Why Wittgenstein Matters

Dr Ian Ground has been invited by Bloomsbury to contribute a monograph on Why Wittgenstein Matters to their new high profile series “Why Philosophy Matters” edited by Constantine Sandis. As part of the promotion of the series, Ian has been invited to give a public lecture in 2014, on the impact of Wittgenstein, under the auspices of the Royal Institute of Philosophy, at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

On 14th May 2013 Ian gave the Tenth Annual British Wittgenstein Society lecture. You can read a report of it by Neil O'Hara here.

Ian Ground reviews new work on Wittgenstein

Portrait of Ludwig Wittgenstein by Ben Richards

A review by Dr Ian Ground (NECLL) of two recent books about Ludwig Wittgenstein (Paul Horwich's Wittgenstein’s Metaphilosophy, and Wittgenstein and the Philosophy of Mind edited by Jonathan Ellis and Daniel Guevara) has appeared in this week's Times Literary Supplement.

Ian Ground and Ralf Russow at the UALL conference

Two staff members of the North East Centre for Lifelong Learning (NECLL) have given papers at the Universities Association for Lifelong Learning (UALL) Annual Conference, held at the University of Durham on the 20th-22nd March 2013. The theme of the conference was 'Who and what are universities for? Local communities, global competitiveness and the part-time student'.

William Gibson, cyberpunk and the X-Files

Dr Bronwen Calvert (NECLL) has published 'William Gibson's 'cyberpunk' X-Files' in the journal Science Fiction Film & Television. Bronwen argues that central to the two episodes of the X-Files written by William Gibson is the dramatisation of embodied connections with technology and virtuality. These episodes may be seen as a simple transfer of elements of cyberpunk fiction to a television format. However, the emphasis on virtual realities and on explorations of gender destabilisation allows Gibson’s use of cyberpunk tropes to resonate with the X-Files’ narrative space and invigorate some of its overarching themes.

Immortality

On January 8th 2013, the philosopher Dr Ian Ground (NECLL) was interviewed by Jonathan Miles on BBC Radio Newcastle. You can listen to their conversation about immortality here.

Keynote address now out on video

A keynote address by Dr Ian Ground (NECLL), entitled 'Why does beauty matter?' is now available on video. Ian gave the lecture in July 2012 at the Ethics and Aesthetics of Architecture and the Environment Conference hosted by the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape at Newcastle University.

New archaeological findings in Ireland

Geophysics fieldwork in Ireland by a team of students and tutors from the North East Centre for Lifelong Learning has yielded a spectacular finding in the form of the ground plan (hitherto unknown) of the early Christian monastery of Carrowmore in County Donegal. This is the headline result from work which also included some wider appraisal of landscape features and it is one which Colm O'Brien (NECLL) will take to an international conference on Early Christian Landscapes in University College Cork later this month. A journal article is also in the pipeline. You can read how the news was reported in the Irish Independent here. The work was carried out with a gradiometer purchased through a capital funding grant from the university.

Ian Ground gives keynote address

Dr Ian Ground (NECLL) pictured giving his keynote address at the Ethics and Aesthetics of Architecture and the Environment conference at Newcastle University on 12th July

Proton gradiometer for NECLL

Colm O’Brien (NECLL) has been awarded a capital funding grant from the university to purchase a proton gradiometer for archaeological geophysics. This is to enable fieldwork by the Bernician Studies Group within the Explore programme at NECLL (North East Centre for Lifelong Learning).  Colm O’Brien and Max Adams of NECLL will be taking a team of students to County Donegal in the Irish Republic in the second half of August to survey two early medieval monastery sites.

Ian Ground on why beauty matters and animal minds

Dr Ian Ground (NECLL) will be giving a keynote address entitled 'Why does beauty matter?' at the Ethics and Aesthetics of Architecture and the Environment conference at Newcastle University (July 11th-13th 2012).

Ian has also been invited to give the 10th annual British Wittgenstein Society lecture in May 2013 at the University of Hertfordshire. He will be speaking on Wittgenstein and animal minds.

Bronwen Calvert on Joss Whedon's Angel

Dr Bronwen Calvert (NECLL) has published a chapter called '"The shell I'm in": Illyria and monstrous embodiment'. It is about the popular TV series Angel and it appears in Josh Whedon: The Complete Companion (Titan Books 2012). 

Bronwen is also giving a paper entitled 'Inside the skin: body swapping in the Whedonverse' at Slayage 5 in Vancouver, Canada in July.

Mike Pearce on 'canny'

On May 21st, Dr Mike Pearce (English) gave a talk at the North East Centre for Lifelong Learning entitled '"That word so fraught with meaning": The History, Cultural Significance and Current Use of Canny in North East England.'

The article on which the talk was based is due to appear in English Studies in 2013. You can read a draft of the article here.