle the language spoken in their videos, using online services such as Amara, but understand that there may be resource limitations.

What language should proposals use?

The panelists will be able to review proposals in English and French.