Rachael Wiseman

Notes from a Biscuit Tin – A Year-Long Centenary Celebration of the Philosophy & Poetic Vision of Mary Midgley

Notes from a Biscuit Tin – A Year-Long Centenary Celebration of the Philosophy & Poetic Vision of Mary Midgley

Posted by | May 30, 2019 |

We were so sad to lose Mary last year, just a month after her 99th birthday. We will mark what would have been her 100th birthday by beginning a year-long commemoration and celebration of her philosophical and poetic vision. Notes from a Biscuit Tin, supported by a generous grant from the British Society of Aesthetics, is inspired by Mary Midgley’s biscuit tin, gifted to In Parenthesis by her family. From this tin, over many decades, Midgley dispensed to her visitors, friends and interlocutors ginger snaps, wit and wisdom. We are sending the Biscuit Tin on a round-the-world tour, where...

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Wartime Quartet Royal Institute Reading Group – Some Reflections

Wartime Quartet Royal Institute Reading Group – Some Reflections

Posted by | Apr 18, 2019 | , ,

by Ana Barandalla   We have completed the Wartime Quartet Reading Group in London, where it has run alongside the Friday Lectures at the Royal Institute of Philosophy from October 2018 to March 2019. I’m not sure what my expectations were at the outset, but whatever they were, it has been a thoroughly enjoyable and didactic experience, and as we finished, I was left with a sense that something good had been accomplished. It was back in the summer of 2018 that Clare proposed that I, together with Hannah Altorf, facilitate the Group, and I jumped at the chance....

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Mary Midgley: An Introduction, by Greg McElwain – pre-order now!

Mary Midgley: An Introduction, by Greg McElwain – pre-order now!

Posted by | Mar 11, 2019 |

Dr Greg McElwain’s Mary Midgley: An Introduction is due for release on November 14. We can’t wait! Greg tells us: This book grew out of eight years of research and interviews with the late Mary Midgley. It was written with students in mind, though I hope there is something in it for anyone interested in Midgley’s unique way of doing philosophy. More information and pre-order can be found here.   And here’s the blurb! Book description For over 40 years, Mary Midgley made a forceful case for the relevance and importance of philosophy. With characteristic wit and wisdom, she...

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Philosophy by Postcard! Celebrate Murdoch’s centenary with us!

Philosophy by Postcard! Celebrate Murdoch’s centenary with us!

Posted by | Mar 4, 2019 | ,

To celebrate the centenary of Murdoch An Post are issuing a beautiful commemorative stamp on 15th July 2019. Join An Post and In Parenthesis to celebrate Murdoch’s philosophy, literature, and love of letter-writing by participating in an international #SlowPhilosophy exchange: #PhilosophybyPostcard. We are looking for 100 philosophers to participate! Find out more and register here: www.philosophybypostcard.com Between July and September 2019 the public will be invited to send a postcard to Iris Murdoch at her birthplace on Blessington Street, Dublin. The postal address will be released via this website on 15th July 2019. 100 postcards received will be selected...

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Notes on Mary Midgley: Style and Substance, Ian Ground (10/11/18)

Notes on Mary Midgley: Style and Substance, Ian Ground (10/11/18)

Posted by | Dec 7, 2018 | , ,

At the Midgley Archive Launch we heard a series of wonderful talks from distinguished guests. Here, Dr Ian Ground reflects on the many dimensions in which the style and substance of Mary’s work interacts, and on her relation to Wittgenstein.     Moral as the superlative of serious …[T]he central job the word does, the one for which it is worth preserving, is to mark, as Philippa Foot suggested, a certain sort of seriousness and importance…and…its other implications, whether of form or content, flow from this.… …Now what happens if we ask; is it not only a serious but a...

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Mary Midgley and our Need For (Good) Philosophy, Ian James Kidd (10/11/18)

Mary Midgley and our Need For (Good) Philosophy, Ian James Kidd (10/11/18)

Posted by | Nov 26, 2018 | , ,

 At the Midgley Archive Launch we heard a series of wonderful talks from distinguished guests. Here, Dr Ian James Kidd takes inspiration from the archive and reflects on the necessity of philosophy.   Philosophy is a necessity, not a luxury Mary Midgley thought philosophy was a necessity, not a luxury – something we need to do if our lives are to go well. She described it as ‘something we are doing all the time, a continuous, necessary background activity which is likely to go badly if we don’t attend to it’ (2018:81). But doing it all the time doesn’t...

