New project: Equalities of Wellbeing in Philosophy and Architecture

Spinoza Research Network is proud to announce a new project starting today: Equalities of Wellbeing in Philosophy and Architecture.

Led by Beth Lord (Philosophy, Aberdeen) and Peg Rawes (Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London), Equalities of Wellbeing is a three-year project funded by the AHRC. Over the next three years, through a series of events, publications, and activities, we will focus on the question: How do philosophy and architecture give us a distinctive way of understanding equality, and how can this have impacts on the wellbeing of individuals and communities? Spinoza’s philosophy will be our starting point for investigating an alternative history of the concept of equality through proportion. We will be engaging with philosophers, architects, and organizations focused on income equality and affordable housing.

Find out more about the project, and follow our activities, on the Equalities of Wellbeing blog.

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PhD Studentship on Spinoza

As part of a new AHRC funded project, I am seeking someone who wants to work on a PhD connecting Spinoza with another discipline. Applicants must meet the eligibility criteria (preferably including a Masters’ degree in a relevant discipline), but need not have a degree specifically in Philosophy or particular expertise on Spinoza. What we are looking for is an academically excellent researcher who wants to work on Spinoza in an interdisciplinary context, and contribute to a project team. Please forward to anyone who may be interested.

 

PhD Studentship in Philosophy

University of Aberdeen

Deadline for applications: 28 June 2013

We welcome applications for a PhD Studentship, part of the 3-year AHRC project Equalities of Wellbeing in Philosophy and Architecture. The Principal Investigator is Dr. Beth Lord (Philosophy, University of Aberdeen); the Co-Investigator is Dr. Peg Rawes (Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London). The project investigates how Spinoza’s philosophy and architectural thought offer a proportional notion of equality that can improve wellbeing.

The PhD candidate will be based at Aberdeen and supervised by Dr. Lord (https://www.abdn.ac.uk/sdhp/people/profiles/s.b.lord) . She or he will conduct original research linking Spinoza’s philosophy with another discipline, such as architecture, literature, visual culture, or urban studies. In particular, the research should be focused on concepts of equality as they arise in Spinoza’s texts in relation to texts, works, and/or case studies in the chosen other discipline.

We welcome applications from individuals from any relevant disciplinary background who meet the eligibility criteria.

Full details of the studentship can be found here:
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/funding/details.php?funding_id=220

Applicants should contact Dr. Lord at the earliest opportunity to discuss potential project ideas (s.b.lord@abdn.ac.uk) .

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Review of Spinoza Beyond Philosophy

A book review of Spinoza Beyond Philosophy – the book of the Spinoza Research Network – by Moira Gatens was published yesterday in Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews.

Details of the book can be found on the EUP website. Please consider asking your university library to order a copy!

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# SPINOZA /// Episode 1: The Marxian Reading of Capitalism through a Spinozist Conceptology

Reblogged from The Funambulist:

Today, I am starting a series of articles about 17th century Portuguese-Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza and thus dedicates to his work a 'week' like I did two years ago for Gilles Deleuze and last year for Michel Foucault.

The first article of this week will attempt to examine how Spinoza can supply a terminology, or rather, a conceptology to extend the sharp analysis of capitalism made by Karl Marx in the 19th century to a its neo-liberal version we have been experiencing for the last thirty years.

Read more… 2,058 more words

This is the first post of seven comprising a Spinoza Week over on architectural blog The Funambulist.

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Spinoza in the Media

A new section has been added under Online Resources listing items on Spinoza from radio, TV, newspapers and magazines. Please send further examples to s.b.lord@abdn.ac.uk

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The Spinoza Research Network moved to Aberdeen

In January 2013, Beth Lord and the Spinoza Research Network moved to a new base in the Philosophy department at the University of Aberdeen. The new contact address for the Network (including items for the website) is s.b.lord@abdn.ac.uk

 

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Ethica multimedia project

Patrick Fontana, a multimedia artist, is undertaking a fascinating project on Spinoza’s Ethics and is seeking participants from the international Spinoza community. Find out more on the Projects tab.

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New Book: Spinoza Beyond Philosophy

I’m pleased to announce the forthcoming publication of Spinoza Beyond Philosophy, a book of essays based on the research of the Spinoza Research Network, published by Edinburgh University Press. 

The 10 chapters form a coherent collection based on papers presented at the two Network conferences, “Spinoza and Bodies”  and “Spinoza and Texts”. In keeping with the Network’s overall purpose, the book brings together Spinoza researchers from disciplines beyond Philosophy – including English, Musicology, Politics, History, and Architecture. The book also features original artwork from Network members who are artists.

A discount flyer for pre-ordering the book is available here, valid until 30 June: SBP Flyer.

Contents: Introduction (Beth Lord)
1. ‘Subjectivity without the subject’: Thinking beyond the subject with/through Spinoza (Caroline Williams)
2. Spinoza’s Non-Humanist Humanism (Michael Mack)
3. The Ethical Relation of Bodies: Thinking with Spinoza Towards an Affective Ecology (Anthony Paul Smith)
4. Spinoza’s architectural passages and geometric comportments (Peg Rawes)
5. The Secret History of Musical Spinozism (Amy Cimini)
Interlude: Lance Brewer, Christina Rawls, Shelley Campbell
6. Thinking the Future: Spinoza’s Political Ontology Today (Mateusz Janik)
7. Spinoza’s Empty Law: The Possibility of Political Theology (Dimitris Vardoulakis)
8. Which Radical Enlightenment?: Spinoza, Jacobinism, and Black Jacobinism (Nick Nesbitt)
9. George Eliot, Spinoza and the Ethics of Literature (Simon Calder)
10. Coleridge’s Ecumenical Spinoza (Nicholas Halmi)

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Spinoza Research Network

A two-year project funded by the AHRC and hosted at the University of Dundee

The aim of the Spinoza Research Network is to bring together researchers from different disciplines who make use of the ideas and texts of Baruch Spinoza. During the two-year project we will be holding two conferences, and developing this website as a hub for researchers, students, and interested readers.

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