The Josiah Royce Society

Josiah Royce in 1914

The Josiah Royce Society was established in 2003 to encourage the study of the life and work of the American philosopher Josiah Royce (1855-1916).

2025 Josiah Royce Society Virtual Conference

Past News, Meetings and Papers

Research Materials

Royce Society Grants

Royce Society Prizes

Constitution and Bylaws

Join, Renew Membership or Donate

Contribute Matching Funds to The Works of Josiah Royce: A Critical Edition

Officers

President: Mathew Foust, Appalachian State University

Vice President/President-Elect: Richard Atkins, Boston College

Secretary: Kara Barnette, Westminster University

Treasurer: Robin Friedman, Independent Scholar

Immediate Past President: Kim Garchar, Kent State University

Fellows (Past Presidents)

Daniel Brunson, Morgan State University

Michael Brodrick, Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University

Jacquelyn Kegley, California State University, Bakersfield 

Dwayne Tunstall, Grand Valley State University

Scott L. Pratt, University of Oregon

Griffin Trotter, St. Louis University

Kelly A. Parker, Grand Valley State University

John J. McDermott, Texas A & M University

Frank M. Oppenheim, S.J., Xavier University

Portrait, 1914, from the Josiah Royce Collection  
Ms. 29, Special Collections  
The Milton S. Eisenhower Library of  
The Johns Hopkins University  
High Resolution Scan of Image  

News

2025 Virtual Conference Program Now Available!

 


Josiah Royce Society Virtual Conference 

October 10th, 11th, 17th, and 18th, 2025

Program Now Available!

https://www.roycesociety.org/Meetings/2025-Online/2025_JRS_Virtual_Conference_Program.pdf

Posted September 8th, 2025

Call for Papers, Proposals, and Participation

 Call for Papers, Proposals, and Participation:

The 2025 Josiah Royce Society Virtual Conference
Fri Oct 10, Sat Oct 11, Fri Oct 17, Sat Oct 18, 2025

The Josiah Royce Society announces its plan to hold a virtual conference in October 2025.

With the aim of increasing participation among scholars worldwide, the tentative plan is for the conference to take place in three-to-four-hour blocks across two Fridays and Saturdays in October 2025 (Fri Oct 10, Sat Oct 11, Fri Oct 17, and Sat Oct 18). We welcome traditional paper presentations, presentations of work-in-progress, and participants in possible sessions such as:

 Traditional papers or works-in-progress: Present your research and works-in-progress to our community of supportive Royce scholars.

 Honoring John Clendenning, Jackie Kegley, and Mary B. Mahowald—great Royce scholars whose contributions the JRS would like to recognize. Papers/presentations on their work are welcome, however, participation is not limited to this format. For example, participants could share personal reflections of ways in which these scholars have been influential to them.

 Royceana Show-and-Tell: Share your unique or rare Royce items and tell us the story behind it and how it came into your possession.

 Breakout Sessions: Work in groups to decipher perplexing passages in Royce’s work, apply Royce’s theories to contemporary issues, or some other creative activity that takes advantage of the virtual environment.

The Society may award one or both of the Harry Todd Costello Prize and John J. McDermott Prize at this conference:

The Harry Todd Costello Prize

To be awarded approximately annually to a graduate student or recent PhD presentation at a conference or other event sponsored by the Society. Prize Amount: $300

The John J. McDermott Prize

To be awarded approximately every 2 years to an undergraduate, graduate student, or recent PhD no more than 5 years out of graduate school for a substantive paper on Royce's philosophy of loyalty and community. Prize Amount: $300

Papers (up to 3,000 words) and proposals (abstracts, up to 300 words) should be prepared for anonymous review with identifying information appearing only on a cover page. If applicable, please also describe on the cover page your eligibility for the Costello and/or McDermott Prizes. To submit a paper or proposal, or to express your interest in participating in this conference in any other way, please notify Mat Foust, President of the Josiah Royce Society: foustma@appstate.edu. To facilitate planning, we ask for all such communications by June 1, 2025.

Posted March 10th, 2025

Absolute pragmatism. The Harrison Lectures of 1911

 


Il pragmatismo assoluto. 

Le Harrison Lectures del 1911


Josiah Royce

Edited by Rocco Monti


Posted March 19th, 2024

Philosophy of Loyalty Now Available in Bulgarian!