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Carrying on the Midgley legacy: inspiration from the archive, Jane Heal (10/11/2018)

Carrying on the Midgley legacy: inspiration from the archive, Jane Heal (10/11/2018)

Posted by | Nov 24, 2018 | , ,

At the Midgley Archive Launch we heard a series of wonderful talks from distinguished guests. Here, Professor Jane Heal takes inspiration from the archive and reflects on the virtues of breadth of interest and courage.   I would like to start by saying what am sure we all feel, which is how very sad we are that Mary is not here herself, or at least present via video-link, as we had hoped. It would have been wonderful to hear again her characteristic tones and say to her how much we have appreciated her work and her friendship over the...

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Geoff and Mary Midgley – Two Kinds of Philosopher. David Midgley (10/11/2018)

Geoff and Mary Midgley – Two Kinds of Philosopher. David Midgley (10/11/2018)

Posted by | Nov 23, 2018 | , ,

At the Midgley Archive Launch we heard a series of wonderful short talks from distinguished guests. We’ll be sharing them here over the next week. The first is David Midgley’s discussion of his philosopher parents.  I need to preface this paper with a double apology – in the first place I must confess to being gravely under-prepared, due to the circumstance of having been completely preoccupied until last Friday with the arrangements for Mary’s funeral; much of this paper was written in the car on the journey from London to Durham, perhaps less than ideal circumstances for considered philosophical...

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Durham University acquires archive of Mary Midgley – Join us for the launch this Saturday (10th November 2018)

Durham University acquires archive of Mary Midgley – Join us for the launch this Saturday (10th November 2018)

Posted by | Nov 7, 2018 |

Durham University’s Palace Green Library has acquired the archive of the world-famous philosopher Mary Midgley. The archive is a major acquisition for Palace Green Library and a launch event, supported by the Royal Institute of Philosophy, will be held on Saturday, 10 November. Mary Midgley was one of the world’s leading philosophers and her work continues to shape the way we think about human life and our relation to each other, to animals, and to nature. Born in London, Mary lived in Newcastle upon Tyne for many years until her recent death at the age of 99. She was...

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Royal Institute of Philosophy Centenary Celebration Lecture Series

Royal Institute of Philosophy Centenary Celebration Lecture Series

Posted by | Oct 15, 2018 | , , , ,

We’re excited to be part of the Royal Institute of Philosophy Centenary Celebration of the Wartime Quartet. Details of the programme can be found here and below. Alongside the lecture seies is an In Parenthesis reading group. The London group will be chaired by the wonderful Ana Barandalla and Hannah Marije Altorf. The programme is here. Let us know if you’d like to take part or set up a group where you are and read along! A CENTENARY CELEBRATION: ANSCOMBE, FOOT, MIDGLEY, AND MURDOCH 2019 marks the centenary of the birth of three highly distinguished and individual philosophers, Elizabeth...

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New Reading Groups! Join in or start your own!

New Reading Groups! Join in or start your own!

Posted by | Oct 7, 2018 |

Four wonderful Women In Parenthesis Reading Groups are just starting – now is the perfect moment to join one (in London, Liverpool, Oxford and Durham) or to start your own. You’ll find everything you need here to follow along with the groups or to set up a group where you live. In London In London, the group will meet on Thursdays 6-7pm, at the main lecture hall at the Royal Institute of Philosophy, 14 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0AR. All are welcome. Any queries, please contact Wartime Quartet Reading Group <wartimequartetreadinggroup@gmail.com>. The reading group will run alongside RIP’s Wartime...

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Anscombe Archive at University of Pennsylvania

Anscombe Archive at University of Pennsylvania

Posted by | Oct 1, 2018 |

We are just back from an incredible trip to Philadelphia and the Collegium Institute and UPenn Archives. The wonderful Collegium Institute, based at UPenn, have recently acquired the Elizabeth Anscombe’s archive. The material runs to over 60 boxes and includes notes on the translation of Philosophical Investigations, an incredible run of postcards between Anscombe and Kenny, discussing metaphysics, theology, logic, action and language, and drafts and notebooks from throughout Anscombe’s philosophical career. One of the most moving parts of the collection relates to Anscombe’s ‘Mr Truman’s Degree’ – Anscombe’s 1956 attempt to stop Oxford University from awarding an honorary...

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In Parenthesis at UPenn, USA and Queens, Canada – read our talk

In Parenthesis at UPenn, USA and Queens, Canada – read our talk

Posted by | Oct 1, 2018 | , , ,

We are just back from the wonderful Anscombe Archive at the Collegium Institute, UPenn. While we were visiting we were lucky enough to be able to give a talk about the Quartet to the UPenn philosophy department. Rachael then went on to spend a week at Queens University, Canada, where she gave the 2018 Graham Kennedy Memorial Lecture. We’re delighted to be able to share the script here for download — let us know what you think! Script: A Female School in Analytic Philosophy You can read more about the Archive...

