Power of Gentleness: Meditations on the Risk of Living by Anne Dufourmantelle, translated by Katherine Payne and Vincent Sallé The following quotations are meant to offer a small sample of the book. Not included are Dufourmantelle’s discussions of sensuality (with multiple chapters devoted to “Sensory Celebration”), trauma, animality, and psychoanalytic practice. Toward the end of…
The Discipline of Hosting and Participating in Reading Groups
Reflections on organizing online reading groups What I want to share here are some reflections on what actually sustains a reading group, whether it is an online reading group, a philosophy book club, or a small virtual literature discussion. Not inspiration, not intensity, but the quiet and steady discipline behind it. I have been hosting…
Why I Started an Online Reading Group on Philosophy & Literature
When I left academia in 2021, I didn’t stop reading. What I left behind was a particular institutional form of engaging with texts, which often felt closed off, competitive, and inaccessible to anyone outside the university. But my love for reading, thinking, and discussing with others didn’t change. If anything, it came more into focus….
Seminar Announcement: History & Philosophy of Psychology (2025)
I will be offering this 10-week seminar starting in the last week of September. It’s the first time I’m running something like this outside of an institution, and I think I’ll only be able to do it once a year. During this course, we’ll be addressing some of the foundational questions in general psychology as…
Interview with James I. Porter: Nietzsche, Foucault, & Classical Studies
My interview with Prof. James Porter started with a discussion about his concerns with clarity and the importance of maintaining a connection between language and life. Then I asked him Porter about how his interest in Nietzsche began and about his interpretation of Nietzsche’s concept of the Dionysian, which relates to metaphysics and an awareness…