Congratulations to Aleksandar Feodorov, JRS grant recipient, for publishing a translation of The Philosophy of Loyalty in Bulgarian

https://iztok-zapad.eu/en/filosofia-na-predanostta

Posted February 29th, 2024

New Home for the Royce Edition!

Josiah Royce Edition:

https://josiah-royce-edition.org/

Posted July 1st, 2022

CFP: JRS at 2023 Eastern APA

 The 2023 APA Eastern Division Meeting will be held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, January 4-7. If you are interested in attending and presenting, please submit a short proposal (title and up to 250 word abstract) to daniel.brunson@morgan.edu by June 13th.

Posted May 25th, 2022

CFP: JRS at 2023 APA Central

The 2023 APA Central Division Meeting will be held in Denver, CO, February 22-25. If you are interested in attending and presenting, please submit a short proposal (title and up to 250 word abstract) to daniel.brunson@morgan.edu by August 1st.


Posted May 17th, 2022

The Problem of Job: Josiah Royce’s Theology and Theistic Finitism

The Problem of Job: Josiah Royce’s Theology and Theistic Finitism


https://www.katholische-akademie-berlin.de/veranstaltung/the-problem-of-job-josiah-royces-theology-and-theistic-finitism-2021-12/

Posted December 16th, 2021

The First Phase of the Royce Edition Website Completed

The First Phase of the Royce Edition Website Completed  

The Royce Edition website (royce-edition.iupui.edu) now includes all available published writings of Josiah Royce. In this work, the Ignas Skrupskelis bibliography was the guide.  Bibliographical entries fill fifty-five pages, with 282 separate entries. Some items are brief notes, and some items are two volume books. Seven short essays in The Berkeleyan, a University of California student publication, from 1874 and 1875 cannot be found. These essays were likely lost in the fire that took place at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1980. Seven articles on the history of the state of California are ignored, because, while Royce is listed as a contributor to the articles, his contributions cannot be identified or separated out.  Several articles are ignored, because, while Royce’s name is included in the contributors, whether he contributed anything is not clear. Published notes of “thank you” and “congratulations” are ignored.  Six articles are added from other bibliographic resources. Several posthumous collections and publications are included.  

While I am adept at finding material online, I could not complete this project without the assistance of experts and supportive library staffs. Teodora Durbin, interlibrary loan specialist, at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, was extremely helpful in locating obscure items. This work could not be completed without her expertise and extra efforts. The library staffs at Brown University, The Johns Hopkins University, and Harvard University graciously went beyond their normal duties to obtain copies of Royce articles in publications which are located in deep storage or off-site. These libraries held the only known copies of the publications. The extra efforts are greatly appreciated.  

The next phase of the project is to post reviews of Royce’s books and specific responses to Royce’s writings by his contemporaries. John Shook kindly provided links to reviews and articles. This phase of the project has begun. The website has a transcription of Royce’s handwritten Ph.D. dissertation and transcriptions of fourteen sets of unpublished lectures. The transcription work will continue under the supervision of Scott Pratt, University of Oregon, Director of the Josiah Royce Edition.

The Royce Foundation generously provided a grant of $500.00 for the purchase from Rutgers University Press of a license to post Josiah Royce's Seminar, 1913-1914: As Recorded in the Notebooks of Harry T. Costello. Edited by Grover Smith. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1963, xxiii, 209 pp.  on the Edition website as an open access volume, which means that individuals may download and read the volume, use it in research, and quote from it in scholarly publications, but not redistribute the volume or use it in any manner for profit. This book is significant in that the notes made by Harry Costello provide a unique insight into the teaching of Josiah Royce. This book will be posted on the Edition website within the category “Transcribed Manuscripts,” because the book is not a publication by Royce himself, but a transcription of what Royce presented verbally.  

Of course, website errors and omissions are likely.  Your assistance in making corrections is welcomed. Please email me.  May you find the website useful in your exploration of the work of Josiah Royce.  