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Speaker Vulnerability and the Patriarchal University. By Lara Coleman

Speaker Vulnerability and the Patriarchal University. By Lara Coleman

Posted by | Oct 20, 2017 | , ,

A Response and Tribute to Pamela Sue Anderson I never quite crossed paths with Pamela Sue Anderson. She returned to Oxford in 2001 to take up a post at my former college the year after I finished my undergraduate studies.[1]  In February 2017, we were both invited to speak at a British Academy conference on Vulnerability and The Politics of Care. Anderson’s paper was read by a friend, just weeks before her death. All of us spoke about vulnerability, but Anderson’s contribution stood out in that she addressed our own vulnerability as speakers. She began by recounting an occasion,...

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Amber, Anna, and Annie at the Iris Murdoch Society conference

Amber, Anna, and Annie at the Iris Murdoch Society conference

Posted by | Sep 2, 2017 | ,

We’ve just been at the brilliant Iris Murdoch Society Annual Conference. We are so proud of our wonderful women students, Amber, Anna and Annie, who shared their experience and wisdom in the In Parenthesis panel. The audience of academics and Murdoch scholars were so interested in their reflections and had so many questions that I didn’t get time to give my presentation! Feeling very lucky to have met and learned from such inspiring young...

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Our Cocoa Parties: A Brief Reflection by Annie McCallian

Posted by | Aug 29, 2017 |

Annie McCallian, our student research assistant, reflects on the Durham reading group In November 2016, as part of the In Parenthesis project’s aim to uncover the intellectual conditions of the wartime group, several close friends and I endeavoured to establish a women and gender non-binary undergraduate reading group. We gathered together once a fortnight in a small Philosophy common room – united by ideas and cocoa – for discussions that explored selected abstracts from texts by the wartime group. This is our brief reflection. Our very first session was spent getting to know one another and reflecting on our experiences as fellow undergraduates. The topics of discussion ranged from imposter syndrome, to – what Collin McGinn had called – the “cut and thrust of philosophical debate”. What emerged prominently during this session was a shared feeling of isolation and intimidation with regard to the academic discipline of philosophy. Unsurprisingly, it appeared to us that this “cut and thrust” signalled an occasion to be spoken over, shouted down and – in some way – had perhaps contributed to our shared desire to distance ourselves from the discipline. One pervasive way in which this desire had manifested itself was in a reluctance to converse in tutorials – for fear of saying something ‘stupid’. As such, our reading group was always conscientious to create an environment that would combat this fear. As...

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Testimony: Lesley Jamieson, PhD Candidate, Queen’s University Kingston

Posted by | Aug 14, 2017 |

Inspired by In Parenthesis, our own research group has spent our last few sessions examining some essays by Anscombe and Murdoch. I have found seeing these philosophers as part of a distinct school of thought very helpful to understanding their work individually. The thematic similarities are so striking! Even Anscombe’s complaint about the shallowness of Sidgwick on humility in “Modern Moral Philosophy” is echoed by Murdoch in The Sovereignty of Good when she writes that some philosophers think that humility is “a peculiar habit of self-effacement, rather like having an inaudible voice”. Lesley Jamieson, PhD Candidate, Queen’s University in...

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Reading schedule & tips

Posted by | Jul 26, 2017 |

– written by Annie McCallion The texts set here, as well as their subsequent questions are intended to serve as a guide for organisers of the group. For each section I have provided set texts; this is in addition to texts which are recommended for the organiser of the group to read – prior to holding the discussion. To accompany these texts, there are a selection of at least 7 questions provided per session. If each session is set to run for an hour long, it is unlikely that you will be able to make it through all of them; the selection is provided in order to enable to organiser of the group to select those most appropriate questions, relative to how they see the discussion going. As stipulated above, these are intended only as guidelines; I have interpreted the respective texts and directed the questions to areas which I know members of my group prefer to discuss. You are of course at liberty to do the same. The sequence of texts laid out here, attempts to create a linear chain of progression throughout the 8 sessions. I have linked them together as best I can, attempting to give the most seamless transition to each session. The texts should be fairly easy to locate, however I have available full PDF versions of all the texts listed; if there is...

