The International Virtual Conference of Undergraduate Philosophy

Introduction The International Virtual Conference of Undergraduate Philosophy (IV-CUP) is an annual meeting between universities worldwide hosted by Texas A&M University. The first IV-CUP occurred in the spring of 2016, but in 2020 was revived as an annual tradition by Aletheia, Texas A&M’s undergraduate journal of philosophy. Each year, the participating universities submit their top undergraduate papers in philosophy to one another for analysis and commentator review. Once responses are prepared, a one-day conference is held for the scholars and commentators to present their arguments, counterarguments, and engage in philosophical discourse. After the conference comes to an end, all works from the contributors are published in these proceedings.

The Structure of the IV-CUP The order of publishing reflects the structure of the conference. Six scholars are assigned two commentators from different universities to interact with following their presentation. The conference proceeds by alternating the order of the scholars’ 15-minute presentations depending on the university they represent. After a presentation, the first of two assigned commentators provide a five-minute response and then have a five-minute discourse with the scholar. Once the ten minutes are complete, the process repeats with the second commentator. After all contributors have offered their work, questions are taken from the audience until the next scholar’s presentation.