Category Archives: Of Interest

Of Interest

The Pennsylvania Circle of Ancient Philosophy

Pennsylvania Circle of Ancient Philosophy

Created to “foster a community of scholars committed to the study of ancient philosophy,” the Pennsylvania Circle of Ancient Philosophy will hold its inaugural conference at Duquesne University on February 16th, 2013.

The Circle grew out of conversations among graduate students studying ancient philosophy in at a number of universities in Pennsylvania.  Over the summer and fall of 2012, final preparations were made to establish the Circle, and it is exciting to see the fruits of that labor.

The Circle is sure to become a vibrant place of innovative scholarship in Ancient Philosophy as it draws upon a diversity of institutions in Pennsylvania with a long history of excellent scholarship of ancient texts and figures.

The PCAP has, of course, a new website, which we in the APS invite you to visit:

https://pennsylvaniacircleofancientphilosophy.wordpress.com/

The call for papers is available here: https://pennsylvaniacircleofancientphilosophy.wordpress.com/call-for-papers/

According to the initial CFP, the eligibility for submitting to the Circle is limited to graduate students, faculty, and independent scholars working in the state of Pennsylvania.

Even so, the international community of scholars associated with the Ancient Philosophy Society should celebrate the emergence of a new circle of scholars interested in fostering a community of scholarship in Ancient Philosophy.

Books, Of Interest

The Nature Drawings of Peter Karklins

The Nature Drawings of Peter Karklins
Ed. Sean D. Kirkland

University of Chicago Press/Distributed for DePaul Art Museum

64 pages | 1 color plate, 31 halftones | 8 x 10 3/4

This exhibition catalogue presents a series of fascinating and challenging “nature drawings” by the Latvian, German-born, Chicago-based artist, Peter Karklins, drawings that are on display from July to November of 2012 at the DePaul University Art Museum in Chicago.

The book may well interest APS members for two reasons. On the one hand, the artist understands himself to present nature in a mode wholly at odds with the modern, scientific, technologically mastered conception thereof, even as he finds a profound resonance in the early Greeks’ experience of their world. On the other hand, a number of the mini-essays in the collection are contributed by long-time APS members, David Farrell Krell, Michael Naas, and William McNeill, and the volume is edited by Sean D. Kirkland, former APS co-director. The Nature Drawings of Peter Karklins is available through Amazon or the University of Chicago Press website.

“Peter Karklins once referred to his work as “Presocratic Realism,” a provocative title that suggests reality is found in the world before the time of systematic rationality, and, indeed, his images transport us to just such a place. His miniature works offer visions of another world in which the very fabric of the real is a strange hybrid of the biomorphic and the mechanically regularized, the sexual and the sterile, a world that holds itself uncomfortably between objectivity and fantasy, between objects we consciously observe and desires we unconsciously enact. Drawing primarily upon the insights of contemporary Continental philosophy, seventeen contributors from a variety of disciplines offer short, engaging responses that use the works to introduce powerful, contemporary reflections on the nature of art, of humanity, and of freedom.”

John Russon, Department of Philosophy, University of Guelph

 

“This is that rare, much to be coveted, invitation to the sort of event one only wishes happened more often. Gathered here are scholars of different fields all set in concerted focus on the marvelously strange miniature drawings of Peter Karklins. The creative dialogue that develops between these thinkers and the works in this volume stands as a testament to the value of bypassing the boundaries usually adhered to by the mainstream art industry, suggesting that the most refreshing engagements in art may happen well beyond them.”

Annika Marie, Department of Art and Design, Columbia College

 

Of Interest

2012 Collegium Phaenomenologicum: On Life in Greek Philosophy

Arch in Città di Castello by Anguskirk via Flickr

The Collegium Phaenomenologicum will convene for its thirty-seventh annual session in the Umbrian town of Città di Castello, from July 9–27, 2012. The Collegium is intended for faculty members and advanced graduate and postdoctoral students in philosophy and related disciplines. The theme for this year’s Collegium is Ζωή: On the Question of Life in Ancient Greek Philosophy.

