The Monash Warwick Alliance has strengthened its philosophy presence with its first cohort of joint PhD students and first transnational postgraduate philosophy conference.

Thomas Ryan from Monash University’s Faculty of Arts and Matthew Dennis from the University of Warwick’s Department of Philosophy have been working on the international philosophy conference, which will be sponsored by the Monash Warwick Alliance Student Initiative Fund.

The transnational conference will be held at Monash and then Warwick, with academics and postgraduate students attending sessions at both universities. The conference will explore the ethics surrounding the cultivation of a ‘good’ life.

James Muldoon, who was the first student to start the joint PhD program in August 2013 and later became involved with the conference, said the Monash Warwick Alliance gave him access to Warwick’s world-renowned philosophy experts while also working alongside Monash philosophy specialists.

“The University of Warwick has an exceptional continental philosophy program, so the Alliance is broadening my access to experts in this field, which is greatly assisting my research,” Mr Muldoon said.

“With the Alliance, I’m experiencing a true international education that will prepare me for the global job market. I’m also forming professional networks that will help once I graduate.

“Working with supervisors at two universities also provides greater capacity for inter-disciplinary research, as they have their own research interests that inspire my research.”

Mr Muldoon’s PhD will investigate how recent social movements, such as the global ‘Occupy’ movement, could contribute to our understanding of the institutions and practices of democracy.

His Master’s thesis on German philosopher G.W.F. Hegel will be published as a book this year, titled Hegel’s Philosophy of Drives. It offers a reinterpretation of Hegel’s philosophy with an emphasis on its relevance for contemporary debates in ethical and political philosophy.

Mr Muldoon is currently based at Monash with the School of Philosophical, Historical and International Studies and will travel to Warwick for the final year of his PhD in 2015.

Mr Ryan, also from the School of Philosophical, Historical and International Studies, has recently started a philosophy joint PhD with the Monash Warwick Alliance.

The Joint PhD is now available across the Faculties of Science; Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences; Arts; Engineering; Information Technology; and Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Monash and, at Warwick, the Faculties of Science (including Information Technology and Engineering), and Arts and Social Sciences, along with the Warwick Medical School.

ENDS

For further information please contact University of Warwick press officer Anna Blackaby on 02476 575910 or a dot blackaby at warwick dot ac dot uk

About the Monash-Warwick Alliance

The Monash-Warwick Alliance offers a new model for research-led institutions to meet the global challenges of the 21st century.

By accelerating the exchange of people, ideas and information and exploiting the opportunities offered by the geography of the two institutions in Europe, Asia-Pacific and Africa, we intend to create a new approach to global higher education.
A key aim of the Alliance is to help meet the increasing student, industry and government demand for universities to produce graduates with a global education, and to undertake research that addresses world-relevant and strategically important problems.

In time, as our vision for globally connected universities is refined and developed, new models of delivery of education and educational services will emerge, challenging traditional concepts of what it means to be a university and enabling new members to become part of the Alliance.