PhilosophicalFragments
Department of PhilosophyUniversity of Alberta
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From the Chair
Our last year has seen a number of changes and a great deal of energetic activity in the Department. Margaret Van De Pitte retired in August of 2002, concluding a thirty-six year career at the U of A. We wish her well and thank her for all those years of service. We also marked the passing of two emeritus Professors; Herman Tennessen in April of 2002 and John King-Farlow in July. There were observances for both at the Faculty Club. During the year a number of our long time graduate students, including Brendan Leier and Matt Stephens, have finished their degrees and started their careers.
As you will see in this newsletter, members of the Department hosted two very successful conferences; the Society for Philosophy and Psychology and the Canadian Society for Women in Philosophy. Our undergraduates hosted a great Undergraduate Philosophy Conference, which now looks like it will be a regular event on the prairies.
Course enrollments in Philosophy remain high, even with the introduction of limits in more and more courses each year. All of this with a slightly less than full complement, as we are awaiting the arrival of Karen Houle as a new assistant professor in July and are just concluding a search for a position in the History of Philosophy. Sessional lecturers Drs. Janet Wesselius, Darryl Jung and Cyrus Panjvani are helping with our teaching this year.
Finally, a new Chair has been selected. Bruce Hunter will assume the office on July 1st, leaving me to a year of leave to try to catch up on my reading and writing.
Bernard Linsky, Departmental Chair
Philosophers’ Cafes
In 2001-2002 the Department of Philosophy orchestrated a series of informal, public talks on philosophical topics. These talks have provided a great way for the Edmonton community to hear views on controversial topics, and provide their own two-cents worth. The cafes are held on Saturday afternoons, from 2.00pm to 3.30pm. Think about coming along if you haven’t made it already. Recent and upcoming talks:
January 25, 2003, Nina's Restaurant
10193 124 Street
“Are Science and Spirituality Naturally Opposed?”
Speakers: Dr. Jane Samson & Dr. Muzaffar Iqbal
Moderator: Martin Tweedale
February 22, 2003, Nina's Restaurant
“Sleeping with the Elephant: How Does America Influence the Canadian Identity?”
Speaker: Larry Aronsen, History
Moderator: Bernard Linsky
March 22, 2003, Nina's Restaurant
“Snowbirds in the Desert: Do They Belong? A Discussion of the Canadian Role in the Conflict with Iraq”
Speaker: Tom Keating, Political Science
Moderator: Martin Tweedale
April 5, 2003, Venue: TBA
“Youth Crime: Are We Doing the Right Thing?”
Speaker: Bryan Hogeveen, Sociology
Moderator: Martin Tweedale
ALL CAFES ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. COME AND LISTEN AND DISCUSS!
For updated information, see the entry on Philosophers’ Cafes at:
expressnews/whatson.cfm
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Undergraduate Philosophy
In January 2002, the first “official” Prairie Provinces Undergraduate Philosophy Association (PPUPA) conference was held at the University of Alberta. This initiative sprouted two years earlier in the unlikely locale of Lethbridge, Alberta (where a group of philosophy students hosted small symposia in 2000 and 2001), but only achieved “legendary” proportions in its later, trans-provincial incarnation. Students from schools as distant as the University of Regina, and as small as Camrose’s Augustana University-College, made the pilgrimage to the University of Alberta, to participate in what proved to be an inspiring weekend. Voices trembled, hands shook, and cheeks blushed, as presenters read papers on topics as diverse as pragmatism, naturalistic ethics, Nozick, feminist theory, Husserlian phenomenology, lucid dreaming, and the occult. This was perhaps the first time that most of us stood behind the podium and before the gaze of our peers, defending a view, indeed, our view; an experience that is as exhilirating as it is terrifying. The second, now annual, PPUPA conference was held at the University Regina, January 24-26, 2003. Once again, across the prairies, undergraduates piled into ricketty vehicles and endured the seemingly interminable drive through Saskatchewan, for the love of philosophy -- among other, more prurient pleasures.
All are welcome to attend “Idealogues,” the discussion group hosted by the University of Alberta Philosophers’ Society, held in Room 4-68 Humanities Centre every Friday at 2:00 p.m.
Anna Carastathis, 4th year undergraduate honours
______The Grad Grind
The fall of 2002 saw the inauguration of the ‘Philosophy Graduate Happiness Association.’ Designed to foster a sense of community and a free exchange of ideas amongst graduate students, it is not too early to call the association a success. We meet bi-weekly in one of the department seminar rooms, which is inevitably full to capacity.
The PGHA is modeled somewhat after the success of the undergraduate association, the Idealogues. The vibrant sense of community borne by members of that society seemed at times to underscore the lack of organization amongst grads. Before the PGHA there was no organized forum for graduates to gather and identify themselves as a group; our series of colloquia has provided just such an opportunity.
