The gas from la terrasse Christopher Watkin

This one-off episode of the podcast is the audio version of a video presentation I prepared for the 'Ends of Autonomy' Colloquium, held over Zoom on the 7-9 July 2020 (UK dates).  The original video version is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uflmg4NTz6A

The Enlightenment value of autonomy is facing unprecedented tensions today: my freedom to drive, fly, eat meat and have a large family are perceived as existential threats to others and as endangering the planet; my "autonomous" desires are curated, packaged and sold to me by a sophisticated market economic and increasingly algorithmic machinery; terrorist and extremist threats have normalised the state of exception; not to mention the centrality of freedoms of speech, association and conscience in the unfolding situations around COVID-19, Black Lives Matter and the relation of Hong Kong to mainland China. 

This short presentation introduces the stakes of autonomy today and stands as an invitation to further reflection. Videos of individual colloquium presentations will be posted at https://bit.ly/theendsofautonomy 

This one-off episode of the podcast is the audio version of a video lecture I gave on Samuel Beckett's Krapp's Last Tape last week. The original video version is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1-Fbtna5PU

There is talk in university circles these days of the lecture format being dead. I think that's a naive view, like saying radio is dead because of the invention of television. So in addition to helping my students understand Beckett, I wanted to see what I could do with a 50 minute "lecture" slot under lockdown. I gave myself an afternoon and an evening to produce the finished product (which encoded overnight and was uploaded the next morning) from notes I had written in a previous year. After receiving feedback from students who watched the "lecture", I'm more convinced than ever that "young people" today are more than capable of sitting for 50 minutes and consuming information, providing it is presented with some thoughtfulness.

This is the audio version of a video I prepared for the "Camus, Christ and COVID-19" event organised by Christian Heritage Cambridge on 20 May 2020. The original video is available at https://youtu.be/ub0pmZHBuvg

In this episode I discuss the importance and value of literature in a time of crisis, some common misunderstandings about Camus' The Plague, and what we can gain from reading the novel in our current pandemic situation.

This episode is an audio version of a blog post I wrote on 11 April 2020, the sixth in a series of reflections about the COVID-19 pandemic in the light of Albert Camus's The Plague. 

I hope you enjoy it! 

You can find more content related to my research, writing and blogging at christopherwatkin.com.

This episode is an audio version of a blog post I wrote on 9 April 2020, the fifth in a series of reflections about the COVID-19 pandemic in the light of Albert Camus's The Plague. 

I hope you enjoy it! 

You can find more content related to my research, writing and blogging at christopherwatkin.com.

This episode is an audio version of a blog post I wrote on 22 March 2020, the fourth in a series of reflections about the COVID-19 pandemic in the light of Albert Camus's The Plague. I hope you enjoy it!
You can find more content related to my research, writing and blogging at christopherwatkin.com.