Political Theory Reading Group
The Reading Group in Political Theory is a term-time weekly meeting of the staff and postgraduate students (both research and taught) working in political theory, also open to colleagues and students from other areas in politics, and from any other discipline. It often welcomes the participation of speakers from other Universities.
The Reading Group started as an experiment in conversation between colleagues in the political theory cluster with very different interests and approaches to the subject. Even when disagreeing profoundly and not fully understanding each other, we carry on enjoying these conversations.
Over the years, the Reading Group has become the focus of our research culture, an opportunity to exchange ideas and look at political and theoretical issues from many different perspectives. Thanks to the participation of colleagues and speakers from a variety of disciplines besides politics (philosophy, law, classics, economics, history, business, English, theology, geography, the arts), the Reading Group provides an invaluable opportunity for interdisciplinary explorations and dialogue.
The format of the Reading Group varies from week to week. The standard format is for one member of the group or an external speaker to briefly introduce a pre-circulated text, followed by a (more or less heated and controversial) discussion on any issue that seems relevant to the text itself. Often, however, we have internal or external speakers (academics and postgraduates) presenting their own papers. The format of this meetings following the same format: pre-circulated papers, a brief introduction, and an open and wide-ranging discussion. Occasionally, the Reading Group takes the form of a workshop with more than one speaker, or a symposium about a published book.
The Reading Group gives an opportunity to research students at Exeter to present their own work or to discuss texts in which they are interested. It helps them to discover new texts and a variety of ways of looking at familiar subjects. It is a way of socializing postgraduates into the discipline by exposing them to different texts and detailed discussions about them. Master students in political theory are required do a presentation at the Reading Group as part of their degree. This may be intimidating for some, but they all find it an interesting and formative experience. And even the senior staff finds it still a stimulating and refreshing experience.
Unless otherwise stated, sessions take place on Wednesdays, 12:40 to 14:00 in Amory B310. Most meetings will be hybrid. Zoom link will be circulated via the CPT mailing list.
Week 1: Weds 24th September
Patricia Owens: Erased: A History of International Thought without Men.
Queens LT1 3-5pm, Reception to follow in Queens Café.
Co-organised with the Centre for Advanced International Studies (CAIS)
**Also of note: Friday, 26th September: Book Launch for David Lewis, Occupation: Russian Rule in Southeastern Ukraine. 15:30-17:00, Queens LT4.1.
Week 2 :**Thursday 2nd October
Special Workshop with Demin Duan (Peking University), Ross Moncrieff (Oxford), and Zhengping Zhang (Zhejiang University), "Ideas in Transit: Democracy, Economy, and Philosophy between East and West”.
Seminar Room 1, Digital Humanities Lab, Queens Building. 1-5pm.
Co-Organised with the China Global Research Centre.
*Note: There will also be a CPT meeting on Wednesday 1st October from 12:40-2pm in Amory B310.
Week 3: Weds 8th October
Book Launch for Richard Seaford’s final book Aggregation and Antithesis in Ancient Greece, featuring Robin Osborne (Cambridge). Streatham Court 0-28, 2:30 – 5:30pm.
With Reception to Follow. Co-Organised with Classics, Ancient History, Religion and Theology (CAHRT). Please register your attendance with Christoper Gill (C.J.Gill@exeter.ac.uk). For a Zoom link, please contact C.Meccariello@exeter.ac.uk.
Week 4: Weds 15th October
Roundtable on Bruno Leipold’s Citizen Marx: Republicanism and the Formation of Marx’s Social and Political Thought. Comments from Bruno Leipold (LSE), Iain Hampsher-Monk (Exeter), Martin Moorby (Exeter), and Xianan Jin (Exeter).
Week 5: Weds 22nd October
Aleardo Zanghellini (Reading): “On the realness of trans: Gender-critical realness talk, trans-exclusionary policies, and social metaphysics”.
Week 6: Weds 29th October
No Meeting (reading week/half term)
Week 7: **Monday 3rd November
Workshop on Democratic Thought: Ross Carroll (Dublin City University), “Elizabeth Heyrick's Democratic Thought: Abolitionism, freedom, and extra-Parliamentary political action" and Cesare Cuttica (Paris 8 University), “the Cultural Critique of Democratic Thought in 19th century Britain”
**3-5pm—exact timings and room tbc
Week 8: Weds 12th November
Jack Tagney (Exeter), “David Livingstone Smith's Theory of Metaphysical Threat”.
Week 9: Weds 19th November
Ariane Hanemaayer (Brandon University), title tbc
Week 10: Weds 26th November
Brieg Powel (Exeter), ‘Homo Politicum: The Emergent Political in Deep History’
Week 11: Weds 3rd December
CPT meeting
Download programmes from previous years.