Come and hear a paper - 'Feminist Appropriations of Spinoza' - by, arguably, Britain's best-known feminist philosopher of religion!

Come and hear a paper - 'Feminist Appropriations of Spinoza' - by, arguably, Britain's best-known feminist philosopher of religion!

Monday 11 March, 2013, Dr Pamela Sue Anderson, (Regent’s Park College, Oxford) 'Feminist Appropriations of Spinoza and the Contemporary 'Re-visioning' of the Philosophy of Religion'.

 5.30 - 7.00, Francis Close Hall, room HC204

Dr. Pamela Sue Anderson is the Dean of Regent’s Park College on Pusey Street, where she teaches philosophy as a Tutorial Fellow. 

She is the author of Ricoeur and Kant (1993) and A Feminist Philosophy of Religion (1998); she has published articles in various journals, including The International Journal for the Philosophy of Religion, Sophia, and Feminist Theory in which she published ‘Autonomy, Vulnerability and Gender’ (August 2003). Her books include a collection of critical essays, Feminist Philosophy of Religion: Critical Readings (2004) co-edited with Beverley Clack and, with Jordan Bell in 2010,  Kant and Theology and Re-visioning Gender in Philosophy of Religion (Intensities: Contemporary Continental Philosophy of Religion) in 2012.

RPE Seminar programme 2012-2013

OPEN TO ALL:

Mondays, 5.30 - 7.00, Francis Close Hall, room HC204

Monday 18 February, 2013, Dr Will Large (University of Gloucestershire), 'Remembering the Impossible Possibility: Kierkegaard and Human Capital'.

Monday 11 March, 2013, Dr Pamela Sue Anderson, (Regent’s Park College, Oxford) 'Feminist Appropriations of Spinoza and the Contemporary 'Re-visioning' of the Philosophy of Religion'.

Ten Reasons..

Ten reasons to do RPE at UoG

1.     It’s a great course! Our university was one of the first in the country to combine Religion, Philosophy and Ethics together in one degree. Students are attracted to this course because it allows them to combine their love of three different subjects, while recognising how they are interrelated. We scored highly in the 2013 Guardian League Table, and, in fact, came top overall for ‘value-added’ (speakers, field trips, etc.; see below)

2.     We have great students! Perhaps it’s something in the spa water here, but our students our bright, friendly and enthusiastic. They are always willing to help each other out and no one feels left out.

3.     We have great lecturers! Our lecturers are passionate and knowledgeable about their subjects. We have experts in the field of Indian religions, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, feminist theology, philosophy of religion, Nietzsche, Heidegger…. Our staff give talks at schools and colleges and have written many accessible books, written articles for The Philosopher’s Magazine and Dialogue, and appear on BBC radio. We also make full use of other media, including the provision of video resources for our current students, but also as a response to questions from A-level students.

4.     The importance of teaching and learning. Our research feeds into our teaching and we all understand how important it is to engage our students in the classroom. We pride ourselves in engaging in interactive teaching and learning, and debate is encouraged. A variety of teaching methods are adopted, and students are assessed through, not only essays, but portfolios, presentations, videos, critical reviews, and so on.

5.     It’s a great place to study. The students here repeatedly sing the praises of the campus and of Cheltenham. The ‘Hogwarts’  architecture of Francis Close Hall appeals to the future RPE wizards, and the town is, in the words of one student, “not too big, but not too small.” There is plenty to do in the town, but you will not be overwhelmed.

6.     Visiting Speakers. We have an active Gloucestershire Philosophy Society that meets regularly and attracts such speakers as Julian Baggini, Angela Hobbs, Chris Hamilton, Brad Hooker, to name a few recent appearances. We recently had Justin Whitaker come in to give a Buddhist meditation, and we also have Research Seminars from scholars in the field.

7.     Going beyond campus. Religion, Philosophy and Ethics doesn’t just take place in the classroom. We have links with the Cheltenham Literature Festival which, last year, had a philosopher in residence. The festival has lots of speakers in the field of religion and philosophy. We go on trips, including, recently, the Hindu Temple in Neasden and Hajj exhibition and the Diwali festival in Leicester. One of our really popular modules involves a five-day field trip to Cordoba in Spain.

8.     Staying connected. Our RPE Facebook group membership has not only current staff and students, but also past students [some now teachers themselves], academics and schoolteachers and is also open to potential students / applicants, so feel free to join, and to use it to ask current and past students any questions you like!

9.     We have relatively small class sizes and receive regular, in-depth feedback on their work. When students are asked what they like about RPE, they invariably say they like the opportunity to engage in debate in small groups. We also appreciate the importance of providing feedback to students for the work they have done, and this does not come only from written comments on their essays, but one-to-one tutorials and workshops.

10.   Our students really matter. All the staff have good, supportive relations with their students. When the new students arrive, they are assigned an ART (Academic Review Tutor) from RPE who will give them advice and support throughout their time at the University. Our course also has student reps who take an active part in the RPE Course Boards, feeding back on how students feel about the course. We listen to what our students have to say and are always open to new suggestions. 