David Pfeifer 

Website Administrator 

depfeife@iu.edu 

Posted December 5th, 2021

JRS at 2022 Eastern EPA

Thursday, January 6th, 09:00-10:50 AM
BALTIMORE MARRIOTT WATERFRONT

G5E. Josiah Royce Society 

Chair: Daniel Brunson (Morgan State University) 

Speakers: 

Daniel Brunson (Morgan State University) “Arguments from the Possibilities of Errors” 

Carl Sachs (Marymount University) “The Importance of Being Wrong: Davidson’s Roycean Roots”

 Kara Barnette (Westminster College of Salt Lake City) “It’s Not Me, It’s You: Royce’s Conception of Error and Cognitive Behavior Therapy”

Posted December 3rd, 2021

Josiah Royce's 1909 Pittsburgh Loyalty Lectures

Josiah Royce's 1909 Pittsburgh Loyalty Lectures

Edited and Introduced by Mathew A. Foust

https://www.cambridgescholars.com/product/978-1-5275-7416-8


Posted November 16th, 2021

Royce Edition Update and Request


At the suggestion of the Royce Edition Director, Scott Pratt, the Royce Edition website (royce-edition.iupui.edu) has two new categories—Reviews of Royce’s Books and Responses to Royce’s Articles. (These categories are presently empty.) With the public domain classification now extending through December 31, 1924, all of the reviews and responses to Royce’s work written during his lifetime are available for posting on the website. The website would like to post these materials. No convenient way of finding these writings is readily available. A search will begin in the future. However, if you have references to such writings, please send the bibliographic information to: depfeife@iupui.edu. These new postings will make a nice addition to the website. Thank you for your ongoing interest and support.

David Pfeifer


Posted February 13th, 2021

Frank M. Oppenheim, SJ (1925-2020)

Frank M. Oppenheim, a prolific scholar whose deep knowledge of the life and thought of Josiah Royce was unsurpassed and whose personal warmth and self-effacing concern for others touched the lives of many, passed away on April 3 in Clarkston, Michigan.

Oppenheim was born in 1925 in Coldwater, Ohio. He attended Xavier, Loyola, and Saint Louis universities, before joining the Chicago Province of the Society of Jesus in 1942. He was ordained in 1955.

Oppenheim wrote four books on Royce: Royce’s Journey Down Under (1985), Royce’s Mature Philosophy of Religion (1987), Royce’s Mature Ethics (1993), and Reverence for the Relations of Life: Re-imagining Pragmatism via Josiah Royce’s Interactions with Peirce, James, and Dewey (2004). He also authored scores of journal articles and, with Dawn Aberg and John Kaag, a 750-page Comprehensive Index of the Writings of Josiah Royce. He was a founding member of the Josiah Royce Society and its first president.

While the impact of Oppenheim’s work on Royce Studies and American philosophy more broadly can hardly be overstated, Oppenheim himself eschewed the role of the haughty academic don. Those who knew him will remember his unassuming warmth, gentle sense of humor and genuine concern for students and colleagues alike.

Over the decades, Oppenheim’s work defined a generation of Royce scholarship--- one that recovered Royce’s philosophy after a long period of neglect, that sought to elucidate the complex relations between Royce’s thought and biography and that delighted in debates over the fine points of Royce’s theories.

Yet behind the purely academic features of Oppenheim’s work, impactful as those features were, was an irreplaceable individual, Oppenheim, whose character and personality left an even deeper impression. Reading Oppenheim, one senses the philosopher behind the philosophy--- the humble questioner, the joyful seeker, the wise and avuncular mentor.

We can be thankful not only for the insights Oppenheim gave us as a thinker but also for the virtues he exemplified as a person. Those insights and virtues continue to inspire and sustain our community even as we mourn his passing.

Posted April 11th, 2020

Call for Papers/Abstracts: Special March 5-7, 2020 JRS Session!


The Josiah Royce Society (JRS) invites the submission of papers or abstracts for a special JRS session to convene at the March 5-7, 2020 meetings of the Society for Advancement of American Philosophy (SAAP). Those meetings will be held in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

The session theme, like that of the SAAP meetings, will be "Inter-American Philosophy" as describe here.

Please prepare your paper or abstract for blind review. Papers should be capable of being presented in 20-25 minutes; abstracts should be at least 250 words in length.

Please e-mail your paper or abstract to michael.brodrick@gmail.com by Tuesday, October 1, 2019.

We look forward to considering your submissions!

Posted August 9th, 2019

CFP 2019 Douglas MacDonald Conference on the Life and Work of Josiah Royce, His Colleagues and Students--- Deadline Extended!

Call for Papers--- Deadline Extended!