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What influence did Wittgenstein and Aquinas have on Anscombe and Foot? by Samuel Cooper

Posted by | Jul 14, 2017 | ,

Both Foot and Anscombe talk about Aquinas quite often, and both of them seem to take it for granted that Aquinas’ thought can be elucidated by thinking about it from directions provided by Wittgenstein; not just that Aquinas can be corrected or improved by the addition of a Wittgensteinian perspective, but rather that what Aquinas himself actually thought can be elucidated by looking at his work from such an angle. Both of them do this quite often, sometimes implicitly and sometimes explicit, but almost always very casually, as if it is quite obvious that this is how it should be. But in what sense in Aquinas Wittgensteinian?!

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Philippa Foot ‘Sir’ letter

Posted by | Jun 19, 2017 | ,

Photo of Certificate, Photo of letter, Guidance Qs (t. b. w) In May 1983, Philippa Foot was elected as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She was sent a rather grand certificate (click to enlarge) informing her of the honor. As you may notice, the certificate is addressed: ‘Sir’. In 1983! Foot wrote this wonderful letter to the AAAS in...

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ABC Philosophy Zone

Posted by | Jun 19, 2017 | ,

Link to external website – summary (tbw) Listen to Dr Mary Midgley and Dr Rachael Wiseman discussing ‘The Golden Age of Female Philosophy’, and its relevant for discussions about women in philosophy today, with Fiona Jenkins on ABC Radio’s The Philosopher’s Zone....

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Silencing and Speaker Vulnerability: Undoing an oppressive form of (wilful) ignorance

Posted by | Jun 19, 2017 | ,

 by Pamela Sue Anderson Essay, Photo, Guidance Qs (t.b.w.) Pamela wrote this paper for our International Women’s Day Conference 2016 [link], Resounding Voices: Women, Silence and the Production of Knowledge. It is with her permission that we publish the full script here. Tragically, Pamela passed away in March 2017. Her beautiful paper offers a way of conceptualising what we are, or should conceive ourselves as, (collectively) doing  as philosophers: cultivating reciprocal relations to the unknown. ABSTRACT The French feminist philosopher, Michèle Le Doeuff, has taught us something about ‘the collectivity’, which she discovers in women’s struggle for access to the philosophical, but also about ‘the unknown’ and ‘the unthought’ (Le Doeuff 1989, 128). It is the unthought, which will matter most to what I intend to say today about a fundamental ignorance, on which speaker vulnerability is built. On International Women’s Day, it seems appropriate to speak about – or, at least, to evoke – the silencing which has been imposed on women by an oppressive form of ignorance. My question is: how do our resounding voices as women – on 8 March 2016 – avoid what feminist philosophers have distinguished as wilful forms of silencing? Silencing exploits vulnerability; and speaker vulnerability is an exposure to either violence or affection, in its dependence on an audience. My response seeks to undo the silencing of women by transforming an ignorance...

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Then and Now

Posted by | Jun 19, 2017 | ,

by Mary Midgley Mary Midgley Considers How What Is Called Philosophy Has Changed Since She And Her Friends First Plunged Into It Changes In World-Pictures. When we four people started studying Philosophy at Oxford in the early 1940s, quite a lot of the topics that we might have expected to discuss – most importantly, Human Nature, the Spiritual Life and the Behaviour of non-human Animals – simply could not be mentioned in philosophical circles at all. First, Behaviourists had shown that there was `no such thing as Human Nature’. All behaviour was simply reactive – produced by other behaviour. Next, Animal behaviour was part of Zoology. A few Comparative Psychologists were studying the differences between human and animal thought. but this chiefly meant showing that animals can’t do certain things which humans can. And finally, as for the Spiritual Life, religious concepts were being studied on their own as separate topics by people who were not necessarily interested in their importance, or keen to relate them to other aspects of life. Thus the only mental heritage that was deemed to be common to the whole human race was Rationality, which was seen as its central legacy from the Enlightenment. More sweepingly still, however, even that legacy was then being fiercely attacked by a miscellaneous group of theorists – ranging from Right to Left, from Behaviourists through Existentialists to Marxists –...

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We’re in the wonderful Hannah Directory!

We’re in the wonderful Hannah Directory!

Posted by | Jun 15, 2017 |

Hannah Directory highlights people and organisations doing great things in places in the north of England. It’s named after Hannah Mitchell (1872–1956), an inspiring suffragette and rebel!   PRESS RELEASE Celebrating the hidden gems of The North’s arts and innovation Durham University Philosophy Department’s Women In Parenthesis has been selected as one of the hidden gems of the north by the fifth edition of Hannah Directory, which launches during the week of June 12 – 17. Hannah Directory highlights people and organisations doing great things in places in the north of England. Andrew Wilson, who coordinates the directory, says “Hannah Directory...

