An international cohort of eminent scholars will convene for a symposium dedicated to exploring questions of political judgment, political epistemology, and the nature and role of the state, as framed within and through post-Kantian thought.

The symposium honors Peter Steinberger’s distinguished intellectual career and the enduring influence of his nearly five decades (and counting!) of teaching and scholarship on generations of students and scholars. 

The event will open with a keynote address on Friday evening and continue on Saturday with a day-long conference comprising three sequential panels. Each panel will feature three substantial papers presented by leading scholars representing a range of disciplines, including philosophy, political theory, history, and literature. A volume of selected papers and commentary from the symposium will be published in a leading academic journal. Reed College faculty, alumni, and members of the broader academic community are invited to attend.

Keynote Address: “Welcome to the Unicontext”
Agnes Callard, Department of Philosophy, University of Chicago
Friday, March 13, 2026
5:00 p.m.
Vollum lecture hall

Panels
Saturday, March 14, 2026
Performing Arts Building 320

9:30 - 11:15 a.m.
“Kantian and Post-Kantian Applications”
Panelists: Lisa Ellis, Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka / University of Otago; Susan Shell, Boston College; Alan Patten, Princeton University; Peter Gordon, Harvard University
Discussant: Josh Simon, Johns Hopkins University

12:45 - 2:15 p.m.
“Political Possibilities of Hegel and Heidegger”
Panelists: Brandon Hogan, Howard University; Richard Wolin, CUNY Graduate Center; Peter Steinberger, Reed College
Discussant: Liz Wingrove, University of Michigan 

2:30 - 4:00 p.m.
“Political Judgment and Political Leadership”
Panelists: Steven Smith, Yale University; Ronnie Beiner, University of Toronto; Linda Zerilli, University of Chicago
Discussant: Ophelia Vedder, Washington University

Sponsored by the Greenberg Distinguished Scholar Program and the department of political science. Free and open to the public.