16 Feb
2026
16 Feb
'26
2:55 p.m.
*Trust & Cooperation – Vienna Summer School 2026*
Accepting applications until March 31!
**
*Confirmed instructors:*
Leah Henderson <https://lhenderson.org/> (University of Groningen),
Benjamin McMyler
<https://philpeople.org/profiles/benjamin-mcmyler> (University of
Minnesota),
Kieran Oberman <https://www.lse.ac.uk/people/kieran-oberman> (The London
School of Economics and Political Science),
*
*
*Guest speakers:*
Keith Harris
<https://www.knowledgeincrisis.com/people/keith-harris>(University of
Vienna)
more to be confirmed!
*dates: *July 13–July 17, 2026**
*deadline*: March 31, 2026 (see below for further details)
*location*: Neues Institutsgebäude (NIG), Universitätstrasse 7, 1010
Wien, Department of Philosophy, University of Vienna
<https://www.univie.ac.at/en>, Austria
*Call for Participation*
Over the course of five days participants will have the opportunity to
engage with renowned experts in discussions on the topic of *trust and
cooperation* on the interpersonal and institutional level, as well as
within the contexts of *climate change* and *immigration*.
Trustandcooperationhavebecomefrontandcenterissuesintoday’sworld.Thenatureofglobal
challenges -fromrefugeesseekingasylumtotheecological
crisesofclimatechangeandbiodiversityloss-renderscooperationevermorecrucialtoovercoming
them. Key questions revolve around the nature of trust and the nature of
cooperation respectively, as well as around the relationship between
trust and cooperation, intersecting the fields of social and political
philosophy, as well as applied ethics and political epistemology.
We welcome applications from PhD students (prioritized), advanced MA
students and postdoctoral researchers in philosophy and related
disciplines.
Participants will explore current research in these fields, attend
keynote lectures, thematic discussions and interactive workshops, as
well as present their own work, and receive valuable feedback from
invited scholars. The goal of this Summer School is to provide doctoral
students with direct access to leading researchers whose work—whether
directly or indirectly—relates to these themes.
*Application & Fees*
We welcome applications from PhD students (prioritized), advanced MA
students and postdoctoral researchers in philosophy and related
disciplines. Two modes of participation are possible: 1) attendance, 2)
presentation – if they would also like to give a presentation.
To apply for participation, please send the following documents to
Joachim Raich (joachim.raich(a)univie.ac.at):
1. Curriculum Vitae (max. 2 pages)
2. Statement of Purpose (no longer than 1 page), explaining the
relevance of the summer school to your study, research, teaching
and/or other professional work.
3. Statement of Financial Aid (optional). We can offer limited partial
financial support (including the coverage of the school fees) to the
participants whose home institutions cannot cover their expenses. We
therefore ask the applicants who wish to be considered for funding
to briefly describe their situation in the statement.
4. Abstract (optional; max. 250 words). If you would like to present
your work at the summer school, please send us a short abstract of
your presentation. The presentations should be related in a
significant manner to the themes of trust and/or cooperation (from
any philosophical perspective) and should be about 20 minutes long
to leave enough time for discussions. Since the number of slots for
student presentations is limited, this will help us decide on how to
allocate them.
The maximum number of participants at the summer school will be 25.
The *summer school fee is 75 Euros*. The fee includes the student union
fee of 25 Euros, which is required by Austrian law to register at the
University of Vienna and to receive a certificate of completion of the
summer school.
Please, *submit your application by March 31, 23.59 CET*.
*Contact Email: **joachim.raich(a)univie.ac.at*
We will notify you of the decision by April 16.
Diversity Statement
*We strongly encourage applications from members of disadvantaged and
underrepresented groups. *
Organizing Committee
*Chiara Dankl
Ali Emre Benli
Eva Hijlkema
Joachim Raich*
The VDP Summer School 2025 is funded by the Vienna Doctoral School of
Philosophy (University of Vienna).
Visit the website for more information!
<https://philosophie.univie.ac.at/news-events/nachrichten-news-events/detailansicht-news-events/news/trust-cooperation-vienna-summer-school-2026-1/?no_cache=1&cHash=a0ebda6822ed54bc25bb7840b681788e>