Recent goings on and light at the end of the tunnel

Postings on this Substack have been thin on the ground lately. It’s that time of year when many academics (especially those of us with heavy teaching loads and no teaching assistants) are overwhelmed with grading, wrapping up the semester, writing our annual self-reviews, and lots of other things. But I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, so will be back to regular postings soon.

On the more exciting side, my book Making Monsters: The Uncanny Power of Dehumanization was one of five finalists for the inaugural Nayef Al-Rodhan prize in transdisciplinary philosophy. The prize went to Amia Srinivasan for her book The Right to Sex, but it was great spending a few days in London, a city where I lived for more than two decades, and hanging out with my daughter Danny, who lives in Luton.I’ve also recently driven over to Yale, to guest teach a class in Robin Dembroff’s course on feminist philosophy, have been figuring out the logistics for talks in the UK, Sweden, and the Netherlands in 2024, and will shortly be flying to Montreal to give a colloquium at L'Université du Québec à Montréal.

Finalists for the Nayef Al-Rodhan 2023 prize in transdisciplinary philosophy (photo credit Andrew Lunn Photography)

I’ve also learned just yesterday that Making Monsters has won a book prize, about which I’m sworn to secrecy until it is announced officially.

Finally, just before Thanksgiving I delivered the annual Ludke Lecture at the University of New England, where I am employed. The lecture was recorded, and I’ve pasted the video below.

Well, that’s all for now. I’ll see you again soon.