2019 Douglas MacDonald Conference on the Life and Work of Josiah Royce, His Colleagues and Students

Dates:
October 18-20, 2019

Location:
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee

Keynote Speakers:
Professor Cheryl Misak, University of Toronto
Professor Jackie Kegley, California State University at Bakersfield
Professor John Clendenning, California State University at Northridge

Submissions:

The Josiah Royce Society and the Philosophy Department at Vanderbilt University announce the 2019 Douglas MacDonald Conference on the life and work of Josiah Royce, his colleagues and students.

This special conference seeks to explore the richness and diversity of American philosophy. The Conference Committee accordingly invites submissions on any aspect of the life and work of Josiah Royce, his colleagues and students. Submissions dealing with Royce’s colleagues, such as William James and George Santayana, or his students, such as W. E. B. DuBois and T. S. Eliot, are most welcome, as are those dealing with some aspect of Royce’s own life and work.

Submissions should be approximately 3,000 words.

Please prepare your submissions for anonymized review and e-mail them to michael.brodrick AT gmail.com by May 01, 2019.

Posted March 6th, 2019

CFP 2019 Douglas MacDonald Conference on the Life and Work of Josiah Royce, His Colleagues and Students



Call for Papers

2019 Douglas MacDonald Conference on the Life and Work of Josiah Royce, His Colleagues and Students

Dates:
October 18-20, 2019

Location:
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee

Keynote Speakers:
Professor Cheryl Misak, University of Toronto
Professor Jackie Kegley, California State University at Bakersfield

Submissions:

The Josiah Royce Society and the Philosophy Department at Vanderbilt University announce the 2019 Douglas MacDonald Conference on the life and work of Josiah Royce, his colleagues and students.

This special conference seeks to explore the richness and diversity of American philosophy. The Conference Committee accordingly invites submissions on any aspect of the life and work of Josiah Royce, his colleagues and students. Submissions dealing with Royce’s colleagues, such as William James and George Santayana, or his students, such as W. E. B. DuBois and T. S. Eliot, are most welcome, as are those dealing with some aspect of Royce’s own life and work.

Submissions should be approximately 3,000 words.

Please prepare your submissions for anonymized review and e-mail them to michael.brodrick AT gmail.com by March 1, 2019.

Posted November 12th, 2018

Statement on the Death of John J. McDermott


October 1, 2018

Dear Colleagues,

I write to you with a heavy heart to acknowledge the passing of Professor John J. McDermott.

McDermott was a giant in the field of American philosophy, a founding member of the Josiah Royce Society and its President for two years. His The Basic Writings of Josiah Royce, first published in 1969 by the University of Chicago Press and reissued in 2005 by Fordham University Press, almost single-handedly brought Royce’s philosophy back to prominence after a long period of neglect. McDermott’s brilliant introduction to the Vanderbilt University Press edition of Royce’s The Philosophy of Loyalty has become the classic introduction to the text. These landmark achievements barely begin to scratch the surface of McDermott’s matchless contribution to Royce studies.

Those of us who were fortunate enough to know John personally know that there was much to admire about him. There was his indefatigable work ethic, his keen pedagogical instinct, his unmistakable presence in a room or behind a podium and his massive intellectual and moral courage.

Those who were close to John will also recall his near-boundless generosity, his irrepressible sense of humor and his deep devotion to family and friends. With that devotion he allowed neither time nor space to interfere. Even at a distance, whether over the phone or when reading a short note from him sent through the mail, one felt that he really cared.

Philosophers of McDermott’s legendary stature are few and far between, but rarer still are those individuals whose example inspires us to become better and whose love touches our lives deeply. John was one of those irreplaceable individuals.

I know that I speak for many in the Royce Society when I say that I will always remember the fine example that John set for us. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this sad and painful time.

Very truly yours,

Michael Brodrick

Michael Brodrick, PhD
Josiah Royce Society President
Arkansas Tech University

Posted October 2nd, 2018

CFP: JRS at 2019 Central APA

Josiah Royce Society Meeting at the American Philosophical Association Central Division Meeting, February 20-23, 2019, Denver, Colorado.

The Royce Society will hold an affiliated group meeting at the APA Central Meeting in Denver, February 20-23, 2019. We now open a Call for Papers. Papers on the work of Josiah Royce, his influence on other thinkers, and his relevance to contemporary issues are welcomed. Papers from junior scholars and advanced graduate students are encouraged.

