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    The McMaster Department of Philosophy has now put together the following notice commemorating Barry: Barry Allen: A Philosophical Life Barry…

Promoting Philosophy

Darlene Deas

As the spouse of a philosopher, I often find myself acting as a sort of ambassador for you lot. People don’t know what you do, what it is, or why it’s important.

And, while it’s fantastic that a group of cool kids write pieces for the NYT, those people I mentioned above—the ones who don’t know about you or your discipline– are most likely not reading the NYT.

I don’t know how to solve that problem, but last fall when I was guest blogging here, I had some ideas for easy-to-digest promotional philosophy videos that I kept meaning to create and share. Brian's recent invitation to blog here again provided the right motivation to finally complete that little pet project. 

I'm sharing two very short (30 second) promotional videos with you. I hope to have a third by week's end that focuses on female philosophers and promoting the discipline to young women and girls. There is a fourth, but I doubt I’ll get to it this time around.

Here’s what you need to know: 

  • The videos are intended for prospective students, although one could also target a general audience.
  • The videos are shared under the creative commons license. Please feel free to use or modify these videos, but if you do so, please make them available to others. 
  • You can download the videos, saved as mp4s, here. 
  • The videos were created with VideoScribe. If you have the software, you can download the raw files (file extension scribe) here. 

And here's the important part: because I love philosophy, I'm willing to donate my time to help anyone interested in creating some cool 30-second promos. You can reach out to me directly at the following email address: mycoffeepotproductions at gmail dot com 

If you don't want to email me, but you have some ideas to share, use the comments! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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6 responses to “Promoting Philosophy”

  1. Paul Henne

    Hello,

    I thank you for your posts.

    I really like the idea for the videos! I'm the associate director of Wireless Philosophy, and we will be reaching out to suggest a collaborative project. Wireless Philosophy has an established infrastructure and an extensive online audience, so it may be fruitful for us to collaborate on these videos.

    I look forward to your posts

    DD Comment: Paul, I think the WiPhi videos are great, and I'd be happy to collaborate.

    Reply
  2. Daniel Kaufman

    I think we need many, many projects like this, across the spectrum. I myself have been hosting a program called "Sophia" on the BloggingHeadsTV network, in which Massimo Pigliucci and I and our guests discuss mostly philosophical issues, in an accessible way, for a generally educated, but non-specialist audience.

    http://meaningoflife.tv/programs/current/sophia

    DD comment: Those are great! Thanks for sharing the link.

    Reply
  3. paolo

    I wonder if "promoting" philosophy is desirable or even perhaps possible. Of course, I wonder that because I think of philosophy in a certain way (which people might not share). But I think of it as something that becomes attractive to people who desire (and decisively so) to lead intellectual lives. It's something that people who seek such things and need them will find. They might not go for it and, instead, go on to devote their lives to history, literature, or what have you. But, in any case, it's not exactly a "product" that one can promote. It does not have much of use, as it were. What use majoring in it has, one can presumably get from other majors too. And it does not necessarily have things to recommend it for if one wants to lead a "healthy" lifestyle or be successful, or happy, or whatever. In a way, it is only valuable to people who already value such things and such people will find it themselves. It sounds to me a bit like promoting religion (as such, with no further specification). I am not even sure what to think of it.

    Of course, I hold a rather "elitist" view of philosophy – elitist in the sense that philosophy is not really anything for the masses (or even regular educated people) and that it is a kind of a result of cultural/economic overproduction. So promoting it sounds to me, simultaneously, as basically pointless/impossible and a slap in the face to those who, for various reasons, can't quite afford it. But perhaps I am wrong. Still, it just sounds odd to me.

    Reply
  4. precariat

    Is anyone willing to create a "themes" video more accessible to minority students? Perhaps insert "race" or "racial justice"? And perhaps replace Russell with a philosopher of color? Perhaps King or du Bois. Sadly, I lack the know-how, but I work at an HBC and am trying grow Philosophy's presence.

    DD comment: I'm happy to make another version more suited to your purpose. Email me at mycoffeepotproductions at gmail dot com

    Reply
  5. Daniel Kaufman

    Could you explain what about her videos are not "accessible" to minority students? I don't understand.

    I've been teaching philosophy for over twenty years, and I have never taught different material to students of different colors. That strikes me as being completely antithetical to everything we're supposed to be about, as educators.

    Ironically, you mention du Bois, who would have utterly rejected the notion that philosophy or any other subject should be color coded.

    "I sit with Shakespeare, and he winces not. Across the color line I move arm and arm with Balzac and Dumas, where smiling men and welcoming women glide in gilded halls. From out of the caves of evening that swing between the strong-limbed Earth and the tracery of stars, I summon Aristotle and Aurelius and what soul I will, and they come all graciously with no scorn nor condescension. So, wed with Truth, I dwell above the veil. Is this the life you grudge us, O knightly America? Is this the life you long to change into the dull red hideousness of Georgia? Are you so afraid lest peering from this high Pisgah, between Philistine and Amalekite, we sight the Promised Land?" (From The Souls of Black Folk)

    Reply
  6. A. Stokes

    I’ve read some of your previous blog posts on here from this past fall of 2015 regarding women in philosophy, and as a female undergraduate student, I am interested and impressed by your writing(s) and videos on this topic.

    I noticed women were underrepresented in philosophy after just a couple courses in the discipline. I brought this up and studied women in philosophy as an independent course (some of the women on your list of women philosophers, as well as, some of the women on other lists in the comments, were women I studied).

    All in all, I was thrilled to see your videos. They are great and a step in the right direction!

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