Every second Friday afternoon graduates meander into room 4-96 around one o’clock to fill up on ideas and snacks. We’ve seen the full gamut of graduate work presented: from MA papers in progress to completed Masters’ theses to rundowns of dissertations in their final stages of preparation. This wide array of work has not only given us an opportunity to practice our philosophical skills such as presenting before a critical audience in a comfortable environment of our friends. It has also given us an opportunity to get to know one another better. Many of us now know more than that Dave Hampton, for example, does philosophy of law, science, and epistemology; I’ve seen how he’s found an interesting interface of three disparate disciplines. The society has given us an opportunity to learn more about each other than the traces that can be found on the department website or in those first ‘introduce yourself to the group’ moments.
As a result of this increasing familiarity and organization, we’ve seen a distinct increase in graduate socializing outside of the university. Friday afternoons often evolve into evenings at a pub or at various students’ homes. It is not presumptuous to credit the association with a role in producing these effects, since plans for Friday evenings are often laid out before our colloquia begin (after all, first things should come first). This has gone a long way to reducing the sense of isolation that can so often accompany the intensity of graduate studies.
Finally, our meetings have given us room to organize and manoeuvre politically. Our representatives on the GSA use our colloquium time to inform us when there are relevant concerns. We’ve used the meeting time to have presentations by our candidates for the Chair Selection and Equity committees. Decision-making by the group, when there have been decisions to make (for example, whether we should support some GSA resolution) has been a model of deliberative democracy.
We’d like to recognize the support of our group by the GSA and especially the Department. Without their financial support we’d have had no doughnuts, mandarin oranges, or wagon wheels. Ideas seem so much better over a cup of flavoured coffee!
Brian Leahy, 2nd year MA
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Recent Conferences
Sex and Gender
Rethinking Feminist Philosophy
Canadian Society for Women in Philosophy
U. of Alberta, Oct 18-20, 2002.
This conference was an extraordinary success, with all available places for both the seminar-style paper presentations and the banquet being taken 2 weeks before the conference opened. About 75 people attended the conference, 25 of whom travelled from other parts of Canada and the US, 22 were graduate students, and 17 undergraduates. Attendees included faculty and students from Philosophy, Women’s Studies, Political Science, English, Sociology, Physical Education, Law, Nursing, Education, and Library Sciences, making for lively interdisciplinary discussion and interaction. The conference was featured in print, radio, and cyber- media, with items in the Gateway (the student newspaper), Vue Weekly (the city’s alternative paper), on the University website, and on CJSR (the student radio station).
Canadian scholarship in feminist philosophy is of a remarkably high standard, but sustaining this corner of our intellectual life requires a significant effort from a small group of people. Almost all of the women employed in Philosophy departments who work on feminist issues in Canada attended this conference; this would be a good thing, were it not for the sad fact that there are so few of us. Our ability to attract graduate students, and, eventually, new junior colleagues depends on this kind of event, where young scholars can see the quality research being done in feminist theory in Canada, and exciting possibilities that do not require exodus to the US.
A highlight of the weekend was the opening keynote lecture on Friday evening by Dr. Nancy Tuana, Director of the Rock Ethics Institute, and Professor of Philosophy at Pennsylvania State University. With a keen eye for the kind of public lecture that will both entertain and educate, Dr. Tuana spoke on “Coming to Understand: Orgasm and the Epistemology of Ignorance.” The talk was attended by approximately 200 people, including many students and a number of members of the general public, and was followed by a lively reception. Dr. Tuana was generous with her time and energy, answering many questions that evening, and staying for the rest of the weekend to attend papers and talk with conference participants, including students.
A key goal for the conference was to foster reflection on a current crisis in feminist philosophy surrounding the deconstruction of the sex/gender distinction. We certainly achieved this, with papers ranging from a fascinating personal narrative on the philosophical significance of (not) dying in childbirth, to critical analysis of medical protocols for the management of intersexuality, to legal theoretical work on the contradictions of Canadian jurisprudence surrounding transgender, to philosophical analysis of the reiterations of traditional organizer in feminist critique of the category of “sex”. Two panels of three scholars were organizer around themes of sex and science, and sex/gender/impairment, which provided opportunities for the presenters to make connections with others working on related topics, in addition to providing the audience with a more synoptic perspective on particular areas of scholarship. A panel of three colleagues discussed Carolyn McLeod’s Self-Trust and Reproductive Autonomy (MIT Press, 2002); Carolyn is a junior feminist bio-ethicist who has recently been lured back to Canada by the University of Western Ontario from a position in Tennessee. This event particularly highlights the crucial mentoring role that C-SWIP, via our conferences, can serve for young feminist scholars whose work is too often ignored by larger professional organizerons. I was especially pleased to have two graduate students on the regular program presenting their dissertation work alongside more established scholars, along with three of my own graduate students (from Philosophy, Religious Studies, and Nursing) presenting excellent papers from classes they took with me. This opportunity clearly contributed immeasurably to the confidence of all three women, who all gave outstanding presentations and took questions (often from fellow students who came to cheer them on) with considerable confidence and skill.
