Religion, Philosphy & Ethics - Research Seminars 2009-10
University of Gloucestershire

Revd Dr Harriet A. Harris (Wadham College, Oxford), ‘Philosophy and Prayer’

at 5.30 on Tuesday 26^th January

Francis Close Hall Campus (Cheltenham)

in room TC006b

All Welcome

Harriet A. Harris is Chaplain of Wadham College, Oxford and teaches Theology and Philosophy in the University of Oxford. She has written Fundamentalism and Evangelicals for Oxford University Press, numerous articles on Protestant fundamentalist thought and activity, and some comparative reflections on fundamentalisms across the world faiths

Is Avatar Deep?

I recently received an email requesting contributions for a book on Avatar and Philosophy. I'm not averse to contributing to these 'popular culture' books, and I have contributed in the past, but Avatar? Nice effects, I admit, even though I felt nauseous for the first half-hour whilst my brain adjusted to the 3D, but I did not come out of the cinema feeling as if it had engaged me in any intellectual (or even emotional) sense. I don't know how many times I've seen (been forced to watch) Disney's treatment of Pocahontas, but is this really any different?

Death lecture video

This may interest those of you in RPE301 (Love, Sex and Death) - and others. You may want to skip to http://academicearth.org/lectures/death-intro and move to the others in the series (a lot if this is introducing his class) - but I thought I'd start at the start...

I liked this; but note - it does have that notable American philosophy standard item: cross-legged prof sat on desk, in Converse. I say this fondly - it is a cliche - but it also made me smile.. which is a good start for a lecture on death.

Watch it on Academic Earth

See the rest of the series at http://academicearth.org/lectures/death-intro with loads of great resource links...

d.

Upcoming...

more details to follow, but some dates for the diary...

Religion, Philosophy and Ethics

Research Seminars
2010

Tuesday 26th January Revd Dr Harriet A. Harris
(Room TC006b) ‘Philosophy and Prayer’

Thursday 25th February Dr Alan Kirby
(Room TC006b) ‘The Arguable Death of Postmodernism, and Beyond?’

Thursday 25th March Dr David Webster
(Room TC006b) ‘Western Buddhism: The Challenge of Authenticity’ 5pm

All sessions are from 17.30—19.00 and all are welcome, they will be at the FCH Campus (Cheltenham) of the University of Gloucestershire - except the last one (Dave W) which is at 5pm

Harriet A. Harris is Chaplain of Wadham College, Oxford and teaches Theology and Philosophy in the University of Oxford. She has written Fundamentalism and Evangelicals for Oxford University Press, numerous articles on Protestant fundamentalist thought and activity, and some comparative reflections on fundamentalisms across the world faiths

Alan Kirby holds a PhD in English Literature from the University of Exeter. He is a writer and researcher in twentieth-century literature and culture. He has published on subjects including Stephen Poliakoff, John Fowles, spy fiction, and James Joyce. He currently lives in Oxford. Digimodernism (2009) is his most recent book, available from Continuum

David Webster lectures in Religion, Philosophy and Ethics at the University of Gloucestershire. His primary interests are in Theravada Buddhist philosophy (his work The Philosophy of Desire in the Buddhist Pali Canon was published in 2005), and the interface between western and Buddhist philosophy.