“In what context should we understand ourselves? From world to globe, planet, and back”

Theodore George, Professor | Philosophy

Abstract:
We are familiar with the basic tenet of humanistic inquiry that the validity of interpretive research is dependent on context. Yet, how, precisely, are we to understand the primary context that we need to take into account for our interpretive work? The purpose of this presentation is to begin to argue for an updated version of a classical answer to this question given within the tradition of philosophical hermeneutics. In this, I claim that the primary context for interpretive research is neither, as some now suggest, ‘globalization’ nor the ‘planetary,’ but, instead, an expanded approach to the ‘world.’ The basic point of this presentation is to begin to think through this expanded notion of the world in reference to Preston Singletary’s Raven and the Box of Daylight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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**Please note that Olivia Thomas’s presentation has been postponed

 

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The Colloquium Series offers Glasscock Center Fellows an opportunity to discuss a work-in-progress with faculty and graduate students from different disciplines. By long-standing practice, colloquium presenters provide a draft of their current research, which is made available to members of the Glasscock Center listserv. Each colloquium begins with the presenter’s short (10-15 minute) exposition of the project, after which the floor is open for comments and queries. The format is by design informal, conversational, and interdisciplinary.

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