Author Archives: NomadWarMachine

Scribbling all over the place.

Posted on 19th February 2015 by NomadWarMachine

I’ve never been one to toe the line: my automatic reaction to being told I must do something is to say no, and I spend way longer looking for ways to thwart bureaucracy than obeying its diktats.  And I loathe … Continue reading →

Posted in #MoocMooc, Learning | 1 Comment

Institutionalisation of values

Posted on 18th February 2015 by NomadWarMachine

Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains.  Rousseau, Social Contract, Book 1 I’m teaching my first years Rousseau and I’m (meant to be) reading Ivan Illich’s Deschooling Society – everywhere I look there are critiques of the state … Continue reading →

Posted in #MoocMooc, D&G, Politics | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Anarchy

Posted on 8th February 2015 by NomadWarMachine

As my old supervisor, Dudley Knowles, used to say, the anarchist is not typically found skulking outside the Houses of Parliament with a bomb beneath her long, black coat – the philosophical anarchist is a gentle soul with a belief … Continue reading →

Posted in #MoocMooc, Philosophy, Politics | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Sapere Aude

Posted on 7th February 2015 by NomadWarMachine

In 1784 Kant asked a question: What is Enlightenment? His answer was that it was having the courage to use one’s own reason: Sapere Aude –  dare to be wise. In order for this to happen, he said, we must be free … Continue reading →

Posted in #MoocMooc, Critical pedagogy, Philosophy | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Being a good libertarian

Posted on 4th February 2015 by NomadWarMachine

There are a few passages is Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed where he talks about (or is translated as talking about) libertarian education.  For example: The raison d’etre of libertarian education, on the other hand, lies in its drive towards reconciliation. Education … Continue reading →

Posted in #MoocMooc, Freire | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Political compass

Posted on 4th February 2015 by NomadWarMachine

A lot of us talk about people being left wing or right wing, but actually there is also another axis on which to measure: authoritarian/libertarian.  There is a political compass that you can use to check out where you lie … Continue reading →

Posted in #MoocMooc | Tagged , | 6 Comments

The pedagogical is always political

Posted on 2nd February 2015 by NomadWarMachine

I grew up hearing the feminist mantra that “the personal is political” (I always misquote that, and add an “always”, maybe because I believe it needs to be emphasised). It means different things to different people, but to me it … Continue reading →

Posted in #MoocMooc, Critical pedagogy | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

A poet who didn’t know it?

Posted on 30th January 2015 by NomadWarMachine

I have been introduced to the rather lovely Poetweet which has made this for me and this In principle by Sarah Honeychurch You should meet and When the speaker does not engage. I’m calling on to stop in Scotland Aye, it … Continue reading →

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Uncomfortable thoughts

Posted on 30th January 2015 by NomadWarMachine

A philosophical problem has the form: “I don’t know my way about”.  Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations, § 123 Philosophy makes my head hurt. It’s hard, and it makes me think, and it challenges me to justify my inchoate beliefs when I just … Continue reading →

Posted in #MoocMooc, Learning, Philosophy, Teaching, Wittgenstein | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Posh white boys

Posted on 26th January 2015 by NomadWarMachine

There’s a common assumption that there is a gender bias in STEM subjects in HE, but a recent study released in Science has discovered that this is not  actually the real story, and that actually philosophy is among the five subjects with the … Continue reading →

Posted in #MoocMooc, Critical pedagogy, Philosophy, University | Tagged , , | 3 Comments