Save Middlesex Philosophy

30 April 2010

Dear Michael Driscoll,

I am writing to you in order to complain strongly about your decision to terminate the Centre for Research in Modern European Philosophy at Middlesex. My interest in this matter is twofold. First of all, I recently undertook an MA and a PhD at the Centre. I successfully completed the PhD in 2009, according to the terms of a Research Student Tutor bursary awarded by the University. I therefore have first hand experience of the successful research that goes on at the Centre. And having come into contact with other institutions, I have first hand experience of the distinctiveness of the Centre – backed up by its research excellence, of which you will know from the various RAE assessments of recent years.

The distinctiveness of the Centre brings me to my second interest in the prospective closure, which I want to focus upon as a representative of a particular yet sizable intellectual community. I want to emphasise the impact this decision will have beyond the walls of Middlesex. Each and every university comprises a constituent part of the UK academy and, more broadly, of an international intellectual discourse. This is a crucial point because the Centre is not like any other philosophy department, and yet, at the same time, it represents a geniunely broad and living intellectual field, of so-called Continental philosophy. The broadness of the existence of this field can readily be shown by highlighting the publications, both books and journals, as well as international conferences, that continue to emerge under its banner.

As a constituent part of the UK academy, therefore, Middlesex University has a responsibility to continue to provide for research that it has already established as an important part of the wider discourse. It is both practically unfair and anti-intellectual to pull the plug after having switched on the tap (including the investment of bursaries, such as the one I was awarded). It is practically unfair because people such as myself have made professional commitments to a field of research that they expected to continue into the recent future. It is anti-intellectual because it erodes a discourse that constitutes an international community of researchers.

These are perhaps moral arguments. But according to your own institutional obligations, you are by this act failing as a public institution to reflect and nurture broadly held intellectual interests. I would like to remind you that the job of the university is to provide universal higher education. That Middlesex will relinquish its title of university, if this decision goes through, is clear enough. My point is that the particular situation of Middlesex is irrevocably bound to that of the UK university as a whole.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I look forward to hearing from you.

Dr. Wesley Phillips
11 Stanway Road
Coventry
CV5 6PH

m.driscoll@mdx.ac.uk,
w.ahmad@mdx.ac.uk,
m.house@mdx.ac.uk,
e.esche@mdx.ac.uk

Sun, May 2, 2010

It was with astonishment that we in the Brazilian philosophical and scientific communities heard the shocking news of the intention to close the Department of Philosophy at Middlesex University in London. Several months ago we were invited to an event organized by the Centre for Research in Modern European Philosophy and had the opportunity to see in person, at an extremely productive event, the degree of excellence of the faculty who organized and participated in it, as well as their national and international impact, with an influx of scholars from various regions of the world.

The researchers in the Department of Philosophy, hold an indisputable prestige and relevance in the contemporary landscape, combine great learning and theoretical boldness, and house one of the most productive and prestigious research centres in modern philosophy in the world today. The intention to close this department represents an attack to the intelligence and reputation for research in England, setting an intolerable precedent from the scientific, ethical, and academic point of view. We express vehement outrage towards this attitude of subservience to the most petty calculations of financial profitability and business logic, violating a tradition of outstanding research, which always aroused admiration all over the world. This portends a disaster in the field of thought and scientific research, in the sovereign, democratic, and pluralistic character of academic institutions in England and elsewhere – and this leads us to ask, after all: Who’s afraid of philosophy?

We hope that good sense will prevail and that the decision immediately be reversed, returning the working and production conditions to professors and students of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Middlesex, and its inestimable fruits to the international community.

Sincerely,

Dr. Peter Pál Pelbart
Professor in the Department of Philosophy
Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo.

Michael Driscoll,Vice-Chancellor of the University
Waqar Ahmad, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Enterprise
Margaret House, Deputy Vice Chancellor Academic
Ed Esche, Dean of the School of Arts & Education
Middlesex University in London
The Burroughs
London NW4 4BT

Dear Colleagues

It is with great regret that I write to add my voice to the widespread concern at the announced closure of the Philosophy program at Middlesex. I fully realise that, in tight budgetary circumstances, University administrators must make difficult choices in the interest of their institution. I realise that I am ignorant of the details at Middlesex that led to this unfortunate decision. Nonetheless, as an outsider in a Philosophy program and someone engaged in Faculty administration, it is difficult to understand why you would choose to close down a program which is internationally known and respected and which brings such a significant research profile to Middlesex.

