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Category Archives: Dissertation

The Concepts of “Human” and “Animal”

Friday, January 29, 2010

I am working on the last parts of my dissertation and have been wondering about the concepts of human and animal. It is commonly observed in animal studies that the concept of human is constituted through the expulsion of the animal. That is, humans are humans because they are not animals. Obviously, it is recognized [...]

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Nearing the End

Thursday, August 6, 2009

I am slowly nearing the end of my dissertation. I need to complete one last substantive chapter (on Mandeville) and then work on the general framing of the dissertation — I should also come up with a suitable title at some point. In the absence of some sort of framing, the dissertation, as it stands, [...]

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Appropriation; Private; Property

Monday, January 12, 2009

Recently written as an aside in my chapter on Locke (also unedited):

Note: Appropriate, Private Property
The “means to appropriate” the common and thus transform it into private property is absolutely essential to Locke’s political theory and has significant consequences for the theory of political or civil society including the right of resistance to tyranny for “political [...]

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More on my dissertation

Friday, September 26, 2008

Sometimes I feel what I’ve written is a load of terrible, superficial crap. Other times I feel that I’ve written something that will at least hold the attention of the less than ten people who will read the whole dissertation – and, better, that they might find something interesting or useful in it. I am [...]

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On writing dissertations

Saturday, September 20, 2008

A common problem many doctoral candidates face when writing their dissertation is knowing when to stop reading. Hence, reading replaces writing and all that accumulates are piles of half-read books and stacks of misconceived notes. Not being much of a notetaker myself, I tend to avoid, at least, the stacks of notes. (Although I have [...]

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Correspondence

Sunday, August 24, 2008

In a paper I was reading last night, the author made reference to the article forming the basis for a much longer book-length work. The essay appeared in 1990. Eighteen years later, the book has not yet appeared. I decided to email the author and enquire about the work – did it stall? is it [...]

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Political Animals: Bees

Sunday, June 15, 2008

The work known as Feminine Monarchie was first published in 1609 by Charles Butler went through a number of editions during the course of the seventeenth century in England. The original 1609 edition was entitled The Feminine Monarchie or a Treatise Concerning Bees, and the Due Ordering of Them: Wherein the Truth, Found Out by [...]

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To-Do List

Sunday, June 8, 2008

(1) Learn French again having all but lost what little French I learnt during French immersion in elementary and middle school. They always said two things in high school: (1) you’ll regret not taking more math and (2) you’ll regret not staying with French. Both ended up being true. I’ll likely order this book for [...]

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Animals – Human and Non-Human

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Much scholarship in “animal studies” distinguishes between the “human animal” and the “non-human animal.” The point, I suppose, is to indicate that the human also includes the animal. However, what is the purpose, then, in calling an animal – say, a groundhog – a non-human animal? If the “human” is something “added” to the “animal,” [...]

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More

Monday, May 21, 2007

Continuing the thread from yesterday, the point of my post wasn’t so much to brag about the speed at which I’m moving through my programme relative to the rest of the cohort. Nothing could be less interesting – that each person moves through their programme at their own pace is certainly a vulgar truism, but [...]

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