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African(a) and South Asian Philosophies

In this series students invite the public along with them on an inquiry to introduce and contest the frameworks of major themes in South Asian and African(a) philosophies which for all their depth and breadth and world-transforming thought have largely been excluded or undervalued in our philosophy curricula. Join us for insights into different conceptions of reality and ways of thinking about community - to map how theories of language and logic affect our daily experience and ethical choices. How might 'ubuntu' or 'emptiness' change what you choose to do when you get up tomorrow morning? Come to ask and seek with us in discussions with thinkers from around the world (as we currently know it). The path is wide open for responsible inquiry and institutional change.

Welcome to the opp African(a) and South Asian philosophies podcast series! Join us – an Oxford-student initiated group – in these episodes to begin to explore topics related to our 2021-22 journal’s themes: African(a) and South Asian philosophies and the value(s) of our education. As these topics are given little or no attention in our curricula we hope this series can begin to broaden our collective horizons as learners and aid any further engagement with the journal. We seek to foster a globally-oriented and accessible discussion that transgresses dominating disciplinary boundaries of Euro-American academic institutions.The project opens space to reflect on methodological, topical, and institutional concerns related to and as a practice of philosophy. We’ll move through episodes on methodology to South Asian philosophies to African(a) philosophies before we end with a finale linking all our themes with a particular emphasis on connecting social issues and ethical concerns to our philosophical practices. This series is a small move for reflection and decolonial transformation. Please join us.

Special thanks to our editors Zac Furlough and Kei Patrick
To the podcast team members who worked on this project
To Juniper IV (www.juniperiv.net and @juniperivband) for the introductory acoustics from ‘Fade Away’
To Zed Notts for the logo design
To AHRC-TORCH for the support
And to Oxford Podcasts

You can find further resources on our website and social media including learning resource lists and discussion group recordings. Stay attuned for the journal turn2 release this winter!

More about opp
opp works to increase the accessibility to philosophy and to create a space to actively question what philosophy is and how we’re doing it, both in form and content, and as encountered from our various positions in the world. the Oxford-student-initiated group organises activities and resources as participatory aids to discussing the (sub)themes of an annual journal that accepts art, poetry, and prose philosophy pieces. as opp’s mission states: ‘the aim is to make room for the possibility of strengthening, broadening or contesting our interpretative frameworks and field of consideration.’

Thanks to this podcast series team:
Aamir Kaderbhai
Carlotta Hartmann
Cody Fuller
Dylan Watts
Heeyoung Tae
Kei Patrick
Lea Cantor
Scarlett Wheelan
Srutokirti Basak
alicehank winham

# Episode Title Description People Date
8 Episode 8: Liberatory orientations in African(a) and South Asian philosophies In this episode, Aamir Kaderbhai (Mst Study of Religions), Heeyoung Tae (BA Philosophy, Politics, & Economics), and alicehank winham (MPhil Buddhist Studies) converse with Dr. Anatanand Rambachan (Professor of Religion at St. Olaf College), Aamir Kaderbhai, Heeyoung Tae, alicehank winham, Anatanand Rambachan 08 Dec 2021
7 Episode 7: The Limits of Academia with Professor Joy James Professor Joy James is the Ebenezer Fitch Professor of Humanities at Williams College. In this episode, Carlotta Hartmann speaks to her about coming to philosophy and the limits of academia. Joy James, Carlotta Hartmann 23 Nov 2021
6 Episode 6: Tradition and modernity in African cultural philosophy Scarlett Whelan and Kei Patrick interview Prof Ochieng’-Odhiambo and Zeyad el Nabolsy about attitudes to tradition, modernity and modernisation in the work of two African philosophers: Amilcar Cabral and Henry Odera Oruka. Scarlett Whelan, Kei Patrick, Frederick Ochieng’-Odhiambo, Zeyad el Nabolsy 19 Nov 2021
5 Episode 5: A Yogācāra Buddhist Theory of Metaphor and cross-cultural philosophy with Dr. Roy Tzohar In this episode, MPhil Buddhist Studies students Cody Fuller and alicehankwinham interview Professor Tzohar (associate professor in the East and South Asian Studies Department at Tel Aviv University). Cody Fuller, alicehankwinham, Roy Tzohar 04 Nov 2021
4 Episode 4: Academic, Moral, and Spiritual Philosophy from the Ramakrishna Order Dylan Watts (UG physics and philosophy) and Aamir Kaderbhai (MSt study of religion) interview Swami Medhananda, ordained monk of the Ramakrishna Order and Senior Research Fellow at the Ramakrishna Institute of Moral and Spiritual Education, Mysore, India Dylan Watts, Aamir Kaderbha, Swami Medhananda 04 Nov 2021
3 Episode 3: Approaches to South Asian philosophies Aamir Kaderbhai and Heeyoung Tae interview Mini Chandran, Professor in the department of humanities and social sciences at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, and Parimal Patil, Professor of Religion and Indian Philosophy at Harvard University. Aamir Kaderbhai, Heeyoung Tae, Mini Chandran, Parimal Patil 04 Nov 2021
2 Episode 2: How students grapple with specialising in marginalised philosophies How do you make marginalised philosophies accessible? What are the challenges to South Asian and African(a) philosophy specialists within Anglo-European universities? Find out more in this episode. Srutokirti Basak, Aamir Kaderbhai, Jonathan Egid 20 Oct 2021
1 Episode 1: How should we talk about South Asian and African(a) philosophies? inspiration with Dr. Adamson and Dr. Jeffers Join Mansfield College History student Srutokirti Basak in a discussion with podcast hosts and writers of the comprehensive and trailblazing History of Indian and African(a) Philosophy podcast series Dr Peter Adamson and Dr Chike Jeffers. Srutokirti Basak, Peter Adamson, Chike Jeffers 20 Oct 2021