GENERAL FACULTY VITA
JERE PAUL SURBER
I.Personal Data:
Name:Jere Paul Surber
Title: Professor, Department of Philosophy
Date of Birth:April 22, 1948
Addresses:
Office: Home:
Department of Philosophy 2683 So. Race
Sturm Hall 257 (Philosophy Dept.) Denver, CO 80210
University of Denver
Denver, CO 80208
Phone: (303) 871-2063 (303) 810-5033
email: jsurber@du..edu
Citizenship:U.S.A.
II.Education and Training:
B.A.-Texas Christian University, 1969, with Honors, Philosophy, Psychology, Biology
M.A.-Texas Christian University, 1970, Philosophy (Minor: Psychology)
(Thesis: "The Problem of a Phenomenological Philosophy of Science")
Ph.D.-Pennsylvania State University/Rheinische-Universität-Bonn (Germany), 1974, Philosophy ("with Distinction") (Dissertation: "Language, Time, and System: An Examination of Hegel's Conception of Language")
Full Doctoral Minor (M.A. equivalent) in Classics, Pennsylvania State University, 1972
University of Denver College of Law (1979-80)
III.Areas of Specialization:
Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Continental Philosophy, History of Philosophy (Ancient and Modern), Asian Philosophy, Philosophy of Culture, Environmental Philosophy, European Cultural History (Modern Period).
Areas of Competence:
Philosophy of Language, Comparative Philosophy (Buddhism), History of Medieval and Modern Visual Arts
IV.Professional Experience:
Acting Chair, Department of Philosophy, Spring 2011
Faculty Member, ‘Directions’ Committee , AH/SS, 2011
Currently Professor of Philosophy, The University of Denver
Current Chair, 6 Doctoral/Dissertation Committees and several additional ‘advisory committees
Current Co-Director, Project Dharamsala International Service Learning Course
2008- Director, Project Dharamsala International Service Learning Program
2004 - Member, Marsico Committee on Visiting Scholars
Tenure and Promotion Committee, Arts and Humanities
2004- Search Committee, Department of Philosophy
2003- Search Committee, Judaic Studies
2001/2007 -Faculty Director, Semester in London (with City University of London)
1998/2002-Distinguished Visiting Professor, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Louvain, Belgium)
1997-Visiting Research Professor, Universität Mainz, Germany
1996- Visiting Professor, University of Tromso, Norway
1994 - present- Professor, Department of Philosophy
(continuing)-"Core Faculty," Joint Doctoral Program with Iliff School of Theology
-Member, Joint Ph.D. Steering Committee
-Member, Cultural and Critical Studies Steering Committee
-Faculty and one of principal lecturers, Making of the Modern Mind Core Program
-University of Denver Campus Connection Mentor Advisor
1992-Visiting Professor, Oxford University (Mansfield College)
[1989-1999] - “continuing”; Visiting Research Professor, Universität Mainz]
1989 --Associate Professor (with tenure) and Chair (until 1992)
(elected to second three-year term), Department of Philosophy, University of Denver
-Appointed Member of "Core Faculty," Joint Doctoral Program with Iliff School of Theology (1991)
-Director, Cultural and Critical Studies Program (1991)
-Coordinator, "Multiple Voices of America," University of Denver Interdisciplinary Core Curriculum Program (1991)
-Coordinator (continuing), "Making of the Modern Mind," University of Denver Interdisciplinary Core Curriculum Program (since 1985)
[1990 - 1991]-Co-Director, Denver Humanities Institute
1989-Visiting Professor, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität/Mainz (Germany)
1986 - 1989-Associate Professor and Chair (elected to first year term during this period), University of Denver, Department of Philosophy
[1984 - 1986]-Faculty Consultant on Improvement of Curriculum and Teaching in Middle Schools, The Denver Public School System
1983 --Visiting Research Professor, Center for the Study of Values and Public Policy, University of Delaware
1978 - 1983-Associate Professor (with tenure), University of Denver, Department of Philosophy
1974 - 1978-Assistant Professor, University of Denver, Department of Philosophy
[1976]-Research Associate/Hegel-Archiv, Ruhr-Universität/Bochum (Germany)
1971 - 1974-Teaching Assistant and Instructor, Pennsylvania State University, Departments of Philosophy, Classics, and Humanities
[1972-73]-Graduate Assistant to Prof. Gottfried Martin, Philosophisches Seminar, Rheinische-Universität/Bonn (Germany)
V. Membership in Professional Associations:
The American Philosophical Association, The Hegel Society of America (previously Vice President, Program Director, Member of Executive Committee), The North American Fichte Society (founding member), Society for Phenomenology and Existential Psychology, Internationale Kant-Gesellschaft, Internationale Fichte-Gesellschaft, Popular Culture Association, the Personalist Forum.
