Sports & Societies
15 MARCH 2021
Sourcing Knowledge from Experience: The Dead Philosophers’ Society
A DPS session on Wednesday 24 February
Sohane Mousseid Yahya, BA Politics and World Philosophies Philosophy is dying. This is the conclusion that any philosophy student at SOAS would give, backed up by the fact that the philosophy department has continuously rebuilt the curriculum in an attempt to salvage Philosophy at SOAS for as long as those 2021 final year students have been here.
Unfortunately, we are plagued by a program that doesn’t deal with many cult classics. Logic - reduced to a 15 credit module - is one of many subjects that feels uncompetitive when compared to the sea of London philosophy scholars. Philosophy at SOAS seems to be reduced to religion. The pandemic should have been the final nail in the coffin, confirming that the attempt to look at philosophy from a ‘World Philosophies’ perspective was frugal, wasteful and quite
simply irrelevant. However, it seems that Philosophy at SOAS is redressing itself. This is seen through the multiple guest lectures organised by the department, regular virtual socials amongst all degree stages, but also the weekly sessions and social media campaigns of the rebirthed Dead Philosophers’ Society (DPS). From 13 September onwards, DPS began reinventing what Philosophy at SOAS would look like with the creation of #DeadPhilSundays. These short videos - lasting between four to eight minutes - explored philosophical themes in the context of weekly news. The videos are simple, effective and interesting. They ask what we can do with this particular concept of philosophy, combining practicality with information. Our society’s constant push on social media has translated positively to the weekly session attendance. With students joining from different disciplines and year groups, the society has managed to create a tight knit atmosphere of solidarity and intellectually stimulating conversations centered around the pursuit of justice and equality. Moreover, DPS does not hesitate to invite non-SOASians into their spaces, opening the sessions up to University of London students. We have joined the Philosopher of London In Solidarity group, furthering our attempt to ensure that Philosophy at SOAS remains visible and collaborative. When asked why he thinks the society has
become so tenacious during the pandemic, vice-president Michael Meakin responded ‘We knew we needed to adapt but we also knew philosophy could help with the pandemic’s isolation, so we created a virtual social environment for academic chatter.’ DPS has helped students interested in philosophy fight the loneliness of the pandemic. DPS member Lucy expresses that ‘the social component of having a little community tied by our mutual interest in philosophy has been absolutely wonderful.’ The society also hopes to help counter the isolation that the field experiences as a whole due to all the red tape, gatekeeping and lack of collaboration. Our society attempts to rekindle literature and philosophy, touching on anthropology and linguistics and engaging in a variety of cultures and ways of producing knowledge. Much like an archaic language, when philosophy stops evolving and changing it will join other disciplines as a field that could not adapt to modern times. DPS’ move to embrace the online world, social media and accessible engagement is a remedy to this death and a sign of hope for philosophy. If Philosophy at SOAS continues to work alongside DPS, the field might not just avoid a predictable death, but SOAS may become home to a renewed Philosophy - one with a long, prosperous life ahead.
Our Streets Now @ SOAS Meggie Ambrose-Dempster, BA World Philosophies
Our Streets Now is a grassroots, student-led, nation-wide campaign striving to end Public Sexual Harassment (PSH) through legislative and cultural change. With a new Higher Education ambassador scheme launched on 22 February, Our Streets Now is now being represented in 17 Higher Education institutions across the UK with more than 30 Ambassadors. Called the #StudentsNotObjects movement, we are fighting to end PSH inside and outside of these Higher Education institutions. Our Streets Now have released data collected in their 2020 report ‘They Saw My Fear and Laughed: Tackling Public Sexual Harassment in Education’. The report, based on an in-depth qualitative survey with over 100 students, found that: 84% of students had experienced PSH 49% of students have been harassed travelling to or around university 24% of students have been harassed on campus 72% of students did not know or were unsure about where to report or seek support services for Public Sexual Ha rassment (PSH) at their institutions
WWW.SOASSPIRIT.CO.UK
“72% of students didn’t know or were unsure about where to report or seek support services for Public Sexual Harassment (PSH) at their institutions” The #StudentsNotObjects campaign is calling for: 1.Compulsory consent workshops and ongoing training for staff and students on the topic of PSH. 2.Well-funded, institution-wide awareness campaigns on the topic of PSH. 3.Working with local authorities and transport providers to reduce PSH locally. 4.Appointment of a full-time sexual assault and harassment advisor. So, how does Our Streets Now fit into SOAS? SOAS is a great institution with important policies and campaigns already in place, but we believe things can always be improved. The consent workshops run by Enough is Enough cover a wide range of ways to deal with harassment and the
topic of consent. They are already well established and on their way to making real change - which we think is fantastic! We hope to work with Enough is Enough to properly introduce the topic of PSH and ensure that students are also aware that they do not have to combat this form of abuse alone. This is where one of the biggest goals of the campaign at SOAS comes in: requesting a full-time sexual assault and harassment advisor, provided and funded by the institution. This is a basic right that students deserve that should be provided by the institution as proof that they understand the importance of protecting their students. There are numerous ways you can support Our Streets Now at SOAS. Spreading the word is one of the most important parts of the early stages of the campaign. You can follow us on Instagram @ourstreetsnow_soas to keep up to date. Most importantly, you can also become an ambassador! We are trying to build a strong team at SOAS. You can sign up via the Instagram, email Meggie at 647533 if you want more information, or can visit our website: www.ourstreetsnow. org/higher-education Lastly, you can also check out the virtual exhibition made by Eliza Hatch @cheerupluv for #16DaysOfActivism and the mini-series consisting of five podcasts created by Hayley Rose Dean @discuss_podcast talking about the different components of the Higher Education Ambassador Scheme.
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