Hospitality Now! Past, Present and Future Philosophers and Researchers meet Practitioners and the Industry to Discuss Global and Local Hospitality Issues

July 1-­‐2, 2015

Deventer, the Netherlands

A two-­‐day conference organized and hosted by: The Research Group on Hospitality and Global Citizenship, Saxion University of Applied Sciences.

Please send your abstract by April 15 to Dr. Omar Moufakkir, [log in to unmask]

Keynote speakers

Judith Still, professor of French & Critical Theory, University of Nottingham and author of Enlightenment hospitality: cannibals, harems and adoption and Derrida and Hospitality In Search of Hospitality
Michael Staudigl, assistant professor of Philosophy, University of Vienna, author of the Contours of an Ethics of European Hospitality (forthcoming)
Conrad Lashley, professor of Hospitality at Stenden University of Applied Sciences, author of In Search of Hospitality



In the midst of today’s political, economic, environmental, cultural, religious, and ethical crises, surely the faces of hospitality in our societies within and between nations are looking perplexed and the voices timid. To what extent, then, does the established theorizing about hospitality and the practice of hospitality meet the calls, calling, and demands of the people today? It is Hospitality Now (!) because hospitality is conditioned by its tempo-­‐real environments. IS IT (not)? The purpose of this conference is to challenge the existing boundaries of knowledge of Hospitality as a concept broadly defined within society, to include all the spheres where hospitality manifests, does not manifest, and how it should be conceptualized, practiced, and lived. We will try to explore hospitality within a range of societal spheres and a range of disciplines and international contexts to generate new ways of thinking, interpreting, understanding, and hearing the calls of hospitality, by listening to the wisdoms of those who have long written about it, and to the voices of hospitality now. Considering the academic advancement as well as the practical development pertaining to the phenomenon of Hospitality, critics explain that there is a need for a critical analysis of the study of hospitality and for hospitality. Thus, the conference invites presentations and contributions which offer a critical analysis of hospitality from a business, socio-­‐historical, cultural, religious, secular, ethical, ideological... and political perspective; whether with regards to host-­‐guest interactions in tourism and other service encounters, or with regards to the lives of migrants, asylum seekers, incarcerated people, people in their homes or at work. The study of hospitality allows for a broad spectrum of inquiry. So, let’s philosophize about the philosophizing of ancient and contemporary philosophers who, in their contemporary conceptualizations, have taught us not to believe without questioning. Let’s question their questions and answers. Let’s also question those who have questioned them and used their questions and answers for daily applications. Let’s critically examine inhospitable environments and situations as well as hospitable environments and situations for a quest toward a hospitable hospitality. Conference objectives


The conference will try to answer the following core questions:

• What is the current state of hospitality in society?
• How is hospitality conceptualized
• How is it practiced?
• How is it imagined?

Conference themes

The conference themes concerning the study of and for Hospitality should relate to the following topical issues/discourses:
• Hospitality in philosophy
• Hospitality in religion
• Hospitality in history and culture
• Hospitality in politics
• Hospitality in education
• Hospitality in business
• Hospitality in leisure, tourism and events

Theoretical as well as applied/practice-­‐oriented presentations are welcome.

Submission deadline: April 15, 2015

Submission procedure: An abstract (between 300 and 500 words) of the proposal should be sent to Omar Moufakkir at [log in to unmask] in PDF format, prepared for blind review. Please also send a separate document, mentioning your name, the title of your proposal, and your institutional affiliation.

This conference is organized by: Omar Moufakkir, Ruud Welten and Kim Meijer (Saxion University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands) in collaboration with Yvette Reisinger (Gulf University for Science & Technology, Kuwait), Cordula Wohlmuther (University of Klagenfurt, Austria), Benjamin Boudou (SciencesPo, France), Nathan Bell (Monash University, Australia), UNWTO

Venue: Saxion University of Applied Sciences Handelskade 75, 7417 DH Deventer Opportunities for publication Selected papers will have the opportunity to be published in International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality

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