Collaborations in philosophy

Dr James Williams, Head of the Department of Philosophy, has been awarded £10,000 from the Arts and Humanities Research Board (AHRB) for a postgraduate collaborative research training network in European philosophy and culture.

The network links Dundee's Philosophy Department with the departments of English Literature at Edinburgh University, Philosophy at Warwick University and History and Visual Culture at Goldsmiths College, University of London.

Staff and postgraduates will be funded to travel between the four departments for training and research events. The first staff exchange is for Dr Nicholas Davey and Dr Rachel Jones to participate in the International Conference on 'Philosophy and the uses of narrative' at the Centre for Research in Philosophy and Literature, University of Warwick on 5 November. Rachel and Nicholas will be chairing sessions and participating in a round table discussion about philosophy and narrative with researchers from around the UK and Europe.

Visiting speakers from abroad will also be funded to come to each University. The first speaker will be Professor John Protevi from Louisiana State University, who will visit Dundee in January to run a postgraduate workshop on 'Geophilosophy'.

The AHRB is also funding two postgraduate conferences in the Philosophy Department, to be run by Tim Flanagan, Australian PhD student in continental philosophy. Tim is in Dundee on a three year Department for Education and Skills Overseas Research Student Award Scheme and will also be acting as secretary to the network.

The network will be invited to attend this year's Royal Institute of Philosophy lectures on European Philosophy. These lectures, which are open to the public, run every Wednesday afternoon until 1 December from 4-6pm in room 2.08 of the Scrymgeour Building.

Some of the speakers in this series will be funded to give extra workshops as part of the network. The first postgraduate workshop will be by Professor Frederic Worms of Paris and Lille universities. He will be speaking on his work on Bergson with Dr John Mullarkey, a new appointment in European philosophy in the Department of Philosophy at Dundee.

The award also coincides with the full launch of new undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes in European philosophy. James commented, "These programmes are unique in Scotland and place Dundee among the largest research units in this area in the UK."