VI.Articles Published or Accepted for Publication:
"Hegel's Speculative Sentence," Hegel-Studien, Bd. X, 1975, pp. 211-30. [Reprinted in Critical Assessments: Hegel, edited by Robert Stern, Routledge and Kegan Paul, forthcoming.]
"Hegel and the History of Philosophy," invited critical discussion, Hegel-Studien, Bd. XI, 1976, pp.292-94.
"Language in the Philosophy of Hegel," invited critical study and lead article, The Owl of Minerva, publication of the Hegel Society of America, Fall, 1976.
"Some Observations of the History of the Concepts 'Theory and Praxis'," translation of an article by N. Lobkowicz, in Political Theory and Praxis, ed. by T. Ball, The University of Minnesota Press, 1977.
"Obligations to Future Generations: Explorations and Problemata," The Journal of Value Inquiry, Vol. XI, No. 2, Summer, 1977.
"Ricoeur and Hegel: The Dialectics of Interpretation," The Iliff Review, Fall, 1978, pp. 13-26.
Invited critical review of G.A. Kelly's Hegel's Retreat from Eleusis: Studies in Political Thought, The Review of Metaphysics, Vol. XXXII, December, 1978.
"History and the Responsibility to Future Generations," Philosophic Research and Analysis, Vol. VI, No. 12, Winter, 1978.
"Heidegger's Critique of Hegel's Notion of Time," Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, Vol. XXXIX, No. 3, March, 1979.
"The Philosophy of PSI," Parapsychology Review, Vol. X, No. 2, March-April, 1979.
"History and the Responsibility to Future Generations," revised version of article above in The Humanistic Society, ed. by Surber, et al.
"Humanizing Welfare and Social Services," with Tracy Spack, in The Humanistic Society, ed. by Surber, et al.
Invited critical essay on Paul Weiss' First Considerations, in The New Scholasticism, 1981.
"Individual and Corporate Responsibility: Two Alternative Approaches," Journal of Business and Professional Ethics, Fall, 1984 (Lead article with critical response).
Review of Creativity and Common Sense: Essays in Honor of Paul Weiss, The Review of Metaphysics, Spring, 1989.
"Autocollage," invited chapter in The Making of a Philosopher, edited by David Karnos, Oxford University Press, 1991.
"The Priority of the Personal: An 'Other' Tradition in Modern Continental Philosophy," The Personalist Forum, Vol. VII No. 1, Spring 1992 Supplement.
“Kant, Levinas, and the Thought of the ‘Other’,” Philosophy Today, Fall 1994.
"The Historical and Systematic Place of Fichte's Reflections on Language," in Fichte: Historical Context/Contemporary Controversies, ed. by D. Breazeale and T. Rockmore, The Humanities Press, 1994.
"German Idealism under Fire: Fichte, Hegel, and 'Metacriticism'," paper presented at the Twelfth Biennial Meeting of the Hegel Society of America, Fall 1992, published in Hegel on the Modern World, SUNY Press, 1994.
"Derrida, Levinas, and Heidegger's National Socialist Involvement," paper presented at the 1992 National Convention of the American Academy of Religion, published in the proceedings.
"Multiculturalism and the Arts: the 'Dark Side'," Ars Musica, Fall 1994.
The following entries for The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, edited by Robert Audi, The Cambridge University Press, 1995:
Erfahrung
Ludwig Feuerbach
Johann Gottfried Herder
Wilhelm von Humboldt
Karl Krause
Lebensphilosophie/Rudolf Eucken
Rudolf Hermann Lotze
Wilhelm von Humboldt
“Satz and Urteil in Kant and Fichte,” in Proceedings of the North American Fichte Society, 1995, Humanities Press.