Here is the 2012 Collegium Poster.

The program for the Collegium is comprised of three interrelated weeks of inquiry; each week includes (1) a lecture course given on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, (2) intensive text seminars held in conjunction with the lecture course, and (3) individual lectures on related themes on Tuesday and Thursday.

This year, the program will feature a lecture course in the first week by Claudia Baracchi, University of Milan, on generation in Plato’s Timaeus, in the second week by Michael Naas, DePaul University, on animality and politics in Plato’s Statesman, and in the third week by Walter Brogan, Villanova University, on Aristotle’s Politics. Additionally, invited papers will be given by John Sallis, Drew Hyland, Melissa Lane, Andre Laks, Miriam Leonard, Andrew Benjamin, Francisco Gonzalez, Christopher Long and Laurence Hatab.

Applications are due on February 15th; for the application form and a complete list of participating faculty as well as other information, please consult their website:
www.collegiumphaenomenologicum.org

If you have any other questions, feel free to contact Sara Brill directly at sbrill@fairfield.edu.

Of Interest

Philosophers Targeted in Hungary

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Several philosophers, among them Agnes Heller, Mihály Vajda, Kornél Steiger and others, have been affected by a politically motivated campaign in Hungary.

Herbert Hrachovec offers an overview of the situation on the blog Quatsch, with links to more information.

Laszlo Tengelyi has written an Open Letter Regarding the Situation of Philosophy and Philosophers in Hungary (English translation). You can read Tengelyi’s letter in the original German here.

Today, Jürgen Habermas and former German Culture minister, Julian Nida-Rümelin, issued a call to “Protect the Philosophers!” on seuddeutsche.de (article in German).

For a summary of the article, see Thomas Gregersen’s blog, Political Theory – Habermas and Rawls.

To register a protest against this action, visit the online petition, which includes an English translation.

Of Interest, Placement, Uncategorized

Post-Doctoral Research Fellowships in Ancient Greek Philosophy in São Paulo

The Research Project on Greek Classical Philosophy: Plato, Aristotle, and their Influence in Antiquity announces three (3) postdoctoral positions at the Philosophy Department, University of São Paulo, in the following areas:

  • Plato’s Philosophy (1 Fellowship)
  • Aristotle’s Philosophy (1 Fellowship)
  • Hellenistic or Plotinus’ Philosophy (1 Fellowship)

The fellowships will be appointed to a two-year term, renewable for an additional term, beginning in March 2011. Each fellowship carries a departmental application and the responsibility of joining in the research activities of the Research Project (research seminars, conferences, meetings). These fellowships correspond to a research position, with no teaching responsibilities attached.

The fellowships are sponsored by FAPESP. Chosen candidates will earn R$ 5,028.00 (Brazilian currency) per month, tax free.

Applicants may apply to more than one position.

They should have completed the PhD in Philosophy or Classics, preferably no earlier than 2006. For each position, the applicant must include :

  • an updated Curriculum Vitae;
  • a statement of proposed research (no more than 4 pages, plus 1 separate page for bibliography), specifying the topic(s) to be studied, including a research schedule for the first two years and a list of expected publications;
  • a writing sample (dissertation chapter or other paper);
  • one sealed letter of recommendation, to be sent directly by the person making the recommendation to the address below.

All documents should be submitted in printed form; please note that the materials will not be returned. Candidates will be notified by e-mail once their dossier has been processed (please provide an e-mail address in the application).

All dossier materials and the selection committee’s evaluations remain confidential. The committee is not able to provide feedback on individual applications.

Closing date for all applications: November 13th 2010.

Applications (in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, or Portuguese) should be submitted (as print materials) to:

Prof. Marco Zingano
Philosophy Department
FFLCH – USP
Av. Prof. Luciano Gualberto, 315
05508-900 São Paulo, SP
Brazil

More information can be obtained in these sites:

Research Project: http://www.bv.fapesp.br/en/projetos-tematicos/7226/greek-classical- philosophy-plato-aristotle/
USP Department of Philosophy (www.fflch.usp.br/df)
Journal of Ancient Philosophy (www.filosofiaantiga.com)
FAPESP (www.fapesp.br)

For information not available in these sites, please contact Prof. Marco Zingano at mzingano@usp.br .

