We are shocked and deeply saddened to learn that Peter Mack died as the result of a car accident on Thursday 5th October.

Peter Mack was a rigorous scholar and an excellent administrator. He directed the Warburg Institute from 2010 to 2014 and was both Head of the Department of English & Comparative Literary Studies and Chair of the Faculty of Arts, besides being actively involved in the Centre for the Study of the Renaissance. A Fellow of the British Academy and a leading authority on the English and European Renaissance, combining Shakespeare and Montaigne, his work and kindness touched everyone who met him, from students to colleagues, across various disciplines. His many books included Elizabethan Rhetoric: Theory and Practice (2002); Reading and Rhetoric in Montaigne and Shakespeare (2010); A History of Renaissance Rhetoric 1380-1620 (2011); and Rhetoric's Questions, Reading and Interpretation (2017) 

Further details about the funeral and memorial event will be announced as soon as we have them. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family. 

With increased use of front-facing cameras, mirrors and Zoom calls, we’re being faced with our own reflections more than ever before.

Is it heightening our preoccupation with the way we look?

Warwick’s Professor Heather Widdows (Philosophy) spoke to Dazed Digital about how our sense of self has changed in recent years

Professor Quassim Cassam spent 7-11 November at NYU Abu Dhabi, visiting as their Distinguished Philosopher-in-Residence 2022. The university, which supports almost 3000 international undergraduate students, was built almost a decade ago and is located on a beautifully landscaped campus on Saadiyat Island, close to the spectacular Abu Dhabi Louvre. See here: Events - NYU Abu Dhabi

 Professor Cassam says: “In my five days in Abu Dhabi, I participated in two research seminars on my work, two undergraduate classes on my book on Conspiracy Theories, and gave a public lecture on Extremism.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGQi1hQb4vU&ab_channel=NYUADInstitute).

I also got to spend a day dune bashing in the desert (that is, driven up and down sand dunes at high speed). Silly but fun! The day in the desert ended with a climb (on foot!) up a steep dune to look at the sunset and dinner at a desert camp, with a belly dancer in attendance”.

The Philosophy Department is delighted to announce the appointment of Dr Tobias Keiling, who joins the Department as Associate Professor and Deputy Director of the Centre for Research in Post-Kantian Philosophy. Dr Keiling was previously a lecturer at the University of Bonn, Germany, and an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow at Somerville College, Oxford. Dr Keiling’s Research interests include Hermeneutics and Phenomenology, particularly Heidegger, as well as Metaphysics and Epistemology both in the history of philosophy and contemporary analytic debates.

Teaching Fellow, Massimiliano Lacertosa, has been appointed as a new Associate Fellow of the Warwick Institute of Engagement, in recognition of his work in promoting a more inclusive engagement approach to the discipline of Philosophy.  Massimiliano (Max) is pro-actively committed to both the diversification and decolonisation of the curriculum and has delivered popular new modules on World Philosophies and Chinese Philosophy in the Department.

The WIE aims to continually improve how the University engages with the public, key influencers and decision makers, and actively seeks ways on how best to communicate effectively with these groups and beyond.

Professor Quassim Cassam has been appointed an Honorary Fellow of Keble College, Oxford. Professor Cassam graduated from Keble College with a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics in 1979, and has written extensively on self-knowledge, perception, intellectual vice and conspiracy theories. Professor Cassam’s new book on Extremism: A Philosophical Analysis’ has just been published by Routledge (September 2021).

Five New Honorary Fellows Elected - Keble College (ox.ac.uk)

The Philosophy Department is delighted to announce that it will be joined by two new members of staff, Dr Nadine Elzein and Dr Andrew Huddleston, who will both take up their posts in September 2021.

Dr Elzein’s research interests focus on ethics, metaphysics, and the philosophy of mind, as well as problems relating to free will, determinism, moral responsibility, and retributive practices. Dr Elzein studied at University College London, followed by posts at King’s College London, the University of Southampton, UCL, and the University of Oxford.

Dr Huddleston joins the Department as Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Centre for Research in Post-Kantian Philosophy, and has previously taught at Birkbeck College, University of London and at Exeter College, Oxford. Research interests include the history of post-Kantian philosophy (esp. Nietzsche; German Idealism, Early German Romanticism, and the Frankfurt School) as well as in aesthetics, social philosophy, and ethics.

Professor Fabienne Peter will take up a Faculty Fellowship at The Centre for Ethics and Public Affairs at The Murphy Institute, based at Tulane University, Ohio, USA, for the academic year 2021-22. The Murphy Institute is an interdisciplinary research centre focusing on economic, moral and political issues. The Fellowship will allow Professor Peter to continue her research in moral and political philosophy as well as participating in a varied programme of lectures, seminars, conferences.

The Philosophy Department features significantly in the WATE 2021 competition, with three impressive Award Winners.

David Bather Woods received a Staff Award, and both Johan Heemskerk and Jack Shardlow received Awards in the PGR category. All three Department Winners have excelled in the difficult times of the past year by brilliantly implementing an imaginative and thoughtful approach to Learning and Engagement - developing and enhancing the academic experience of their students and providing a strong and sustained network of support and community - despite all the challenges created by the pandemic.

Many congratulations to David, Johan and Jack on this well- deserved accolade - formal recognition of three outstanding contributors to the Philosophy Department and its teaching commitments throughout 2020/2021.

Warwick Awards for Teaching Excellence

 Professor Keith Ansell-Pearson has been appointed Honorary President of The Friedrich Nietzsche Society, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to Nietzsche studies over the course of his illustrious academic career. Keith launched the Nietzsche Society of Great Britain (as the Friedrich Nietzsche Society was originally called) in April 1990, accompanied by a hugely successful inaugural conference, supported by and held at the Philosophy Department at the University of Essex. The first edition of the Journal of Nietzsche Studies subsequently appeared in Spring 1990; Keith has continued as a long-serving contributor and member of the Editorial Board. Keith has published widely, and to great acclaim, on both the life and work of Friedrich Nietzsche, and has received many accolades in recognition of his Nietzschean scholarship. Further details here: https://www.fns.org.uk/honorary-president.html