Overall, “Sex and Gender: Rethinking Feminist Philosophy” provided a valuable opportunity for co-operative scholarship within the University of Alberta, made feminist intellectual life visible to the local community, encouraged networking and collaboration among Canadian philosophers, fostered reflection on a key intellectual problem, and promoted Canadian feminist theory in a larger national and international context.
Cressida Heyes Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, and conference organizer
At the Edges of Cognition
28th Annual Meeting of the Society for Philosophy and Psychology
University of Alberta, Edmonton
June 19-22, 2002
The SPP has a long-standing tradition of bringing together philosophers, psychologists, linguists, neuroscientists, and computer scientists to talk about the mind. Their most recent meeting was held in Edmonton, the first time SPP had been back to Canada in almost 10 years. The SPP conference plays a special role in the interdisciplinary study of the mind in North America that stems from its being a fraction of the size of the monster conferences held on consciousness and cognitive science. This facilitates dialogue, and SPP has always provided a way for graduate students to become part of this broader community. Special highlights in Edmonton were a workshop on philosophical psychopathology; keynote addresses by the eminent philosopher Jaegwon Kim (on mental causation) and the award-winning Yale psychologist Paul Bloom (on children’s learning of word meanings); and symposia on self-consciousness in non-human animals, and on the Sapir-Whorf linguistic relativity hypothesis. About 120 people attended the conference, which ended with a banquet at the Three Musketeer’s on Whyte Avenue. The 2003 conference will be held at the Calfornia Institute of Technology in June 2003. Further details about SPP and the conference can be found at:
Rob Wilson, Professor, Dept. of Philosophy, and local arrangements organizer, SPP 2002
______Prizes for Everyone!
Congratulations to the following students and faculty for their achievements during the past year.
2001/2002 Undergraduate Awards:
The Honors Medal in Philosophy
Catherine HISLOP-PERRATON
The Marilyn R Love Scholarship in Philosophy
Stephen LATTA
The William Irvine Memorial Prize in Ethics
Jennifer CHAN
The Fifth Annual Herman Tennessen Philosophy Essay Contest
First prize:
Anna CARASTATHIS
“A Discussion of the Status of "Sex" in Feminist Theory”
Second Prize:
Charles WOOD
“Language and Art”
Congratulations also to Anna Carasthathis for winning the Government of Alberta "Person's Case" Scholarship!
Graduate Fellowships, 2002-2003
Amanda COEN
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Doctoral Fellowship
Paul BEACH
Province of Alberta Graduate Fellowship
Chris LEPOCK
PhD Scholarship, University of Alberta
John SIMPSON
PhD Scholarship, University of Alberta
Ian DRUMMOND
John Macdonald Scholarship in Philosophy
Faculty Awards
Allen Carlson
Faculty of Arts Research Prize 2002
David Kahane
Faculty of Arts Teaching Award 2003
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Recent Faculty Books
Between Philosophy and Poetry
Writing, Rhythm, History
Edited by Massimo Verdicchio and Robert Burch. Continuum Press, 2002.
… examines the complex relation that has informed literary theory since ancient times: the difference between philosophy and poetry. The book explores three specific areas: the practice of writing with respect to orality; poetic and philosophical discourse as self-narration and historical understanding; and how rhythm marks the differential spaces in poetry and philosophy.
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Aesthetics and the Environment
The Appreciation of Nature, Art and Architecture. Allen Carlson
Routledge Press. Paperback edition 2002.
… presents fresh and fascinating insights into our interpretation of the environment. Although traditional aesthetics is often associated with the appreciation of art, Allen Carlson shows how much of our aesthetic experience does not encompass art but nature, in our responses to sunsets, mountains or more mundane surroundings such as gardens or the view from our windows.
The Unity of William James’s Thought
Wesley Cooper
VanderbiltUniversity Press, 2002.
No philosopher’s writing is more charming than James’s. Few philosophers have been subjected to such intense psychological speculation as James. Fewer still have had so many non-philosophical stages to their careers. For all of these reasons, professional philosophers are wary of his philosophy, which is typically dismissed as fragmented or merely popular. Wesley Cooper opposes this traditional view, arguing instead that there is a systematic philosophy to be found in James’s writings.
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The Grammar of Politics
Wittgenstein and Political Philosophy
Edited by Cressida J. Heyes
CornellUniversity Press, 2003
Ludwig Wittgenstein’s work has been widely interpreted and appropriated by subsequent philosophers, as well as by scholars from areas as diverse as anthropology, cultural studies, literary theory, sociology, law, and medicine. The Grammar of Politics demonstrates the variety of ways political philosophers understand Wittgenstein’s importance to their discipline and apply Wittgensteinian methods to their own projects.
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Karen Pilkington
Memorial Fund
This fund was established in 2002 to honour the memory of Karen Pilkington, a young member of the Department who lost her battle with leukemia in 2000. The fund currently allows a student prize to be given every second year; we would like to make this award every year. Tax deductible contributions for any amount, payable to the University of Alberta, can be sent to the Karen Pilkington Memorial Fund, Department of Philosophy, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 2E5.
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