Of Interest

Digital Dialogue 34: Heidegger on Aristotle

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Digital Dialogue 34
Originally uploaded by Christopher Long

Rob Metcalf, Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Colorado at Denver and graduate of the Pennsylvania State University’s Department of Philosophy, joins Christopher Long for episode 34 of the Digital Dialogue.

Rob’s work focuses on ancient philosophy, phenomenology, ethics, philosophy of religion and the history of philosophy.

We recorded this episode at Michigan State where we were attending the annual meeting of the Ancient Philosophy Society. Our discussion focused on his and Mark Tanzer’s recent translation of Heidegger’s 1924 lecture course entitled Basic Concepts of Aristotelian Philosophy.

Digital Dialogue 34: Metcalf on Heidegger’s reading of Aristotle

To subscribe to the Digital Dialogue through iTunesU, click here.

Of Interest

Plato’s Many Devices Reviewed

Gerard Kuperus suggested that it might be a good idea to link to this review of the volume Gary Alan Scott edited entitled, Philosophy in Dialogue: Plato’s Many Devices. The review is by Rebecca Benson Cain.  In it she speaks very well of the work as a whole, which includes articles from a number of members of the Ancient Philosophy Society.

Check out Cain’s full review, which appears in the Bryn Mawr Classical Review, 2009.04.71.

Here is a link to the book, available from Amazon.com.

APS, Conferences, Of Interest

Gordon, Brill and Long Discuss Zuckert’s Keynote

Jill Gordon, Sara Brill and I gathered after the keynote address given by Catherine Zuckert at this year’s Ancient Philosophy Society meeting at Michigan State to discuss the lecture entitled, “Two Paradigms of Philosophy: Socrates and Timeaus.”

Catherine Zuckert has recently published an extensive study of the dialogues entitled Plato’s Philosophers: The Coherence of the Dialogues with the University of Chicago Press.  In that text, she offers a reading of the dialogues in accordance with the chronological order of the drama they articulate.

We also talked about the Ancient Philosophy Society in general and continued our ongoing discussion of the meaning and nature of Plato’s writing.

Digital Dialogue 33: Brill, Gordon and Long on Zuckert’s Keynote at APS 2010

To subscribe to the Digital Dialogue through iTunesU, click here.

Of Interest

Digital Dialogue 32 Recorded at MSU

Episode 32 of the Digital Dialogue is a recording of the paper entitled “The Crisis of Community: The Topology of Socratic Politics” I delivered at the 10th annual APS meeting at MSU in April.

The recording includes my reading of the paper, Anne-Marie Bowery’s commentary and the questions and discussion from those gathered at the APS meeting at MSU.  This is the first of a series of Digital Dialogues recorded at the MSU meeting of the APS.  I will post others here too as they are released.

Digital Dialogue 32: Christopher Long at APS 2010: The Topology of Socratic Politics

To subscribe to the Digital Dialogue through iTunesU, click here.

Of Interest

NEH Summer Seminar: Aristotle on Truth and Meaning

The Society wants to call its members attention to the NEH Summer Seminar on Truth and Meaning in Aristotle by Mark Wheeler and Deborah Modrak. We encourage all our members to visit the website for the seminar at http://aristotle.sdsu.edu for more information.

The description reads in part:

Our seminar will be devoted to the study of Aristotle’s semantic conception of truth and falsehood, both in light of his account of how human language and thought represent the world and in relation to other conceptions of truth and falsehood from those of his predecessors to those of leading contemporary philosophers.

The seminar will be held at San Diego State University from June 21-July 16, 2010.  Sixteen successful applicants will be awarded a $3,300 stipend.  For the first time, graduate students in this field may also apply.  Application deadline is March 2, 2010.  If you have any further questions by contacting me at sarias2@earthlink.net.