“J. G. Fichte and the ‘Scientific’ Reconstruction of Grammar,” in New Perspectives on Fichte, eds. D. Breazeale and T. Rockmore, Humanities Press, 1996.
“Fichtes Sprachphilosophie und der Begriff einer Wissenschaftslehre,” Fichte-Studien, Bd. 10, 1997
“‘Art as a Mode of Thought’: Hegel’s Aesthetics and the Origins of ‘Modernism,’” paper
presented at the Fourteenth Biennial Meeting of the Hegel Society of America, Fall, 1996, published in Hegel and Aesthetics (ed. William Maker), Humanities Press, 2000.
“‘E Pluribus Unum’: American Responses to the Challenge of Cultural Diversity,” paper presented at the Summer 1996 meeting of the Scandinavian Philosophical Association, published in the proceedings.
"When Artists Read Philosophers: A Study in the Origins of the 'Postmodern'," in The Children of Athena, SUNY Studies in Philosophy (ed. Douglas Schrader), Spring 1998
"Recent Scholarship on J. G. Fichte," Bulletin of the Hegel Society of Great Britain, summer, 2000.
"Kantian Reason, Hegelian Spirit, and the Concept of the 'End of History,'" in Hegel and the History of Philosophy, SUNY Press, 2001.
“Hegel and the Philosophy of Nature,” book review, The Owl of Minerva, Fall/Winter 2001-02.
“The Problem of Language in Hegel’s Jena Phenomenology,” Sociedade Hegel Brasileira: Coloquio Internacional em Filosofia (Proceedings, 2003)
“Kant, Levinas, and the Thought of the ‘Other,’” reprint in Critical Appraisals of Levinas (ed. Claire Katz), Routledge, 2004.
“Traditional Irish Music,” Program of the United Irish Societies of Colorado, March 2005.
“The Beatles and the Ethics of Consciousness Alteration,” in The Beatles and Philosophy, Popular Culture and Philosophy Series, Open Court Press, 2006.
“Contemporary European Images of America: A Little Help for Our Friends?,” in The Mississippi Review, Fall 2005.
“Hegel and Language,” monograph-length Introduction to Hegel and Language (anthology), SUNY 2006.
Translation (from German) of the Preface to Rudolf Gelsey, A Faith for the Global Village, Monographs in Religion: 2007.
Invited article-length review of Jim Vernon, Hegel’s Philosophy of Language, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, 11/5/07 (online journal).
“On Giving Hegel His Due: The ‘End of History’ and the Hegelian Roots of Postmodern Thought,” Philosophy Today, Vol. 51, No. 3, Fall 2007
“Metaxological Metaphysics and Idiotic Style: The ‘Conceptual Persona’ of William Desmond,” in Between System and Poetics: William Desmond and Philosophy after Dialectic, Ashgate, 2007.
“Wish You Were Here (But You Aren’t): Pink Floyd and Non-Being,” in Pink Floyd and Philosophy, Popular Culture and Philosophy Series, Open Court, 2007.
“New Shades,” in Radiohead and Philosophy, Open Court, Popular Culture and Philosophy Series, ed. by George Reisch, 2009.
“Why we listen to Led Zeppelin, really,” in Led Zeppelin and Philosophy, Open Court, Popular Culture and Philosophy Series, ed. by Scott Calef, 2009.
“Hegel’s Philosophy of Language: The Unwritten Volume,” monograph-length study, in The Hegel Companion, ed. by Stephen Houlgate, Blackwell’s, 2011.
“Philosophy in the Age of Catastrophes,” contribution to volume on the work of Edward Antonio (“Is It Possible to be Human in Zimbabwe?”), publication currently being arranged.
“The Transformational Capacity of Comparative Philosophy,” to appear in a volume on comparative philosophy from SUNY Press, ed. by Achim Koeddermann. (This article will also be reprinted, by agreement, in the Journal of Comparative Philosophy).
“The Milindapanha (‘Questions of King Milinda’): An Early Encounter between Greek and Buddhist Philosophy,” in Proceedings of the International Philosophical Society, Athens, Greece, 2011.