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Iris Murdoch lifeline

Posted by | Jun 3, 2017 | ,

We’ve done our best to make sure this lifeline is accurate and complete. Please let us know if you spot any errors or omissions.   Jean Iris Murdoch (1919-1999)   1919 (15 July) Born in Phibsborough, Ireland, to Irene Alice and Wills John Hughes Murdoch 1925 Entered the Froebel Demonstration School, Roehampton 1932 Joined Badminton School, Bristol, where she boarded until 1938 1938 Attended university at Somerville College, Oxford, where she studied Classics She graduated in 1942 with first-class honours. Joined the Communist Party of Great Britain, but left in 1942 1943 Publication: ‘Midnight Hour’, Adelphi, pp. 60-1 Publication: ‘Rebirth of Christianity’, Adelphi, pp.134-5 1944 (June) Began work for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) Publication: ‘Worship and Common Life,’ Adelphi, pp. 134-5 1946 – Left UNRRA. 1947 Began studying philosophy as a postgraduate at Newnham College, Cambridge. She was awarded the Sarah Smithson Studentship in Philosophy 1948 Became a fellow of St. Anne’s College, Oxford, where she taught philosophy until 1963 1950 Publication: ‘The Novelist as Metaphysician’, Listener, 43, pp. 473-6 Publication: ‘The Existentialist Hero,’ Listener,43, pp. 523-4 Publication: review of Simone de Beauvoir,The Ethics of Ambiguity, Mind, 59, pp. 127-8 Publication: review of Jean-Paul Sartre, The Emotions: The Outline of a Theory, Mind, 59, pp. 268-71 1951 Publication: ‘Symposium: Thinking and Language’ (with A. C. Lloyd and Gilbert Ryle), Aristotelian Society Supplementary Volume, 25(1), pp....

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Philippa Foot lifeline

Posted by | Jun 3, 2017 | ,

We’ve done our best to make sure this lifeline is accurate and complete. Please let us know if you spot any errors or omissions.   Philippa Ruth Foot (1920-2010)  1920       (3 October) Born to Esther Cleveland and Captain William Sidney Bence Bosanquet. 1939 Studied PPE at Somerville College, Oxford. She graduated in 1942, with first-class honours 1945       Married the historian, Michael Richard Daniel Foot 1947 Became a lecturer at Somerville College. She remained there until 1950 1949 Became Somerville College’s first philosophy Tutorial Fellow 1952 Publication: ‘The Philosopher’s Defence of Morality,’ Philosophy, 27(103), pp. 311-28 1954 Publication: ‘Symposium: When Is a Principle a Moral Principle?’ (with Jonathan Harrison), Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society Supplementary Volumes, 28, pp. 95-134 Publication: Review of N. R. Murphy, The Interpretation of Plato’s Republic, Mind 63(250), pp. 270-4 1957 Publication: Review of D. H. Monro, Godwin’s Moral Philosophy, Mind 66(262), pp. 279-80 Publication: ‘Free Will As Involving Determinism’, The Philosophical Review, 66(4), pp. 439-50 1958 Publication: ‘Moral Beliefs’, Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, 59, pp. 83-104 Publication: ‘Moral Arguments’, Mind, 67(268), pp. 502-13 1960       Divorced 1961 Publication: ‘Symposium: Goodness and Choice’ (with Alan Montefiore), Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Supplementary Volume, 35, pp. 45-80 1963 Publication: ‘Hart and Honoré Causation in the Law’. Review of H. L. A. Hart and A. M. Honore, Causation in the Law. In Philosophical Review, 72(4), pp. 505-15 Publication: ‘Hume on Moral Judgement’ in David Pears...

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Mary Midgley lifeline

Posted by | Jun 3, 2017 | ,

We’ve done our best to make sure this lifeline is accurate and complete. Please let us know if you spot any errors or omissions. Mary Beatrice Midgley (1919-2018) 1919       (13 September) Born in London to Lesley and Tom Scrutton 1937       Takes the Oxford University entrance exam, and is awarded a place at Somerville College, studying Classics, alongside Iris Murdoch. Midgley went on to graduate with first-class honours. 1942       Leaves Oxford and goes into the civil service 1947       Returns to Oxford to do graduate work with Gilbert Murray, and in particular, research on Plotinus’ view of the soul 1949       Begins teaching in the philosophy department of Reading University, where she remains for four terms 1950       Marries Geoffrey Midgley, who was also a philosopher 1952       Publication: ‘The Emancipation of Women’, The Twentieth Century, 152(901), pp. 217-25 Publication: ‘Bishop Butler: A reply’, The Twentieth Century, 152(905) 1959       Publication: ‘Ou Sont les Neiges de ma Tante’, The Twentieth Century, pp. 168-79 1962       Begins teaching in the philosophy department of Newcastle University, where she held her post until 1980 1972       Publication: ‘Is “Moral” a Dirty Word?’,Philosophy, 47 (181), pp. 206-28 1973       Publication: ‘The Concept of Beastliness: Philosophy, Ethics and Animal Behaviour’, Philosophy, 48, pp. 111-35 1974       Publication: ‘XII—The Neutrality of the Moral Philosopher’,Supplementary Volume of the Aristotelian Society, pp. 211-29 Publication: ‘The Game Game’, Philosophy, 49(189), pp. 231-53 1977       Publication: ‘On Trying Out...

