Topic
The 3rd annual Social Metaphysics Workshop will be held on June 22-25, 2022 in Durham North Carolina. The workshop will be about social metaphysics, broadly construed. We are interested in questions that include, but are not limited to, the following:

• What are social objects and how do they differ from other ordinary objects? What is the nature of money, laws, nations, borders, corporations, property, etc?
• What is a social group? What is group agency/belief/intention? What are social structures and institutions?
• What are social kinds and how do they differ from natural kinds? What form of mind-dependence do social kinds exhibit? Are social kinds real? What is race, gender,  sexuality, disability, and mental illness? Are these natural or socially constructed categories? What does it mean for something to be socially constructed? 
• What is ontological justice? How does social ontology bear on considerations of justice and morality? How do considerations of justice and morality bear on social ontology? 
• How can notions such as essence, real definition, grounding, fundamentality, and truthmaking be applied to the social world?

Additional Questions
If you have additional questions, please email kevin.richardson(at)duke(dot)edu.

Expectations
We expect all participants to have read the seven papers on the program in advance and to participate fully in the workshop. We recommend that participants use the large amount of unstructured time before and after sessions to talk to others and enjoy the local attractions of Durham.

Submitting an Abstract
If you want to present at the conference, please submit an abstract (750-1000 words) via the following form by January 16th, 11:59 PM ET. We expect to receive a draft of your complete paper by April 1, 2022. All presenters will automatically be eligible to serve as chairs. We strongly encourage underrepresented minorities in philosophy to apply.

Chairing, Commenting, or Attending
If you want to chair, comment, or simply attend the conference, you can use the same form used for abstract submission. Please submit the form by January 16th, 11:59 PM ET. If you are a graduate student or new to social metaphysics, you will have the opportunity to briefly explain why attending this workshop would be particularly useful to you.

Selection Criteria
Seven presenters will be selected via a call for abstracts. Some commentators and chairs will also be selected from the pool of submissions. The number of non-Duke participants will be limited to 25. The workshop aims to have a balance of social metaphysicians at different stages in their careers, working on different topics.