CREd - Upcoming Events
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CREd Special Events
World Shaping Ideas
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World-Shaping Ideas
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Four convivial conversations around key ideas shaping
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To book your place call
the WEA on 8223 1272 |
Venue
WEA
223 Angas Street
Adelaide SA 5000
Time
7.00pm – 9.00pm
Dates
Week 3 -
November 12th
Week 4 -
December 10th
Cost
$20 (includes coffee, tea, wine, cheese, course booklet)
Introduction
This is a course over four sessions for busy people who want to learn about
great philosophical movements in a ‘hands on’ way. Jack Cross, a respected and provocative historian of ideas,
will introduce the some of the major philosophies that have shaped our world. The sessions will include time
for friendly philosophical discussion in small groups. Cheese, wine, tea and coffee will be served.
The course aims to expose participants to philosophical ideas in a structured way, and encourage participants to engage with these ideas to sharpen their thinking and discover the relevance of philosophy for their own work. Participants will receive a set of course notes.
Course overview
Week 1: The Existential Outlook
The course starts with an intensely personal approach to philosophy. Existentialists respect the traditional
preoccupation of philosophers with understanding the nature of the universe and the place of humans in it,
but think that the more important question is: How do I cope with my own existence and the prospect of my
non-existence? Existential philosophers including Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre and de
Beauvoir will be introduced, and some of their concerns such as angst, the paradox of life, existential
alienation, loneliness and the ‘tragic sense of life’ will be considered.
Week 2. Plato and the Canon
Plato’s role in the development of philosophy is so significant that A. N. Whitehead was led to declare that ‘the
whole later development of Western philosophy can be regarded as a series of extended footnotes to Plato.’
In this session Plato will be presented as the culmination of a tradition that pioneered a new way of looking at
reality based on a secular vision of the universe and the idea of using logical argumentation to reach the truth.
Plato’s influence can be seen in the enduring philosophical interest in questions such as ‘What is truth?’, ‘What
is a good society?’ and ‘What is a good education?’
Week 3. Modernism – Marx and the Secularisation of the Canon
Marx was probably the most influential thinker on the 20th Century. He was highly critical of speculative
philosophy, complaining that ‘The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point is
to change it.’ His thought was indebted to the 18th Century ‘Enlightenment’ because he believed that a
rational approach to the problems of class and class conflict, ideology and alienation could sweep away the
illusions and injustices of capitalism. This session also traces some of the later developments of Marx’s ideas.
Week 4. Post-Modernism and the skeptical tradition
Post-Modernism is a broad movement which sprang up at the end of the 20th Century. Post-Modernists share
in a rejection of the modernist dream of a progressive, just world where people are valued and at least
reasonably content. The profound skepticism of Post-Modernism is reflected in the ideas of Derrida,
Baudrillard, Lyotard and Foucault, and has significant implications for those involved in the grand
enlightenment project of education. Are we indeed living at the end of history and witnessing the ‘death of man’?
The Team
Jack Cross
For over 20 years Jack was Head of Studies in Education at the then Underdale Campus of the University of
South Australia. He has had a long interest in philosophy and history of ideas, and believes passionately in big
ideas as a guide to teaching, art practice and similar areas. He currently teaches philosophy and history of
ideas at the Adelaide Central School of Art.
Peter Willis
Peter Willis lectures in Adult Education at the University of South Australia. He spent almost two decades in
community development with Aboriginal and their non-Aboriginal colleagues in North and Central Australia.
His main research areas concern transformative and ‘second chance’ learning among adults and the
relationship between art and the aesthetic, spiritual practice and civil society.
Sue Knight
Sue Knight’s initial training was in Philosophy, and more particularly Metaphysics. For the last 20 years or so
she has thought and written about the ways in which philosophy might enrich the school curriculum, and the
consequences such a change might bring to both individuals and society.
Agneta Esposito
Agneta Esposito is a PhD student within the School of Education. Her research explores the conceptual
relationship between friendship, mortality and lovence. Deeply inspired by Jacques Derrida and Helene
Cixous, she balances the highwire linking philosophy with poetics, both within the academy and beyond as a
performance poet.
Nicholas Rundle
Nicholas Rundle, works for Mission Australia in Values Education and Pastoral Care for staff and clients and in
his spare time facilitates Philosophy and Spirituality Cafes in Adelaide. He is a teacher of non religious
meditation.
Steven Hodge
Steven Hodge is a PhD candidate at the University of South Australia. He has a background in secondary
teaching and more recently worked in the vocational education and training sector. He has devoted a lot of
time to reading philosophy.
CREd Seminar Series
Every Friday the Centre for Research in Education (CREd) holds workshops and seminars with presentations by members of the various CREd Research Groups as well as visiting scholars from interstate and overseas. Such events provide unique opportunities to keep abreast of current research and progress within the various fields.
The LPLC and CREEW seminar series are now part of the new CREd Seminar Series which will continue to provide opportunities for:
a) Academics to share what they are up to in their research projects: such as work
in progress, problematisations, issues with analysis and theory building,
methodological and ethical quandries
b) Post graduate students to present their latest writing to a supportive audience
c) Visiting researchers to talk about their research work.
CREd encourages all of its students and researchers to participate.
Friday November 20th
School Board meeting - no
seminar scheduled
Friday November 27th
2.30 - 4.00pm
Room G1-17, MAWSON LAKES
Presenter: Halia Sanu
Topic: Qualitative Data Analysis for Case Study
The presentation will cover the ups and down of data analysis, the
difficulties in prescribing a method and then finding that the method doesn’t
fit the data. It will also look at how the tailoring process occurred, both
organic and those techniques defined in the literature for qualitative data
analysis. The final section will present the best texts discovered for this
section of the write up.
Halia Senu is a part time student, living in Melbourne and continuing study with the University of South Australia. Submission of the thesis is now rescheduled for submission early next year, with completion targeted for June 2010.
Presenter: Tom Short
Topic: The challenge of leadership: getting people ‘on-track’ to deal with
change
There is a long-standing view that the quality and quantity of
leadership and management development (L&MD) in many organisations around
the world is a pressing issue. Importantly, the increasingly turbulent
economy has put an even greater emphasis on the need for effective
leadership and management across all private and public sector
organisations. Approaches to L&MD vary across organisations, but senior
executives have an important role to play in creating a culture of learning
among their managers. This seminar offers a review of some national and
international trends in L&MD and examines the current situation in the
Australian rail industry.
Tom Short is the Research Fellow for CRC Rail Innovation and was
previously an overseas doctoral candidate with CREEW. His work experiences
include human resource management, leadership development consulting, adult
education and workplace training. He is currently working with Prof. Roger
Harris on the CRC project, researching L&MD in the Australian rail industry.
Friday December 4th
2.30 - 4.00pm
Room C1-60, MAGILL
Yet to be decided
Friday December 11th
School Board meeting - no
seminar scheduled