Australian universities are about to undergo their first research quality measurement exercise. All of them would be delighted to have a program with the ranking and profile of the Philosophy program at Middlesex. The academic staff members of this program are known world-wide for their work in modern and contemporary European philosophy, aesthetics, political philosophy and critical theory. It is no surprise that so many graduate students seek to pursue their studies there, or that Middlesex continues to attract such a distinguished list of visitors. This is a small but highly productive group of scholars that has an impact in the discipline world wide that would be the envy of many larger programs.

You may not be aware of how much the Philosophy program contributes to the recognition and value attached to Middlesex University. In terms of its reputation and renown, this program is surely one of Middlesex’s most significant assets. By closing it down, you will inflict serious damage on the Middlesex University brand. You would do well to reconsider this unfortunate decision.

Yours sincerely,

Paul Patton
—
Professor Paul Patton
School of History and Philosophy
Associate Dean Research
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
The University of New South Wales
Sydney 2052 Australia
Tel  61 2 9385 2391
http://hist-phil.arts.unsw.edu.au/staff/philstaff.php

29 April 2010

Dear Professors

The philosophy department at Middlesex University is an internationally
recognized center of excellence. The research carried out there has
influenced fields from literature to the sciences to my own domain, African
studies. I have no doubt that you have been inundated with reactions from
scholars worldwide who are surprised that you have decided to axe your
highest performing department. I don’t imagine it’s too late to reverse this
ill-concieved decision, and maintain one of the few programs that give
Middlesex University a forceful presence on the international academic
stage.

Sincerely

Raj Patel
Visiting Scholar
Center for African Studies
UC Berkeley
Stephens Hall, Room 342
Berkeley, California 94720-2314 USA

m.driscoll@mdx.ac.uk,
w.ahmad@mdx.ac.uk,
m.house@mdx.ac.uk,
e.esche@mdx.ac.uk

Apr 30, 2010 at 2:10 P

Dear colleagues,

I am writing to you to express my dismay at the abrupt closure of the Philosophy programme at Middlesex University. Middlesex has been an important institution for philosophy. It promotes academic excellence and cultivates a vibrant atmosphere for students. It develops creative and meaningful inter-disciplinary work whilst contributing to high level international debates in philosophy. However, its influence extends far beyond this. It has been a prominent force in shaping the intellectual, political and cultural life of London and beyond. The work of philosophers in this department is read by students across a range of disciplines, including art colleges, in the Republic of Ireland. The influence of this writing thus extends beyond the discipline of philosophy itself to a diversity of forms of cultural life. It is rare to encounter a department with such commitment to introducing philosophy, and the critical questions that philosophers reflect upon, to a range of publics. It has managed to do so without compromising in intellectual rigour, commitment, and scholarship. It is a matter of deep concern for all philosophers to see the erosion of the discipline of philosophy, but it is also worrying for us as citizens. This indicates a worrisome tendency to refuse to place value upon subjects which strive to develop thoughtful, questioning, creative citizens without measurable outcomes or quantifiable outputs. It is important for us all to examine the fundamental presuppositions that promote one philosophy of education above another and to reflect on what it is that we value in education and in public life more generally.

Yours etc,

Dr Aislinn O’Donnell
Lecturer in Philosophy of Education
Faculty of Education
Mary Immaculate College
South Circular Rd,
Limerick, Ireland.

29 April 2010

Dear Professor Driscoll, Professor Ahmad, Professor House, and Professor Esche,

I am writing to protest at the decision to close the philosophy department at Middlesex University and to urge you to urgently reconsider. My reason for writing is my dismay at the threat to such a valuable and internationally recognised philosophy department, and to those who teach, research, and learn in the department. Working myself in the field of Continental philosophy I have regularly attended events organised by your philosophy department, I use and engage with work published by the staff, and have personally been in dialogue with Professor Peter Hallward. I also regularly read and cite material published by the journal Radical Philosophy, which is edited from Middlesex, and I know as friends and colleagues many who have attended and graduated from the philosophy programme at Middlesex. I can personally and professionally attest to the centrality and importance of the philosophy department at Middlesex to the field, and to Britain’s cultural engagement with philosophy.