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Elizabeth Anscombe lifeline

Posted by | Jun 3, 2017 | ,

We’ve done our best to make sure this lifeline is accurate and complete. Please let us know if you spot any errors or omissions.   Gertrude Elizabeth Margaret Anscombe (1919-2001) 1919       (18 March) Born to Gertrude Elizabeth Anscombe and Allen Wells Anscombe in Limerick, Ireland 1937      Graduates from Sydenham High School. From there, she goes on to St. Hugh’s College, Oxford where she studies Classics and Philosophy. She graduates in 1941 with first-class honours 1939 Publication: ‘The Justice of the Present War Examined. A criticism based on traditional Catholic principles and on natural reason’ (pamphlet). With Norman Daniel 1941 Married philosopher Peter Geach, with whom she has seven children 1942 Becomes a Research Student at Newnham College, Cambridge 1946      Accepts Research Fellowship at Somerville College, Oxford 1948 Publication: ‘A Reply to Mr. C. S. Lewis’s Argument that Naturalism is Self-Refuting,’ The Socratic Digest, 4 1950 Publication: ‘The Reality of the Past’ in Max Black (ed.), Philosophical Analysis: A Collection of Essays(New York: Cornell University Press). 1953 Publication: ‘Note on the English Version of Wittgenstein’s Philosophiche Untersuchungen,’ Mind, 62(248), 521-2 Publication: ‘Symposium: The Principle of Individuation’ (with Jan Lukasiewicz and Karl Popper). Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Supplementary Volume, 27, pp. 69-120 Publication: Philosophical Investigations, by Ludwig Wittgenstein (edited & translated by GEM Anscombe (Oxford: Blackwell) 1954       Publication: Descartes: Philosophical Writings, translated and edited with Peter Geach (London: Nelson) Publication:...

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A “world of women” on International Women’s Day!

A “world of women” on International Women’s Day!

Posted by | Mar 9, 2017 |

Thanks to everyone who came to our International Women’s Day conference yesterday! And of course special thanks to everyone who presented their work. It was a wonderful celebration of women’s work inside and outside the academy and a little glimpse into what the University might look like in a ‘world of women’ Back from Oxford. A world of women. I reflected, talking with Mary, Pip and Elizabeth, how much I love them. (Murdoch’s journal: 12 June...

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British Philosophy in 1957

British Philosophy in 1957

Posted by | Dec 7, 2016 |

1957 saw the publication of Anscombe’s Intention, Geach’s Mental Acts and O’Shaughnessy’s landmark essay, ‘The Location of Sound’. Also published that year were Hamlyn’s The Psychology of Perception and Popper’s The Poverty of Historicism. In the following two years Foot’s essays ‘Moral Beliefs’ and ‘Moral Arguments’ were published, along with Strawson’s Individuals and Anscombe’s ‘Modern Moral Philosophy’. We are collecting a list of the most important publications in British philosophy in the second half of the 1950s and would be grateful for your help. If you have suggestions for our collection please email them to us or tweet them...

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IWD 2017: Unsettling the Myths we Live By – Don’t miss our CFP deadline 12.12.16

IWD 2017: Unsettling the Myths we Live By – Don’t miss our CFP deadline 12.12.16

Posted by | Dec 6, 2016 |

Don’t forget to send us your abstracts by noon Monday 12th December. Proposal for 20 minute papers should be sent to: resoundingvoicesdurham@gmail.com in the form of 300 word abstracts. Please prepare your abstract for anonymous review. We’ll aim to get back to within 10 days. We welcome abstracts from those working in any discipline and encourage submissions from postgraduate researchers. — International Women’s Day Conference 2017 Wednesday, 8th March 2017 St. Aidan’s College, Durham University UNSETTLING THE MYTHS WE LIVE BY: FEMINIST PERSPECTIVES ON HUMAN NATURE, CULTURE AND FREEDOM. The image of the enlightenment subject and the hero of the...

