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Why Study Philosophy
People average about three careers in their lifetimes. Study philosophy and be prepared for all of them.
Watch Dr. Michael Hymers's interview about
Weekly Colloquium
This Week's Colloquium
The colloquium will be held from 3:00-5:00 pm (Atlantic time) on Friday, November 8 both in person, in Room 2130 of the Marion McCain Arts and Social Science Building, and online via zoom (details below).
Speaker: Clarisse Paron (Ā鶹“«Ć½)
Title: Eugenic Logics and the Pathologization of Childrenās Bodies: Evaluating the American Pediatric Obesity Guidelines on Childhood āObesityā
Abstract: This paper criticizes the 2023 American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) clinical practice guidelines for the clinical treatment of overweight children. Despite the guidelines acknowledging the role of social factors in childhood āobesityā, the expert panel recommends drastic and dangerous surgical and pharmaceutical interventions for children as young as 12 and 13 years old. I argue that the recommendations are motivated by non-epistemic values that infiltrate medical research and practice, thereby reinforcing fatphobia through the discipline and punishment of deviant (fat) bodies for not conforming to a hegemonically ideal body type. I conclude that the recommendations are not only an example of medical fatphobia but also exemplify eugenic logics as outlined by Wilson and St. Pierre (2018) ā consequently, the AAPās guidelines should be rejected.
Note about the Marshall Lecture: Kate Abramson (from Indiana University-Bloomington, author of On Gaslighting) was originally scheduled to do the Marshall Lecture at SMU this week as well as a colloquium, but she has had to delay her visit to Halifax for health reasons. Weāll update you here when these events have been rescheduled.
Dal Philosophy is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Colloquium
Time: Nov 8, 2024 03:00 PM Atlantic Time (Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88638324974?pwd=lD255Cfe70JuVMb9aF6pT9bc1mbyUa.1
Meeting ID: 886 3832 4974
Passcode: 804515
Our Department
The Ā鶹“«Ć½ Department of Philosophy is one of the most active and supportive philosophy departments in Canada. Our program will prepare you for any career because philosophy is the .
Where do I begin?
The basic skills practiced in philosophy are the very skills demanded and rewarded in the most lucrative, influential professions. Start your journey by registering for a first-year course or pick a second-year course in an area of interest to you.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
All Philosophy courses at Ā鶹“«Ć½ emphasize the importance of academic integrity. Students are responsible for ensuring that all work they submit is their own, and, unless otherwise explicitly indicated by the instructor, AI-driven tools and generative AI models (including language models like the GPT suite, translation models like Google Translate or DeepL, editing tools like QuillBot, GrammaryGo, etc.) should not be used to generate ideas or written materials for any class offered by the Philosophy department.
AFFILIATED GROUPS
- Atlantic Canada Seminar in Early Modern Philosophy
- Ā鶹“«Ć½ Women Around Philosophy
- Evolutionary Studies Group
- Animal Studies Group
- The Canadian Philosophical Association - see the CPA'sĀ
- The Ā鶹“«Ć½ Philosophy Equity Committee
DEPARTMENT KUDOS
- CongratulationsĀ to Erik Nelson who defended his PhD dissertation,Ā The Nonlinguistic Mind: Nonlinguistic Concepts, Normativity and Animal Cognition, this June.
- CongratulationsĀ to our PhD student, Clarisse Paron, for being awarded theĀ Ā for presenting on of the best two student papers at the Annual Meeting, June 2024. The title of her paper is āAre the New American Pediatric Obesity Guidelines Eugenic? Eugenic Logics and the Medicalization and Pathologization of Childrenās Bodies.ā
- CongratulationsĀ to our PhD students, Lara Millman and Clarisse Paron, for being awarded Ā鶹“«Ć½ās Ā Presidentās Graduate/Undergraduate Student Teaching AwardĀ (2 of 3 available university-wide awards!)
- CongratulationsĀ to Dr. Travis LaCroix, who has accepted a position as Assistant Professor at the Department of Philosophy, Durham University, starting in the fall of 2024.
- Congratulations to Dr. Travis LaCroix, who has been award an Insight Development Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council! Travisās research project is entitled āPhilosophy on the Spectrum: The Philosophy of Autism and Autistic Philosophy.ā
- Tyler Hildebrandās paper āInductive Reasoning Involving Social Kindsā (with Barrett Emerick) has been published in theĀ Journal of the American Philosophical Association.Ā
- CongratulationsĀ to Kayla Beals, who is the 2024 recipient of the F. Hilton Page Memorial Prize, awarded to a graduating student whose thesis is judged to be outstanding.Ā
- CongratulationsĀ to George Arnott, who is the 2024 recipient of the Roland Puccetti Memorial Award for the best essay submitted by a student in a 3000- or 4000-level class. Georgeās essay is entitled "The Virtuous Cohort" Habituation and Character-Friendship as Rational Motivators for Aristotelian Courage.