Gadamer and/in North America: A Symposium on the Past and Future of Hermeneutics

Hans-Georg Gadamer (1900–2002) was one of the most influential philosophers of the twentieth century and the leading representative of philosophical hermeneutics. His landmark work Truth and Method (1960) reshaped debates across philosophy and the humanities by arguing that understanding is fundamentally historical, dialogical, and rooted in tradition. Beginning in 1968, Gadamer visited the United States and Canada regularly, teaching and lecturing at institutions including the Catholic University of America, Syracuse University, McMaster University, and Vanderbilt University. Above all, he developed a lasting relationship with Boston College, where he taught as a visiting professor from the mid-1970s until the late 1980s and helped establish the university as a major North American center for the study of the European philosophical tradition and philosophical hermeneutics. This symposium brings together scholars from philosophy, theology, law, and political science to examine his reception and influence in North America. Beyond tracing Gadamer’s intellectual legacy, the conference asks what his account of dialogue, tradition, and understanding can contribute to contemporary debates. The symposium concludes with a keynote lecture by Richard Kearney, Charles B. Seelig Professor of Philosophy at Boston College, on the continuing significance of philosophical hermeneutics in the twenty-first century. This event is co-sponsored by the Department of Political Science, the Department of Philosophy, the Hans-Georg Gadamer Society and the Institute for the Liberal Arts. This event is free and open to the public. Full details available online. Registration is required.