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IWD 2017: Unsettling the Myths we Live By: Feminist Perspectives on Human Nature, Culture and Freedom

Posted by | Nov 11, 2016 |

We are really excited to announce the theme for our 2017 International Women’s Day Conference. Those of you who joined us last year will know what a wonderfully productive and inspiring celebration this day is. So, save the date, look out for announcements about registration and send us an abstract.  Details will be posted on the website here as we have them. See you in March! International Women’s Day Conference 2017 Wednesday, 8th March 2017 St. Aidan’s College, Durham University UNSETTLING THE MYTHS WE LIVE BY: FEMINIST PERSPECTIVES ON HUMAN NATURE, CULTURE AND FREEDOM. The image of the enlightenment subject and the hero of the modern novel is that of a brave young man: “he is free, independent, lonely, rational, responsible, brave … the offspring of the age of science, confidently rational and yet increasingly aware of his own alienation from the material universe that his discoveries reveal.” (Murdoch, The Sovereignty of the Good) This conference seeks to unsettle this myth of enlightenment man and to use feminist perspectives to explore alternative conceptions of human nature, culture and freedom. What does an account of the human subject, which takes seriously women’s lived experience, look like? This conference explores this question under three broad themes: Human Nature, Culture, and Freedom. We invite abstracts from any discipline or perspective that address themes related to the following, or related, topics and questions:...

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Women in the History of Philosophy conference

Posted by | Apr 28, 2016 |

University of Cambridge’s fantastic Women in Philosophy group are hosting a conference on 9th June, with talks covering women throughout the history of philosophy. We’ll be there talking about ‘The Golden Age of Female Philosophy’. The other speakers and their topics, along with registration details, can be found here:...

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Join our reading group!

Posted by | Apr 27, 2016 |

We’re starting a reading group — join us! Anscombe, Foot, Midgley and Murdoch were undergraduates together at Oxford University during WWII. Each month we’ll set readings by these remarkable women, and discuss them. We invite you to join our conversation by establishing your own satellite reading group, or through twitter (@parenthesis_in) and by leaving comments on the website. The first set of introductory readings are now available and discussion is open! Find out more and join in...

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IWD photos now available

Posted by | Mar 14, 2016 |

Rachel and Ilana were at our conference taking wonderful photos all day. We’ve published a selection on our website — please feel free to browse, download and share. We’re planning to print our favourites and put them up around the department! Follow this...

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Midgley keynote: Silence about Silence

Posted by | Mar 6, 2016 |

Our International Women’s Day conference is just 2 days away. We’re really excited. Over 90 people have registered to join us, so it should be a wonderful celebration of women’s voices. Just to remind you, we have three amazing keynotes (along with 8 panel sessions). The keynotes are: Pamela Sue Anderson, Oxford University. ‘Silencing and Speaker Vulnerability: Undoing an oppressive form of (Wilful) Ignorance’ Mary Midgley, ‘Silence about Silence’ Katharine Cockin, University of Hull. ‘Hearing What They Had to Say: Voice, Silence, and Reading between the Lines of Women’s Suffrage Performance’ It’s not too late to register, but we are reaching capacity so don’t delay! See you Tuesday, Rachael, Luna, and...

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Publishing advice slots with Bloomsbury almost full!

Posted by | Feb 12, 2016 |

Liza Thompson, Senior Commissioning Editor at Bloomsbury, will be offering publishing advice at the IWD conference. When you register for the conference, you can also book an appointment to discuss a proposal, and idea, or a question. However, do it soon! She’s almost fully booked already...

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Registration for IWD conference opens on Monday 8 February

Posted by | Feb 1, 2016 |

We are finalising a fantastic programme for our Resounding Voices conference on March 8th 2016. We have three amazing keynotes — Mary Midgley, Katharine Cockin, and Pamela Sue Anderson — and over 25 other speakers running across three parallel sessions. We’ll be announcing the full programme and opening registration here on Monday 8 February. We can’t wait to see you...

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Third Keynote: Mary Midgley

Posted by | Jan 27, 2016 |

We are so excited to confirm that Mary Midgley will join us at our International Women’s Day conference. Midgley was part of an extraordinary group of women at Oxford University in the 1930s. The prominence of Midgley, Philippa Foot, Iris Murdoch, Elizabeth Anscombe, and Mary Warnock have led to the 1930s-50s being called the ‘Golden Age of Female Philosophy’. She has written extensively on ethics, human nature, feminism, and...

