3 May 2010

Dear Dean,

I am writing this e-mail after having heard the stunning news of the projected closure of Philosophy programs at Middlesex University. I urge you to reconsider such a decision.

The Centre for Research in Modern European Philosophy at Middlesex is one of the few philosophy departments where contemporary European thought is studied in a sustained way. Its recent accomplishments – such as the widely renowned electronic edition of the “Cahiers pour l’analyse” – has made it a landmark in philosophical studies at an international level.

I have no idea of the motives behind such a decision ; I can just assure you that it would not only be a loss for specialists and scholars in European thought, but also a stain on the reputation of Middlesex University.

And it would contradict the recent dynamics which made of Middlesex first a university and then an internationally recognized institution at the post-graduate level.

Hoping that such a message as well as the large international protest elicited by this projected closure will be able to make you reconsider your decision,

Sincerely yours,

Prof. Vincent Debaene
Department of French and Romance Philology
Columbia University in New York
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/french/