Calendar

CEU Summerschool "MEANING, CONTEXT, INTENTION"

"MEANING, CONTEXT, INTENTION"
Course dates: JULY 19-30, 2010
Location: Central European University (CEU), Budapest, Hungary,
Detailed course description: http://www.summer.ceu.hu/meaning
Tuition fee: EUR 550. Financial aid is available.
Application deadline: February 15, 2010
Online application (from late November):
http://www.sun.ceu.hu/03-application/howto_apply.php


Course directors:
* Zsofia Zvolenszky, Eötvös University (ELTE), Institute of Philosophy,
Budapest, Hungary;
* Jason Stanley, Rutgers, Philosophy Department, New Brunswick, USA;


Faculty:
* Ray Buchanan, University of Texas, Philosophy Department, Austin,
USA
* Herman Cappelen, University of St Andrews, Department of Philosophy,
UK
* Wayne A. Davis, Georgetown University, Philosophy Department,
Washington DC, USA
* Katalin Farkas, Central European University, Philosophy
Department
* Ernest Lepore, Rutgers University, Center for Cognitive Science,
Rutgers University, New Brunswick US
* Stephen Neale, CUNY Graduate Center, New York, USA
* Adam Sennet, University of California, Davis, Department of
Philosophy, USA
* Zoltan Gendler Szabo, Yale University, Department of Philosophy, USA

What we express, communicate by uttering a sentence varies with the context
of utterance. What is the role of semantics in bringing this about?
According to one simple model, a semantic theory assigns to sentences
relative to contexts what would be expressed by those sentences in normal
assertive utterances, by assigning values to the meaningful parts of the
sentences in those contexts and combining them via a recursive process.
According to another, radically different model, the meanings of words are
rules that constrain the use of expressions, but there is no notion of what
is said by a sentence (as opposed to the person) that matches the speaker's
communicative intentions, and that plays a fundamental role in the account
of communication. There are many versions of each of these views of
linguistic communication. How we think about language is determined by which
we adopt. The purpose of this course is to bring together leading
researchers who have formed the debate, together with some younger
researchers with new approaches.

This summer school invites applications from junior faculty and doctoral
students at philosophy and linguistics departments. Minimum background
required: philosophy of language at the advanced undergraduate level.
Participants should ideally bring some work in progress related to the
course theme for discussion during the course.