“Hegel’s Linguistic Thought in the Philosophy of Subjective Spirit: Between Kant and the ‘Metacritics,’” in Hegel’s Philosophy of Subjective Spirit, ed. Robert Stern, SUNY Press, 2012.
“My Dinner with Mick (Reflections on Violence and Popular Culture),” in The Rolling Stones and Philosophy, eds. Luke Dick and George Reisch, volume in the Popular Culture and Philosophy series, Open Court Press 2012.
“On the Very Idea of a Method of Transcendental Philosophy,” to be published in the proceedings of the North American Fichte Society, May 2012 meeting.
VII.Books Published or Accepted for Publication:
Language, Time, and System: An Examination of Hegel's Conception of Language. University Microfilm Dissertation Series, 1974.
The Difference Between the Fichtean and Schellingian Systems of Philosophy: Translation andCommentary. The Ridgeview Publishing Company, Reseda, California, 1978.
Paul Ricoeur's Philosophy, special issue of The Iliff Review, edited by Jere Surber, Fall, 1978.
The Humanistic Society, ed. by Surber, Oelschlager, Koenig, and Wavell, University Press of America, Washington, D.C., 1979.
Language and German Idealism: Fichte's Linguistic Philosophy, Humanities Press, Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, 1996)
Culture and Critique: An Introduction to the Critical Discourses of Cultural Studies, Harper- Collins/Westview Press, 1997.
The New England Transcendentalists (CD-Rom), Bride Media Productions, 1998. (I am the author of the section of this disk on the German Idealist philosophers).
Metacritique: The Linguistic Assault on German Idealism. Introduction, Texts, and Commentary. (Includes translations of works by J. Hamann, S. Maimon, J. Herder, A. Schlegel, and A. F. Bernhardi) Humanities Press, 2001.
The Problem of Language in German Idealism: A Historical and Conceptual Overview, monograph in Philosophische Studien/Universitat Mainz (Festschrift fur Thomas Seebohm) Spring 2001.
Hegel and Language, edited, with monograph-length Introduction, by Jere Surber, SUNY Press, 2006.
Works in Progress:
What Is Philosophy?: Embodiment-Signification-Ideality. Completed during sabbatical leave, AY 2011-12, currently under review by re/press publications.
German Idealism: A Contemporary Reengagement . A critical exposition, interpretation, and contemporary commentary on German Idealist thought and movements influenced by it.
I am currently doing research for a work on comparative philosophy, especially the European and Buddhist philosophical traditions, and on the philosophical significance of video games.
VIII. Invited Papers or Lectures Presented to Professional Groups. (Representative listing.)
"Hegels Leibnizkritik," paper presented to the Philosophisches Seminar, Reinische-Universitat/Bonn, Spring, 1973.
"The Speculative Philosophy of History and Its Critics," paper read at the 1975 meeting of the Mountains-Plains Philosophical Society.
"Hegel's Self-Interpretation: 'The End of the History of the Concept'," paper presented to the University of Denver Inter-Departmental Colloquium, 1975.
"Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness: Who Should Pay?" keynote address to a program sponsored by the Colorado Humanities Program, Fall, 1976.
"History and the Responsibility to Future Generations," (see above) paper presented at the annual meeting of the Institute for Advanced Philosophical Research, 1977; published with the proceedings in a volume entitled The Humanistic Society.
"The Just Society and the Institutionalized Individual," keynote address to a program sponsored by the Colorado Mental Health Association and the Colorado Humanities Program, Fall, 1977.
"Accommodations for Living: Needs, Rights, and Desires," address to a program sponsored by the Colorado Humanities Program and subsequently published in a magazine of cosponsor, Winter, 1977.
"Time and Meaning," invited paper presented in the Colloquium Series, Eastern Montana College, Spring, 1979.
"The Philosophical Foundations of Marxism," special invited guest lecture in the Humanities Program, Eastern Montana College, Spring, 1979.
"Thinking at the End of the History of Metaphysics: Hermeneutics as Methodology and Ontology," invited paper read before the American Academy of Religion, Denver, 1980.
"The Political Future," invited lecture and symposium sponsored by the Executive Council, IBM, 1981.
"Sign and Symbol in Protestant and Catholic Thought," presented at the First Unitarian Church, Denver, 1982.
