This is our second update since the publication of the second volume of the Critical Edition, which covers Whitehead’s second and third year of Harvard lectures. It was published in late January in the UK and in late February in the US. As of this writing, the discount code “NEW30” still works for a 30% discount on the book through EUP’s website.

We had originally announced a virtual conference to discuss the significance of the newly published volume, which was to take place in September 2021. The conference is still on, but we have decided to postpose it to allow readers a better chance to obtain the volume and fully digest its contents. We hope you will consider submitting a paper proposal for the virtual conference! Follow this link to register (free).

The experimental Whitehead Reading Group has now concluded, and was a great success. Seven meetings were held between January 29 and June 18 to discuss previously unpublished Whitehead essays and letters. The group drew more than 170 registrations, with 20–60 people attending each session, led by Brianne Donaldson, Brian Henning, and Joe Petek. Recordings of all but the first meeting are available on the relatively new WRP YouTube channel (along with recordings of past conferences). While the group has concluded its meetings for now, we are considering re-booting it for next year. For those interested, stay tuned.

In the meantime, the slow work on future volumes of the Critical Edition continues. We are still in the midst of verifying essays for the first volume of Whitehead’s collected papers against their originals in preparation for the later phase of critical editing. Editorial assistants continue to transcribe student notes slated for a fifth volume of Harvard lectures. If at any time you want to have a sense as to where the various volumes of the Edition stand, refer to the main page of the Critical Edition. There you can find an itemized list with specific information on the status and timeline for each volume.

A blessing for the budget-conscious is that EUP has recently announced paperback versions of a number of our project’s books. A paperback version of the first volume of the Critical Edition (HL1) will appear in February 2022 for $45. Also, a paperback version of Whitehead at Harvard, 1924–1925 (an anthology of essays discussing the significance of HL1) will be published in November 2021 for $25, and is already available electronically for this price.

Lastly, in April the CEW added its most recent Editorial Board member: Lisa Landoe Hedrick. She is currently a Teaching Fellow in the Divinity School and the College at the University of Chicago. As a scholar, she focuses on the intersections between analytic philosophy of language, metaphysics, and religious studies. She explores the metaphysical assumptions of belief-talk, God-talk, and world-talk, among others, in modern and contemporary philosophy and theology. She has published articles with Contemporary Pragmatism, Process Studies, The Review of Metaphysics, The Pluralist, and the American Journal of Theology and Philosophy, where she also serves as Reviews Editor. Her first book, Whitehead and the Pittsburgh School: Preempting the Problem of Intentionality, was published in 2021 as part of the Contemporary Whitehead Studies series.

The work of searching for, transcribing, and editing archival materials is time-consuming and costly. If you are able to support our work with a donation, it would be much appreciated. Just follow this link.

Brian Henning, Executive Editor Critical Edition of Whitehead Professor of Philosophy, Gonzaga University

Joseph Petek, Assistant Editor Critical Edition of Whitehead