With all the talk of Darwin’s 200th anniversary and the 150th anniversary of the publication of the Origin of Species, some of us have forgotten another big anniversary being celebrated in 2009: John Dewey’s 150th “birthday.”

I have come across a couple of events scheduled for the fall months that may be of interest to AHP readers:

A conference (scroll to the bottom of the page) about Dewey’s work and its international influence is being held at the Center for Inquiry in Amherst, NY from October 22-24, 2009. Invited speakers include: Nadine Strossen, current President of the American Civil Liberties Union; Philip Kitcher, John Dewey Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University; Larry Hickman, Director of the Center for Dewey Studies; Ron Giere, Professor Emeritus, University of Minnesota.

A pre-conference of the International Council of Philosophical Inquiry with Children at the University of Padova, Italy scheduled for June 30, 2009 has been organized around the anniversary of Dewey’s birth. Organization is through a collaboration betwen the University of Naples, the University “Suor Orsola Benincasa,” the Naples’ Institute for Philosophical Studies, the John Dewey Society, and the Center for Dewey Studies. Focus for the pre-conference will be on “Dewey’s pedagogical thought legacy regarding education for thinking.”

And while I don’t think the completion date will correspond to the anniversary, AHP readers may be interested to know that the Center for Dewey Studies recently acquired a grant to compile some of Dewey’s lecture notes (includes notes on Hegel’s Logic).

(Returning to my opening: I did come across another Darwin anniversary celebration that some of you may find interesting. It’s Darwin Aloud, a project that will compile tapes of people reading The Origin of Species aloud near famous landmarks in various countries. Be sure to grab your books and videocameras and head to your local landmark soon – the deadline for contributions is June 1, 2009.)