The Slice: Who do you think should be our poster child for deep thought?

Next March, Spokane will be the site of the annual convention of the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy.

The event, which will take place at the Davenport Hotel, is being hosted by Eastern Washington University.

Plans for this national gathering of humanities professors, writers and others interested in scholarly philosophy are pretty much in place already. But there’s still one thing to do: Organizers need to design a poster.

And with that in mind, Terrance MacMullan and Kevin Decker had an idea. The two convention planners, members of the EWU philosophy faculty, wondered if Slice readers might have some ideas.

I know. You’re thinking that sounds like an invitation to party like it’s 1859 (the year John Dewey, a key proponent of pragmatism, was born). But think again.

There’s a tradition of having fun with this event’s poster. When the convention was held in Charlotte, N.C., the graphic design featured several big-deal philosophers behind the steering wheels of stock cars. Others were depicted as NASCAR pit crews.

When the event was held in Texas, the artwork included an armadillo.

So what should be on the 2011 SAAP poster (not to mention T-shirts, et cetera)?

The Clock Tower? Lilacs? Marmots?

Should the lineup of philosophers who are always a part of the poster scene be depicted running Bloomsday? Sitting in the big red wagon? Playing Hoopfest? Feeding the garbage goat?

They already have an artist lined up. But there’s still time to suggest content.

So put on your thinking cap. What images say “Spokane”?

As Thoreau said, “It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.”

Today’s Slice question: Considering that carbo-loading has been pretty well debunked as a pre-race dietary strategy, what do you plan to eat before Bloomsday?