The philosophy department has made a sustained, innovative, and profound impact on the field, making Middlesex known as a university that encourages and develops teaching and research that has shaped contemporary culture. Middlesex is abandoning this reputation by closing the philosophy department and, once again, I would urge you to reconsider your decision. My apologies for re-sending, but I did not provide a subject line and I regard this as an important and serious matter.

Yours sincerely,
Dr Benjamin Noys
Reader in English, The University of Chichester

30 April 2010

Dear Professor Esche,

I understand that the Middlesex University, under your recommendation, has decided to abolish its Philosophy Department and with it the Centre for Modern European Philosophy. The reasons given for the decision are said to be financial; you are reputed to have claimed that the Philosophy Department offers no ‘measurable contribution’ to Middlesex University. This is an astonishing claim, and a catastrophically bad decision for anyone who cares about intellectual and artistic matters in this country.

Middlesex University’s Philosophy Department is one of the most interesting and dynamic in the U.K., an astonishing achievement given the institution’s history as a ‘new’ university. Its staff have had a significant role in forcing contemporary French, German and Italian philosophy into the professional world of philosophy in the U.K., but in addition their work has had a huge impact in cognate disciplines such as literature and visual art. Many of our staff and graduate students have benefitted from the work of your colleagues in philosophy at Middlesex; they read them, discuss their work and use their ideas and writings to make and critique visual art. Their influence in all dimensions of the visual art world should not be underestimated; and I cannot help but think that their eradication will have a devastating impact on your own Fine Art Programmes’ collective ability to recruit international students. One of the primary reasons the professional art world knows and respects your excellent Fine Art Department at Middlesex is because of its close collaboration with your Philosophy Department. Philosophy will never be a direct cash cow for any University, but having a world class Philosophy Department, as you do, gives a university huge credibility and as such makes it an attractive place for international students interested in a whole range of subjects, like Fine Art, influenced by philosophy.

Your decision is therefore short sighted and at serious risk of being self-defeating. Abolishing your Philosophy Department diminishes many of your other departments and sends out a signal that in the current tough financial environment, Middlesex University is not prepared to protect world-leading scholarship. The U.K. is a hugely competitive environment for international students, and all this decision does is weaken your ability to compete in this environment. Few serious international students, and even fewer serious academics who recommend colleges abroad for their students, will be likely to choose a University that intentionally makes itself intellectually weaker. I urge you to reconsider.

Sincerely yours,
Richard Noble
Head of Art
Goldsmiths College London

29 April 2010

Dear Colleagues,

I was shocked and dismayed to learn today of the abrupt closure of the Philosophy programmes at Middlesex University. In the field of European Philosophy,  Middlesex clearly and by any measure I am aware of possesses the finest program of its kind. Its faculty are among the finest scholars in the world, and it stands with only two or three initiatives in the entire world as one of the premier centers for critical philosophical thought. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Middlesex’s European Philosophy program stands poised to play a role in the early twenty-first century not unlike that of the Frankfurt School for Critical Theory in the last century, bringing international renown and fame to the university that sustains and nourishes its endeavors.

As I prepare to leave my position at Aberdeen and to return to the US to a Professorship in French at Princeton University this fall, I wish to convey to you in the most emphatic terms that the CRMEP is now widely recognized as one of the most important centres for the study of modern European philosophy anywhere in the world.

The work carried out at the CRMEP is ground-breaking and of the highest caliber, characterized by a unique emphasis on broad cultural, artistic and intellectual contexts, and a marked sense of social and political engagement. The philosophers you have assembled together there are the envy of the academic world; I cannot tell you strongly enough how fortunate you are to have assembled a group including Peter Hallward, Eric Alliez, Peter Osborne, and others. Though I am sure your institution, like all in the curret climate, must balance many concerns, to squander such inestimable resources, which give Middlesex such an international renown and standing, would be worse than tragic.

It is my conclusion that Middlesex University has decided to close its CRMEP in the complete absence of any persuasive academic or economic rationale, to the detriment of higher education in the United Kingdom. I call on Middlesex University to reverse this damaging and ill-judged decision to close its Philosophy programmes, and to renew its commitment to widening participation in education and to excellence in research.

