Monthly Archives: October 2010

Chapter Three

Chapter Three is the first of a number of chapters on the period known as the ‘Middle Ages’. I’m uneasy with that label, as are most of the people who work on the times between the sack of Rome in … Continue reading

Posted in Medieval Studies, The Birth of Territory | 1 Comment

Post-Continental Voices out; Hardt on Foucault; Gratton in RPR

At least, today is the official release date. See the Zero books site here, and Paul Ennis’s announcement here. I’ve yet to see a copy, but I’m hoping one will be waiting for me when I get back to the … Continue reading

Posted in Michael Hardt, Michel Foucault, My Publications, Peter Gratton, Universities | Leave a comment

The purpose of Medieval torture

Interesting piece in Der Spiegel here (via Medieval News). A German researcher has studied medieval criminal law and found that our image of the sadistic treatment of criminals in the Dark Ages is only partly true. Torture and gruesome executions were … Continue reading

Posted in Medieval Studies, Michel Foucault | Leave a comment

SUNY and the situation in the US

Similar problems in the US, with the closures of language programmes at SUNY Albany.  For the background, see the campaign site here. Brian Leiter has opened a thread on this – how to make universities work as a whole, and how different … Continue reading

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Opposition to Browne and the coalition

Letter to the Times Higher here. I can’t help but feel this is a missed opportunity – where are the social scientists, scientists, engineers and medics? While the cuts and changes to funding do look like they will impact most … Continue reading

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Chapter Two

Chapter Two didn’t take all that much work to get to the stage I want it to be at for this draft. It’s not that long since I worked on it, and when I did I knew what I was … Continue reading

Posted in The Birth of Territory | 3 Comments

The stuff of academic life

What not to do on your sabbatical – and then how to get it together – here. This cartoon (via Ben on FB) on getting a PhD in the humanities is amusing and disturbing in just about equal measure. Interesting … Continue reading

Posted in Medieval Studies, Michel Foucault, Universities | Leave a comment

Critchley on Tragedy

Tilburg Philosophy Summer School – ‘On the Tragic and its Limits’ A Seminar with Simon Critchley | July 12-21, 2011 Is the tragic an adequate category for thinking about the nature of contemporary conflicts, and their cycles of revenge, violence … Continue reading

Posted in Conferences, Simon Critchley | 1 Comment

Pocock, Barbarism and Religion

Update 2015: all six volumes have now been published; volumes 1-5 in paperback; 6 earlier this year in hardback. This is a  work of jaw-dropping ambition and erudition. J.G.A. Pocock, Barbarism and Religion, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Four Volumes to date, … Continue reading

Posted in Edward Gibbon, J.G.A. Pocock | 1 Comment

Foucault, Territory, etc.

Over at Philosophy in a Time of Error, Peter Gratton responds to my update on Chapter One from a couple of days ago. Peter mentions the piece I published on Foucault’s ‘Society Must Be Defended’ back in 2002. That piece, … Continue reading

Posted in Michel Foucault, My Publications, The Birth of Territory | 2 Comments