This session will include two or three paper presentations and possibly brief commentary on each presentation. Papers should be able to be read in c. 25 minutes (c. 3000 words).

Please prepare your paper or abstract for anonymous review, and attach a separate document with the paper title, author name, and contact information.

Full program information must be submitted by October 1, 2018. Thus, the deadline for submission of papers is midnight, Friday, September 7, 2018. Submissions are to be emailed to depfeife@iupui.edu. Decisions on which papers are accepted will follow in seven to ten days.

Posted June 5th, 2018

Grass Valley and the Philosopher

New from Robin Friedman:

Grass Valley and the Philosopher

One of the greatest things about American communities is that they create and foster a surprising amount of diversity. Take, for instance, the rough and tumble pioneer community captured in Claudine Chalmers’ Grass Valley. A combination of rare images of the Grass Valley, California community and Chalmers’ own commentary and discussion, Grass Valley shows how much there is to be learned from studying local communities.

https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Navigation/Community/Arcadia-and-THP-Blog/May-2018/Guest-Post-Grass-Valley-and-the-Philosopher

Posted May 19th, 2018

JRS at the Eastern APA

Friday, 01/05, 11:15 AM - 01:15 PM, Savannah Convention Center

G11I Josiah Royce Society
Chair: Daniel Brunson (Morgan State University)

Speaker: Mathew Foust (Central Connecticut State University)
“Loyalty, Justice, and Rights: Royce and Police Ethics in 21st Century America”

Commentator: Daniel Brunson (Morgan State University)

Presidential Address: Jacquelyn Ann Kegley


https://www.facebook.com/events/189067345010473/

Posted December 22nd, 2017

JRS at the Central APA

Thursday, 02/22, 07:40-10:40 PM, Palmer House Hilton

 G8E. Josiah Royce Society

Topic: Report on Josiah Royce Society activities, report on progress of the Josiah Royce Critical Edition

Speakers:

Michael Brodrick (Arkansas Tech University)
“A Critique of Royce’s Theory of Loyalty”

David E. Pfeifer (Indiana University/Purdue University, Indianapolis)
“Charles Peirce and Josiah Royce’s Semiotic Move”

Posted December 22nd, 2017

Royce and Loyalty in the New York Times



"If this is a version of loyalty, it’s loyalty of a low order — fragile, transactional and much closer to simple fealty. It fails Royce’s expectation that real loyalty be based in 'willingness,' rather than in fear."

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/15/magazine/is-loyalty-a-virtue-in-the-trump-era-its-complicated.html

Posted December 4th, 2017

Deadline Extended - JRS at 2018 Eastern APA

Deadline Extended!

Call for papers/abstracts for Josiah Royce Society Sessions at the 2018 Eastern APA, to be held 01/03-01/06 in Savannah, GA.

This session will include two or three paper presentations and possibly brief commentary on each presentation. Topics are open to anything related to the thought of Josiah Royce. Papers should be able to be read in 20-25 minutes (around 2500-3000 words). If submitting an abstract, it should be no shorter than 250 words.

Please prepare your paper or abstract for anonymous review, and attach a separate document with the paper title, author name, and contact information.
Prospective presenters are asked to email their proposals to Daniel Brunson at danieljamesbrunson@gmail.com by June 30th, 2017.

Notification regarding submission status will be made by July 7th, 2017.

Posted June 5th, 2017

CFP for 2018 Central APA

Call for papers/abstracts for Josiah Royce Society Sessions at the 2018 Central APA, to be held 02/21-02/24 in Chicago, IL.

 This session will include two or three paper presentations and possibly brief commentary on each presentation. Topics are open to anything related to the thought of Josiah Royce. Papers should be able to be read in 20-25 minutes (around 2500-3000 words). If submitting an abstract, it should be no shorter than 250 words.

 Please prepare your paper or abstract for anonymous review, and attach a separate document with the paper title, author name, and contact information.

 Prospective presenters are asked to email their proposals to David Pfeifer at depfeife@iupui.edu by September 1st, 2017.
Notification regarding submission status will be made by September 15th, 2017.

Posted May 16th, 2017

email <webmaster@roycesociety.org> | updated 10 february 2024