Yours sincerely,

Dr. F. Nick Nesbitt, PhD (Harvard University)
Professor of French
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ USA

Senior Lecturer, French and Modern Thought
University of Aberdeen (UK)
http://aberdeen.ac.uk/french/staff/details.php?id=n.nesbitt

29 April 2010

Dear Sirs and Madam,

I am personally appalled to learn of your decision to close down Philosophy at Middlesex University.  How is it possible that a department and its Research Centre which by all accounts is at the cutting edge of research in Philosophy, which is one of the most important such centres in the World for the study of Modern European philosophy, which runs a finacially viable MA research programme and whose research is recognised as ‘world leading’ and ‘internationally excellent’ can be closed down?   By any rational criterion such a decision is incomprehensible.

Some of us from far-flung regions of the World who have been associated with the Centre’s work and who have been influenced by some of its scholars are shaken by what appears to be extreme shortsightedness.  This is the kind of department which should be nurtured and kept open at all costs as it reminds us of what thinking is all about and what a humanist comitted  intellectual project should look like.  Without it the idea of a University and all it represents is unlikely to be sustainable.  This would be a great loss to world scholarship and to the prestige of the British university system.

I therefore hope that you will reconsider your decision and that for the sake of knowledge production and university teaching in Britain and the World you can see your way clear to keep both the philosophy Department and its Centre for Research in Modern European Philosophy open.

Sincerely yours

Professor Michael Neocosmos (PhD)
Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Humanities Research,
University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa;
Honorary Professor in Global Movements
Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.

28 April 2010

Dear Vice-Chancellor, Deputy Vice-Chancellors, and Dean,

I wish to convey to you my consternation at the decision to close Philosophy at Middlesex University (of which I have just learned). No doubt you are being lobbied by many others already on this matter, but, as the External Programme Reviewer for Philosophy at Middlesex, it is my academic duty to alert you to the future problems that will follow should this closure go ahead.

I have taught at various institutions, both here in the UK and abroad, and I can tell you that such an action will be met with dismay by numerous people around the world, be they educators, graduates, or other stake-holders. This is because Middlesex Philosophy has a reputation that goes well beyond its size: it is clearly a leading department in the field (by all measures), and to close it flies in the face of any logic, be it academic or financial.

As you must know, a university lives or dies on its reputation, so any damage to Middlesex’s reputation as a serious academic player in general, must also harm each of its component schools and subjects in the long run. Taking this fact into account, I can tell you now that many academics working world-wide in the Humanities will have only ever heard of the existence of Middlesex University on account of its Philosophy department. Its teaching, its research, and the numerous events it runs, are all extremely well known, influential, and admired, be it within London, the UK, or abroad.

You already know, of course, that the quality of teaching and research done at Middlesex Philosophy is second to none: but I and others can confirm to you in addition that it is especially this world-class research that raises Middlesex university above the rest of the post-1992 institutions. Indeed, I know of no other subject in your institution with such a recognition factor. And, without such achievements and recognition in research, what is a university is worth?

I find it extremely troubling, therefore, to learn that the call for closure has come from the supposed fact that no ‘measurable benefit’ stems from these achievements of Philosophy at Middlesex. Yet even commercial logic dictates that brand-image requires investments that can only have indirect benefits. Hence, I am only asking you, as fellow academics and administrators, to be realistic (in these days especially). To strike a parallel: in the world of commerce, neither Microsoft nor Apple can find any measurable benefit from their R&D departments because they have no sales directly linked to their research. Sales income comes later and indirectly. But does this mean that there is no benefit to such research? Of course not: the benefit comes later and globally to the brand as a whole, due to the quality of its individual activities (in this case, software and hardware).

Today, the Middlesex brand is gaining notoriety across the country and the globe, where it previously had respect. It is clearly possible, however, to win back that respect by showing the mature judgement and reflection that can enable management to reverse a decision.

I do implore you, then, to take the decision to keep Philosophy as soon as possible, before the image of Middlesex is irredeemably tarnished.

I am, of course, free to speak with any of you in person (face to face if needs be), to explain further the reasons for keeping Philosophy at Middlesex open for business.

Best wishes

John Mullarkey

Dr John Mullarkey

Senior Lecturer in Philosophy
Head of Department
Philosophy
School of Humanities
College of Arts & Social Sciences
University of Dundee
Nethergate
Dundee DD1 4HN
Scotland
UK

http://dundee.academia.edu/JohnMullarkey