All welcome

Just to note that our Facebook group (which has staff, current students, past students [some now teachers themselves], academics and schoolteachers as members) is also open to potential students / applicants: feel free to join, and to use it to ask current and past students any questions you like!

It should give a real sense regarding life on the course..  You can find it at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/RPEglos/ 

Talking about Buddhism..

In case it is of interest - I've been talking to the Buddhist magazine Tricycle: http://www.tricycle.com/blog/dangers-spirituality-interview-david-webster 

Glos Phil Soc updates..

Upcoming events:

Other than the seminar on 27th February
all other meetings will be held at
Room HC203
Francis Close Hall
University of Gloucestershire,
Swindon Road, Cheltenham.
between 7.30 and 9.30pm

Cost

£25 per year, or £3 per meeting
Students £15 per year, or £2 per meeting
Programme Of Events Spring Term 2013

Wed. 30th. January, 2013 7.30.pm FCH Room HC203. Dr. David Webster, University of Gloucestershire, will talk on "Happiness and the Truth of Death: A Dispirited Account of Being Happy without Religion OR Spirituality". The talk is based on his recently published book by Zero Books.

Wed. 20th. Feb.2013. 7.30.p.m FCH HC203. Prof. Brad Hooker, University of Reading, will talk on "Impartiality". He is currently working on a textbook on a history of 20th. Century moral philosophy and a book on "Fairness".

Wed. 27th. Feb. 2013.10.30.a.m. Norwood Arms, Bath. Rd., Cheltenham. Society Seminar: "Telling or uttering the truth?"Click here for more information.

Wed. 13th. March, 2013. 7.30.p.m. FCH HC203. James Derounian, University of Gloucestershire, will talk on: "Big Society or Big Con?: An analysis on Coalition rhetoric, policy and practice". James is a lifelong community activist, who contributes to the Guardian's Community web-site.


Contact Us: pj@glosphilsoc.co.uk
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Census Data 2011 - Religion

The 2011 Religious Data from the Census is out - see http://philosvids.wordpress.com/2012/12/11/2011-census-religion-data/ for a link...

Bible & Spirituality Seminar - Open to all

This week: Free to all -

Prof. Melissa Raphael,
‘Idolatry and the Alienated Human Form: Jewish Spirituality, Art, and the Advertisement of Perfection.’

Wednesday 5 December, 5.30-7.00
FCH HC204

Diwali Field Trip..

On tuesday, RPE (and a few others) went to the Leicester Diwali 2012 celebrations...

More details can be seen at http://www.leicester.gov.uk/diwali/ but the best account is probably that offered by staff and students over on our course Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/RPEglos/

Reminder

Just to remind visitors that we also have a Facebook  group, which is open to all..

https://www.facebook.com/groups/RPEglos/ 

Enjoy...
d.

Hi..

For those looking for revision or other materials on A-Level (AS and A2) Religious Studies, Philosophy & Ethics, etc - we also have a blog over at http://philosvids.wordpress.com/ that has a series of videos that we keep adding to...

Feel free to view them - and we will take more questions if you email them to dwebster@glos.ac.uk


Cheers,
dave

The Examined Life Video Presentation

Thanks for the presentations this morning. Very interesting and enjoyable...and I like this video!

Well done all.

Examined?

New students looking for info on the film The Examined Life should look at http://r-p-e.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/examined-life.html and will also find useful stuff at https://www.facebook.com/groups/RPEglos/ - hope you enjoyed the film!

d.

Atheism Plus?

As the UK papers catch up on the Atheism Plus business, you can see the background at http://dispirited.org/2012/08/30/atheism-plus-or-not-or-something-else/


D.

Gay, Black, and Quaker: History Catches Up with Bayard Rustin

Interesting essay at Religion Dispatches:

Stephen Angell's piece begins:

Recent weeks have seen history-making collaborations among leaders of the African American and LGBT equality movements. In May, the national board of the NAACP endorsed marriage equality for same-sex couples, shortly after President Obama did the same. This month, LGBT leaders joined the NAACP and others in New York City to call for an end to the police department’s “stop and frisk” policy, which has targeted mostly African Americans and Latinos.
“In the last four years, with the increase in hate crimes across the country, with states attempting to encode discrimination into their state laws and constitutions,” NAACP President Ben Jealous told the Times, “it’s become clear that, just as Bayard Rustin admonished us all, that we would either stand together or die apart.”
That comment certainly led many readers to ask, “as who admonished us?” Bayard Rustin’s pivotal role as advisor to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and as organizer of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (where King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech) should have assured his place in American social and political history.
But Rustin has long been denied his proper place—largely because he was an openly gay man.

Read the rest at:
 
http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/politics/5840/gay%2C_black%2C_and_quaker%3A_history_catches_up_with_bayard_rustin/