Postgraduate research students

I make the case that there are situations when speculative fiction, a mode particularly interested in philosophical conundrums in its “thought experiments”, can offer alternative, and perhaps more effective, methods of teaching foundational and complex philosophical concepts when compared with traditional philosophical discourse. Speculative fiction and film (fantasy and neo-noir) and traditional philosophical discourse “do” philosophy but in radically different ways. Choosing major philosophical preoccupations, knowledge & doubt, epistemology of memory and morality, which are also central concerns of representative examples of speculative fiction and film, I evaluate the various pedagogical methods and results produced by these contrasting modes.

(Book Review) ‘Changing the Game: William G. Bowen and the Challenges of American Higher Education’ (2024) in Teaching Philosophy, 47(3). p.457 - 460.

• Dr Stephen Daniels
• Professor Ben Colburn

Nisbet Scholarship – Fully funded PhD – tuition fees covered, a stipend and annual conference budget

PESGB funded event - Utopias, Science Fiction and Axioms – 2024 Philosophy of Education Summer School in Poland

University of Glasgow – Education department funding - 2024 NAAPE presentation in Chicago, IL

PESGB Small Grant - 2025 PES presentation in Baltimore, MD

Network 13 Grant - 2025 Seasonal School – PhD workshop on Philosophy of Education in Galway, Ireland

2025

New College, University of Oxford

PESBG Annual Philosophy of Education Conference – presented (in person) on 'Teaching Philosophical Articulations of Attention through Ex Machina and Her'

Baltimore, Maryland. USA.

PES Annual Philosophical of Education Conference – presented (in person) as part of the Existentialism and Phenomenology SiG – ‘Uluru, Dreamtime Stories and Phenomenology'

2024

University of St. Mary of the Lake, Chicago

North American Association for the Philosophy of Education – presented (in person) on ‘Learning about ‘The Extended Mind’ thesis through Memento'

Eindhoven University of Technology

AI in Education: Ethical and Epistemic Perspectives - presented (in person) with Will Gopal on ‘Memento, AI and Virtue Epistemology’

University of Galway

Mapping Attention, Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow – presented (in person) on ‘Pedagogy of AI Interactions through Film’

European University of Rome

Human flourishing and character education – presented (in person) on ‘Engaging with Speculative Fiction to teach Philosophical Concepts’

University of King’s College, Nova Scotia

Circulating Knowledge: 20 Years On – presented (online) on ‘Learning the global history of the natural world through Indigenous Creation Stories’

Strathclyde University

PESBG Reading Group – presented (in person) on ‘Learning about ‘The Extended Mind’ thesis through Memento

University of Glasgow

UNESCO RILA Spring School – presented (in person) on ‘Learning the global history of the natural world through Indigenous Creation Stories’

Centre for Fantasy and the Fantastic (Glasgow)

GIFCon – presented (online) on ‘Investigating personal identity through Robin Hobb’s Realm of the Elderlings’

University of Glasgow, Graduate Teaching Assistant – 2024-2025

In the 2024-2025 semester, I taught both Philosophy and English Literature pre-honours tutorials.

In Philosophy, I taught 2A and 1B collaborative classes, which were focused on exploring questions such as 'What am I?' and 'How should I live?' respectively. 

In English Literature, I held tutorials on the Critical Skill-Making: The Study of the Novel course. 

2025-2026 Associate Chair – PES Existentialism and Phenomenology SiG

As the associate chair of the SiG (as part of the North American Philosophy of Education Society), I am responsible for organising meetings, constructing CfPs for symposia, liaising with the Chair, reviewing papers and presenting as part of the panel. I also take up promotional duties for the SiG, ensuring that our group invites a range of contributors.

2024-2025 Philosophy Postgraduate Seminar Organiser – University of Glasgow

Over the course of the academic year, I was responsible for organising speakers, booking rooms, sending out calls for speakers and organising the postgraduate research presentations in philosophy along with my fellow organisers.

Member of PESGB

Member of MAP