News Briefs
- David Checkland is the 2013 recipient of Ryerson Faculty Association Distinguished Service Award. Congratulations, David!
- Meredith Schwartz was recently chosen to be profiled on the Faculty of Arts website for her outstanding and innovative teaching. Congratulations, Meredith!
- Congratulations to MA students David Collins, Ryan Froese, Kirk Lougheed, and Anna Shevchenko, who all presented papers at the University of Windsor Graduate Student Philosophy Conference on April 16th. David will also present his paper at the following events in June: The European Society for Aesthetics in Prague, and the Canadian Society for Aesthetics in Victoria.
- Congratulations to MA student Erik Bormanis, who recently gave a talk titled “Substance and its Expression in Spinoza and Hegel” at the University of Ottawa Graduate Student Philosophy Conference.
- Congratulations to MA student Elena Derksen, who will give a talk titled “The Possibility of Believing at Will” in June at the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Philosophical Association in Victoria.
- Ryerson’s brand-new BA in Philosophy will welcome its first students in Fall 2013!
- On March 28th, 2013, Alex Wellington will lead an interactive session of the newly-formed Jack Layton Book Club. Her presentation is entitled “Jack Layton's Environmental Vision: Green Economy and Climate Justice”. [Details here.]
- Alex Wellington will be the keynote speaker at the Society for Practical Ethics conference, to be held in Victoria from June 3-5, 2013. Her talk is titled: “From Thought Experiment to the Real World: Experimental Philosophy and Teaching and Research in Practical Ethics.”
- MA student Chandra Kavanagh has been selected to be one of five Jack Layton Interns. This new internship program was established by Ryerson’s inaugural Jack Layton Chair, Professor Myer Siemiatycki. Interns will be involved in organizing the Faith in the City Project, an inter-faith initiative that brings together religious groups with city hall in order to promote social justice.
- Congratulations to MA students Catherine Fullarton and Lucas Rivoire for successfully defending their Major Research Papers (MRPs) in January. Catherine’s MRP is entitled The Phenomenology of Pain as a Shared Experience, and Lucas’ MRP is entitled Learning Language and Becoming Ethical: a Phenomenological Account. Both were written under the supervision of Dr. Kym Maclaren.
- Current MA student Rachel Robinson, and recent MA graduate Leland Harper, have both had papers accepted at the Uehiro Graduate Student Philosophy Conference, which takes place in Hawaii in March. Rachel’s paper is entitled “How to Think”, and Leland’s paper is entitled “Evaluating the Fales/Gellman Debate on the Epistemic Status of Theistic Mystical Experiences”.
- David Hunter has been named the Editorial Board Coordinator for the Canadian Journal of Philosophy, one of the leading general-interest academic philosophy journals. The Philosophy Department will also house the journal's editorial office, which will include MA student Jason Poettcker as Editorial Assistant. This position is generously funded by the Dean of the Faculty of Arts.
- Congratulations to MA students Kris Wilkinson and Ayana Samuel on winning Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplements from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Kris spent Fall 2012 at Oxford University, and Ayana is spending Winter 2013 at MIT.
- Klaas Kraay has been awarded a research grant from the Templeton Foundation for a project entitled “Theism: An Axiological Investigation”. This project aims to stimulate research into the difference in value that God’s existence would (or does) make in the world. Valued at $199,900USD, this grant will fund two Research Fellowships – one in 2013-2014 and another in 2014-2015 – along with two public lectures in 2014, and a research workshop to be held at Ryerson in 2014-2015. More details will be posted soon on Klaas’ website.
- The department mourns the loss of Continuing Education instructor Jackie Smith, who passed away on Oct. 12, 2012. To honour her legacy, Ryerson is instituting the Jackie Smith Memorial Award in Ethics. To contribute to this award, contact Maureen Sheridan in Continuing Education.
- Prison exchange program creates powerful learning opportunities for students.
- Congratulations to our MA students who were recently awarded Ontario Graduate Scholarships: Mike Brienza, Veronica Majewski, Phillip May, Ayana Samuel, and Kris Wilkinson.
- Congratulations to recent MA graduate Chris Dragos, whose paper (“The No-Minimum Argument, Satisficing, and No Best World: A Reply to Jeff Jordan”) was recently accepted for publication in the peer-reviewed journal Religious Studies.