"Kant's Aesthetics and Contemporary Schools of Literary Interpretation," invited presentation to Joint Humanities Colloquium, University of Colorado, 1982.
"Individual and Corporate Responsibility," invited address to the University of Denver Faculty Colloquium, 1982.
"The Idea of Dialectical Rationality," read as an invited contribution to an interdisciplinary lecture series on Reasoning, University of Denver, 1983.
"Peace: An Inquiry into the Logic of a Concept," The American Philosophical Association, 1983.
"Corporate Responsibility and Patterns of Ethical Argument," seminar given at the University of Delaware, 1983.
"Humanities in the Public School Curriculum," invited presentation to the principals of the Denver Public Schools, 1985.
"Ethical and Legal Issues in the Media," invited presentation to a conference at the University of Colorado, 1985.
"The Age of the 'Baroque': Variations on the State of Nature," invited presentation to an NEH sponsored program at the Denver Public Library, 1985.
"The Agonistics of Interpretation: A Novice's Guide to Poststructuralism," invited inaugural address, The Denver Humanities Institute, 1986.
"Wagner, Nietzsche, and Romanticism: The 'Gesamtkunstwerk' in the Context of 19th Century German Cultural History," invited lecture, The Denver Humanities Institute, 1988.
"Wagner and Anti-Semitism," invited presentation sponsored by the Center for Judaic Studies, The University of Denver, 1991.
"The Concept of 'Personhood' in 20th Century Continental Philosophy," invited lecture at Mansfield College, Oxford University.
"Fichte's Wissenschaftslehre and The Origins of `Scientific' Linguistics," invited presentation to be delivered at the International Bicentennial of the Founding of German Idealism, University of Jena, Germany, September 28-October 4, 1994.
“The Ethical Conundra of Multiculturalism,” presented to the Scandinavian Philosophical Association, 1996
“Metacritique: The Linguistic Assault on German Idealism,” lectures at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium), 1997.
“Metakritik und das Problem der Sprache im deutschen Idealismus,” Universität Mainz 1997.
"The Quest for a 'Science of Freedom': Fichte and Hegel on the Nature and Scope of Political Discourse," invited lecture presented to the Institute for Ethics, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Fall 1998.
"From Jena to the World: German Idealism and its Intellectual Legacy," lecture/slide presentation to the University of Denver, Lecture Series in the Humanities, Spring 1999.
"Irish Cultural and Musical Traditions," Guest presentations to Core classes, University of Denver
"What is 'French' about French Music and Painting?" Invited lecture series in conjunction with the Impressionist exhibit (DAM) and the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Fall 1999.
"The Nature of Political Discourse in Fichte and Hegel," Invited lecture for the Institute for Philosophy, Katholieke Universiteit, Leuven, Fall 2000
“How NOT to Read the German Idealist Philosophers,” presentation to the Department of Philosophy, Colorado State University, Winter 2004.
“The ‘Postmodern Sublime’: Erasing the Desert and Inscribing the Sky,” presentation to the Department of Philosophy, University of Colorado-Denver, Spring 2004.
[For other formal presentations to professional groups, refer to listings under "VI. Articles Published or Accepted for Publication."]
IX.Research Grants and/or Awards from External Agencies:
2012 - Grant from CTL (DU) for development of a course on ‘Philosophy and Video Games’
2011-12 - Faculty Research Grant, The University of Denver
2011-12 - Internationalization Grant, The University of Denver
2008 – PROF Grant, The University of Denver
2008 – Grant for Travel and Honorarium for participation in doctoral examinations, Katholieke Universiteit-Leuven
2004 – Travel/Accomodations Grant, The University of Cork, Republic of Ireland.
2003 - Travel/Residency Grant for Visiting Professors, Universidad Pernambuco, Brazil.
1998 - Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Grant to support teaching visit as "Distinguished Professor," Fall 1998.
1997 - Deutscher Akademisch Austauschdienst (Senior Research Grant for work at Schelling- Archiv, 1997)
1997 - Grant for visiting professorship at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.
1996 - Travel and expenses grant from the Skandinavian Philosophical Association and the University of Tromso, Norway
1996 - Faculty Research Grant, University of Denver
1995 - Grant from the Denver Humanities Institute to host Fourteenth Biennial Meeting of the Hegel Society of America