staff cuts at King's part II

The buzz on the philosophy circuit is that the staff cuts at King's are part of a larger problem for UK academics. They feel that:
1. There is an increasing tendency to combine departments in order to offer interdisciplinary degrees to students at the undergraduate level. This, they argue, decreases a student's chance of becoming expert in any one field. Expertise in one field, some argue, is key to doing 'real scholarly work' in the interdisciplinary model.

2. They also argue that the combining departments will remove the possibility of fostering an academic community within one single discipline. Thus, the philosophers are forced to talk to the mathematicians and (even worse) the social theorists.

3. They additionally feel that combining departments is not in the interest of saving money, but is part of a less explicit move to manage the work of academics. Thus, the claims about universities making these moves because they are financially struggling are somewhat bogus. The cost of restructuring is thought to far outweigh the cost of leaving everything as it is.

Now, as you all know I've got mixed feelings about staff cuts.

Having done my undergraduate degree in the states, which is interdisciplinary by default, I don't feel I am no expert in my field. Rather, I feel that when I come up against historical, political, sociological, psychological or literary and aesthetic consequences of the ethics I'm working on (btw, had a dream I was sat next to Levinas in a class last night), I am able to dig into all of those disciplines. In other words, I have the confidence to go beyond my comfort zone and paint a broader picture for myself. Am I always good at it? No. In fact, it's hard. And I struggle with it. I would prefer to never step out of the ethical jargon I think and write in. I would prefer to remain firmly in the ethics of 1970s France. But, the fact is that stepping outside my comfort zone makes my work more interesting and honest. For instance, I've recently begun to enunciate for myself the connection between post-WWII thinking and thinking after May 1968. Without being able to delve into other disciplines with some confidence, I'd never have got there.
On the other hand, I completely understand that restructuring and redundancies are emotionally difficult. The academic world has been protected from these things in recent history. However, both redundancies and restructuring were the norm for many working folks last year. Those who were experts in their field - whether that is marketing, sales, advertising, and administration - have faced redundancy. Why in the world would academic experts expect to be treated any differently? Why should they be?
The fact of the matter is that if you rely on the government for your paycheck, the government is going to dictate the conditions of your employment. If you want to escape this trap, get out of your government sponsored job.
My hope is that after this has all settled down, the senior academics who have been put out into the rain find new and creative ways to continue to pursue their passion. For that's really the one thing that academic work offers us that other work does not - the ability to pursue our passion. And it's absolutely terrifying to think that we won't get to do that anymore. So, if academics have to figure out ways to fund our research ourselves, or find private funding, or pursue it in an office with mathematicians and sociologists, then so be it.

And just be fair. This is the link to the petition to save the KCL philosophy dept: http://www.protectphilosophyjobs.org.uk/

Also, this is the link to the KCL website.  At the bottom of the page, is the university's document detailing the process for redundancies and re-application.

Academic freedom that's actually free

I've recently gotten into two websites:

http://a.aaaarg.org/login - publishes full versions of many (and I mean many) useful texts for those working in critical theory, cultural theory, linguistics, philosophy, etc.  It includes both primary and secondary texts.

http://www.discoursenotebook.com/blog/ - publishes recorded lectures from important theorists working today. 

Both of these are incredibly useful if you're far, far from a library.

Are there others?

Staff cuts at King's

Philosophy Departments in Jeopardy

King’s College London has recently announced dramatic cuts to its philosophy department.  You can find some information about it here:

 http://leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2010/01/budget-crisis-at-kings-college-london-kcl-firing-senior-faculty-in-philosophy-including-full-profess.html. 

I have conflicting thoughts about the closure of philosophy departments.  On the one hand, philosophy is vital to culture.  I know it seems that the two can be at opposite poles - that philosophers are so far removed from our everyday that the two never meet - but that’s not really the case.  Philosophy gives us the language to talk about how and why we think.  It’s like a little laboratory that throws light on our consciousness. Without the work of philosophers, we couldn’t place these processes into a historical context nor could we reflect on the everydayness of our lives.  Philosophy provides the discourse of our lives. In this respect, it is vital to continuing our creative, explorative development in both our cultural and individual lives.

On the other hand, philosophy as a discipline is antiquated.  Take the departments at King’s for instance.  This is a department made up of 22 permanent academic staff of which 3 are women.  There are no non-white faces on the staff. Racial theory, gender theory or feminist theory are not in the list of research interest. 

Many of the philosophy departments across the UK tell this same story.  They are firmly committed to the analytic tradition, which doesn’t attract the racial and gender diversity one would hope for.  As a result, the work of feminist philosophy, gender philosophy and race-based philosophy is being done and has been being done in other departments.  English and Modern Language departments take over most of this work in the UK with little funding to do so.

Since these emerging philosophies seem to have a closer connection to our cultural lives in that they give us a way of thinking difference - race, gender, age, sexual - it is no wonder that philosophy departments like that at King’s is suffering cuts. 

