Seminar on P4/wC & Community of Philosophical Inquiry
Wednesday June 10, University of Oulu, Linnanmaa Campus
12.00-14.00 Panel discussion (open for all)
[Room: TBA]
Introduction to theme by Maughn Gregory: “P4/wC: Where are we coming from?”
Panel discussion: “P4/wC: Where are we heading next? – Challenges and Prospects”
Maughn Gregory, Walter Kohan, Dina Mendonça; Chair: Tuukka Tomperi
(14-15 Lunch at participants’ own expense)
15.00-17.00 Workshop facilitated by Walter Kohan: “An exercise of an errant and philosophically childish pedagogy of the question”
[Room: TBA]
NOTE: Open free of charge for all, but limited number of places in the workshop.
Registration required by sending e-mail to: deliberate@oulu.fi
Places allocated in the order of registration to the workshop.
Further information: tuukka.tomperi@gmail.com
The pre-seminar event is free of charge and open for all (but the workshop requires preregistration).
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Introduction
In June, Oulu offers a rare opportunity to meet leading international pioneers of philosophy with children and young people on Wednesday, June 10. Visiting the university will be Maughn Gregory, Walter Kohan, and Dina Mendonça.
The program includes a panel discussion moderated by Tuukka Tomperi, as well as an opportunity to participate the same day in a workshop led by Walter. The event is free and open to all, but places in the workshop are limited, so advance registration by email is required.
The event serves as a pre-seminar for the conference Dialogue in Democratic Education (University of Oulu, 11.–12.6.2026), but it is a separate event, open for all and free of charge. Participants are still warmly welcome to attend the main conference as well! (The conference itself requires registration and a small fee, which covers the meals and the evening event on Thursday.)
Maughn Rollins Gregory is a Professor of Education at Montclair State University and Director of the Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children (IAPC), founded by Matthew Lipman, the pioneer of the Philosophy for Children (P4C) pedagogy and movement. Maughn is one of the foremost leading figures globally in the fields of inquiry-based philosophical education (Community of Philosophical Inquiry) and P4/wC pedagogy. He has published extensively on philosophy of education, philosophy of childhood, pragmatism, gender studies, as well as Socratic and contemplative pedagogy.
One of Maughn’s P4C-publications has been translated into Finnish: Filosofiaa lapsille ja nuorille – Käytännön käsikirja (2010; https://netn.fi/syn_publication/maughn-gregory-toim-filosofiaa-lapsille-nuorille-kaytannon-kasikirja/).
Walter Omar Kohan is likewise one of the most internationally renowned figures in the field. He is also among the pioneers of Philosophy with Children within the vibrant P4C and CoPI community in Latin America. Kohan works as Professor of Philosophy of Education and is Director of the Research Center on Philosophy and Childhood at the State University of Rio de Janeiro. He is co-Editor-in-Chief of the journal Childhood & Philosophy. His works on philosophy, childhood, and democratic education have been published in several languages. He is also an expert on the educational thought of Paulo Freire.
Article “Aiōn” by Kohan, co-authored with David Kennedy, has been translated into Finnish in the volume Sokrates koulussa. Itsenäisen ja yhteisöllisen ajattelun edistäminen opetuksessa (eds. T. Tomperi & H. Juuso, 2008; https://netn.fi/syn_publication/tuukka-tomperi-hannu-juuso-toim-sokrates-koulussa-itsenaisen-ja-yhteisollisen-ajattelun-edist/).
Dina Serra da Luz Mendonça is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Philosophy of NOVA University Lisbon (IFILNOVA) and coordinator of the research group on social philosophy and argumentation (PAIS). Her research focuses on philosophy of mind and philosophy of education, including philosophy with children (which she studied under Lipman and Margaret Sharp at the IAPC), as well as the philosophy of emotions, where she develops a situational approach to emotions grounded in Deweyan pragmatism. Mendonça is one of the leading figures of P4/wC pedagogy in Portugal.
Pre-seminar organized by Tuukka Tomperi: tuukka.tomperi@gmail.com
DELIBERATE -research consortium (funded by Research Council of Finland) and FutuPedaPhilo-project (funded by Kone Foundation).