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Interview with Mary Warnock

Posted by | Jan 20, 2016 | ,

Last week Liza, Clare and I went along with Lindsay (our film-crew!), to interview Mary Warnock at her London home. We’ll be posting some sound-extracts from the interview here in the coming weeks (along with some from our Mary Midgley interview). Here are some photos to get you in the mood.   It’s going to take us a little bit of time to edit the footage. Mary was incredibly generous with her time — we were there for three hours. But the plan is to make both this interview, and our recent interview with Mary Midgley, available for researchers and students as soon as...

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Second keynote: Professor Pamela Sue Anderson

Posted by | Jan 7, 2016 |

We are ready to announce our second fantastic keynote for our International Women’s Day conference: Resounding Voices. Professor Anderson, from University of Oxford will be joining us to speak on themes connected to her work on gender, confidence, and education. Further details to...

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Interview with Mary Midgley

Posted by | Dec 7, 2015 | ,

Clare, Luna, and I went along to interview Mary Midgley today at her home in Newcastle. We spent an incredible 90 minutes learning about life in Oxford during the 1930s and 40s, and hearing her thoughts on the contemporary lot of women in academia. I was especially struck by her comment that one of the reasons Iris Murdoch left the academy was that she didn’t think she could do philosophy well — how many other women have felt the same? We have footage of the interview and will upload some audio-highlights over the next few weeks....

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Interview with Mary Midgley

Posted by | Dec 3, 2015 | , ,

Mary Midgley has generously offered us her time on Monday, so we’re off to interview her about the Golden Age of female philosophy! We’ve got our own list of questions, but if there’s anything you think we should ask her do leave a comment or drop us a note. We’re taking a fanstastic filmmaker with us so we should be able to share the interview with you all at a later...

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First Keynote: Professor Katharine Cockin

Posted by | Nov 25, 2015 |

We’re excited to announce our first keynote speaker for our Re-Sounding Voices conference. Katharine Cockin is Professor of English at Hull University. She’ll be speaking about A Pageant of Great Women, a women’s suffrage play directed by Edith Craig and performed all over Britain in 1909-12. Performances included 50-90 local women’s suffrage activists taking the roles of ‘great women’, brought onto the stage in silence as visible evidence of women’s achievements in the past. More keynote announcements to...

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Call for Papers: Interdisciplinary International Women’s Day Conference, Durham University, 8 March 2016

Posted by | Nov 24, 2015 |

Re-Sounding Voices: Women, Silence and the Production of Knowledge The celebrated history of the sciences and arts is dominated by the voices of great men, whereas the voices of women have often been marginalised. While much has been done to redress this imbalance, the sound of women’s voices is still not as prevalent as that of their male colleagues and counterparts. Not only does a male-dominated canon risk the erasure of the contributions made by women, it perpetuates gender injustice—a teaching syllabus populated by men deprives young women aspirants of role models and sends them a clear message: this is not for you. A history of silenced women contributes to the silencing of women now and in the future. How can we break out of this oppressive cycle? This conference explores this question under four broad themes: silencing; women in parenthesis; covert contributions; and identity and disavowal. We invite abstracts from any discipline or perspective that address themes related to any of the following topics and questions: Silencing: what are the mechanisms through which women’s voices are silenced and their contributions and ideas erased or distorted? Do these mechanisms differ across subject area and period? How do the (putatively) self-reflexive norms and practices of academic disciplines perpetuate failures to see and appreciate the exclusion of women? Once we understand silencing and its effects, how should we respond, as historians,...

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International Women’s day Conference @ Durham

Posted by | Nov 19, 2015 |

Save the date! We’re excited! We’re organising a conference for International Women’s Day (March 8th, 2016) on the theme of ‘Re-Sounding Voices: Women, Silence and the Production of Knowledge‘. It will be a chance for us to share what we’ve learned about our women, and also to explore some of the broader In Parenthesis themes. There’ll be a cocoa party too! CFP and keynote announcements to follow soon …. Do contact us if you can’t...

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Meeting Mary Warnock in the House of Lords

Posted by | Nov 17, 2015 | , , , , , ,

Liza and I were down in London on Thursday to meet with Mary Warnock. Baroness Warnock has recently retired from the House of Lords, but we met her there to talk about In Parenthesis and to find out what she could remember about Oxford during the war and afterwards. Two hours later, we realized that it would be selfish to keep those reminiscences to ourselves, so we’re arranging another trip with a film crew next month …                         If you can’t wait, you can listen to Mary Warnock being interviewed in 1988 for Dessert Island Disks, and more recently for Meeting Myself Coming Back. Her memoir, People and Places, also contains fascinating portraits of Murdoch, Anscombe, and...

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Themes