Graduate Summer Schools

I love Graduate Summer School programs!  I think the prospect of spending a week thinking and talking about a philosopher whilst in a city in which you don't live is fantastic.  I did the Irigaray summer seminar last year and it was intense, intellectually challenging and seriously good fun (fun in the way that thinking is fun, not so much in the way that drinking is fun).  Advertisements for summer schools are starting to appear.  Some of interest (beside the Irigaray summer school notice posted earlier this week):

Deleuze summer school with added kafka! : http://www.cinestatic.com/infinitethought/

EGS offers summer residencies: http://www.egs.edu/media-communication/summer-residences/ (The program at EGS can be pretty confusing, but last I checked, you could attend specific residences without undertaking the entire degree)

The European Summer School: http://www.europeum.org/ess2010/index.php

Simon Critchley is taking centre stage at the Tilburg summer school this year: http://www.discoursenotebook.com/Tilburg/

Also see, summer school on ethics and economics in the Netherlands: http://www.ozse.nl/

There are also some great conferences scheduled for this summer and next fall

The North American Levinas Society is hosting a July conference in Paris: http://www.levinas-society.org/home.html

The National Women's Association currently has a CFP out: http://www.nwsa.org/conference//

Also, SWIP-UK runs a a session during the Aristotelian Society annual conference: http://www.aristoteliansociety.org.uk/pdf/CFP%20JS%202010.pdf

[She] took the bait.

You know that commercial from Pepsi?  The one featuring the 3 guys who stage an octopus attack in order to attract the attention of a girl? In case you don't, it's here:

This add ran in the UK for the later part of 2009.  I was shocked that Pepsi (and Channel 4) had endorsed an add in which a woman was referred to as prey that 'took the bait'.  

I suspected there might have been some complaints to Ofcom (through ASA). According to the ASA list of complaints for that time period, however, Pepsi is not mentioned.  Digging a bit deeper, I find that the ASA does not handle complaints dealing with discrimination based on race, gender or sexual orientation.  The website directs me to the Equality and Human Rights Commission for those types of complaints.  This seems fair enough until I get there and discover that locating information about what to do when advertising is blatantly sexually discriminative is difficult. The website is aimed at individuals who have experienced direct sexual discrimination, rather than the discrimination portrayed in advertising.  Now that I've run out of time, I will simply have to investigate further if I see the advert again. 

CFP: Irigaray Summer Seminar Invitation

Invitation to the Seminar of Luce Irigaray, Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick, June 14-19, 2010.

Since 2003, Luce Irigaray has held an annual seminar for researchers doing their PhD on her work. The seminar offer the opportunity to receive personal teaching from Luce Irigaray and to exchange ideas, methods and experiences with other participants. The seminar was hosted by the University of Nottingham during the first three years (see Luce Irigaray: Teaching edited by Luce Irigaray with Mary Green, and published by Continuum, London & New York, 2008), by the University of Liverpool the fourth year, by Queen Mary, University of London, the fifth year and by the Goodenough College of London the sixth year. In 2010, it will be hosted by Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick, in Ireland.

The framework of the seminar is this: a group of fifteen researchers doing their PhD on the work of Luce Irigaray stay one week on the university campus. The schedule includes: a presentation by each researcher of the aspect of their PhD which most focuses on the work of Irigaray, the discussion of this presentation by the group, comments from Luce Irigaray herself and her answers to questions raised by each participant. Also included are sessions devoted to the explanation of key-words or key-thoughts chosen by the participants. Personal meetings with Luce Irigaray are organised on the last day. The participants pay for their travel, but receive hospitality from the university. The seminar is conducted in English.

The participants in the seminar come from different regions of the world; they belong to different cultures, traditions and fields of research – Philosophy, Gender Studies, Religious Studies, Literature, Arts, Critical and Cultural Studies, etc. The themes of their research include, for example: the treatment of personal or cultural traumatic experience; the resources that various arts can offer for dwelling in oneself and with the other(s); the maternal order and feminine genealogy; the interpretation and embodiment of the divine today; the contribution of sexuate difference to personal and social development; new perspectives in philosophy etc. In each of these fields, diverse domains, approaches and methods are represented. To date, participants have come from Australia, Vietnam, Korea, India, Sri Lanka, South Africa, New Zealand, Canada, Latvia, Spain, Italy, Ireland and from different regions and universities of the U.S.A. and of the U.K. Beyond the multicultural teaching which results from such a gathering, the participants learn to live together and to share in difference during the time devoted to the work, and also during meals, walks, personal meetings etc. The atmosphere of the seminar is intense but friendly and joyful, and its outcome highly successful for both the research and the life of each participant.

If you are interested and would like to participate in such a seminar please send, as soon as possible, a CV, a PhD abstract (1 page) and a presentation of the issues and arguments of your PhD that most focus on the work of Luce Irigaray (5-6 pages) to Luce Irigaray (by mail: 15, rue Lakanal, 75015 Paris, France). After receiving this material, Luce Irigaray will tell you if you can participate in the seminar of 2010. You will be contacted for further practical information by Marita Ryan at Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick after the selection of the candidates.

IGRS Grad Forum - February 2010 - CFP

CALL FOR PAPERS & MEETING:

IGRS Graduate Forum

The IGRS Graduate Forum hosts informal monthly seminars run by and for graduate students

working on all aspects of Germanic and Romance cultures.

For our first meeting of 2010, we invite papers and panels of 15 - 20 minutes on any topic.

All postgraduate students are welcome to attend, either to give a paper, participate in the discussion or simply listen. Please also be aware that you are free to join us at any point during the evening. The structure of the meetings is informal.

Deadline for submissions:  2 February 2010

Send all submission to: forum.igrs@sas.ac.uk

Meeting to be held:

9 February 2010 , 5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m., Institute of Germanic and Romance Studies.