The Notre Dame Centre for the History of Philosophy warmly invites you to: History or Genealogy? Approaches to the History of Ideas Masterclass with Peter Harrison ________________________________ Teacher: Professor Peter Harrison, Professorial Research Fellow in Science and Religion, University of Notre Dame Australia When: Thursday, August 20, 2026 Time: 1:00 PM - 3:30 PM (AEST Sydney) Where: NDS23/102 – 46-52 Mountain Street Ultimo, NSW, 2007 (Wilcox Mofflin Building) or online via Teams Cost: Attendance is free; registration essential. Register here: https://events.nd.edu.au/history-or-genealogy About the workshop This workshop has two related elements. First, we will discuss different ways of approaching the history of ideas and, more specifically, the history of philosophical and religious ideas. One focus of this discussion will be the role played by normative considerations—moral and religious commitments, or advocacies of social justice—in the way we conduct our historical investigations.
A second element will be an account of Harrison’s own approach to the history of ideas, which usually involves a significant component of conceptual history. We will look at specific examples of the history of concepts such as ‘religion’, ‘science’, and ‘belief’, and consider what that history might imply for our present deployment of those notions. These examples also take us back to the question of how to manage normative issues in the conduct of history. Core Readings: * Peter Harrison, The Territories of Science and Religion, Chicago University Press, 2015, ch. 1 * Peter Harrison, Some New World: Myths of Supernatural Belief in a Secular Age, Cambridge University Press, 2024, ch. 2. * Peter Harrison, ‘Normativity and the Critical Functions of Genealogy’<https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/moth.12857>, Modern Theology, 39 (2023), 682-707. Supplementary Readings: * Jonathan Catlin, ‘The Berkeley School: Critical Theory, Political Economy, and the Future of Intellectual History’<https://www.jhiblog.org/2026/02/16/the-berkeley-school-critical-theory-political-economy-and-the-future-of-intellectual-history> JHI blog, Feb. 2026. * Peter Gordon, ‘What is Intellectual History?<https://harvardcolloquium.hsites.harvard.edu/pages/what-intellectual-history>’ * Peter Harrison, ‘Critical Theories and the Question of Values’<https://www.zygonjournal.org/article/id/24827>, Zygon 60 (2026), 1299–308 Directions to the event NDS23/102 – 46-52 Mountain Street Ultimo, NSW, 2007 (Wilcox Mofflin Building) Dr Catherine Wesselinoff Lecturer | School of Philosophy and Theology Lead, Strategic Programs and Partnerships | Institute for Ethics and Society (IES) The University of Notre Dame Australia. Book a meeting with me<https://outlook.office.com/bookwithme/user/[email protected]?anonymous&ismsaljsauthenabled&ep=plink> <https://outlook.office.com/bookwithme/user/[email protected]?anonymous&ismsaljsauthenabled&ep=plink> Recent Publications: "Beauty's Comeback", Debates in Aesthetics, Vol 19. No. 2, 2025, pp 35-45. "Apophatic Beauty in the Hippias Major and the Symposium", The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol. 82, Issue 1, 2024, pp 36-44. The Revival of Beauty: Aesthetics, Experience, and Philosophy, Routledge, 2023. Disclaimer The information contained in this communication from the sender is confidential. It is intended solely for use by the recipient and others authorized to receive it. If you are not the recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or taking action in relation of the contents of this information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. This email has been scanned for viruses and malware, and may have been automatically archived by Mimecast Ltd, an innovator in Software as a Service (SaaS) for business. Providing a safer and more useful place for your human generated data. Specializing in; Security, archiving and compliance. To find out more visit the Mimecast website. --------- SydPhil mailing list To unsubscribe, change your membership options, find answers to common problems, or visit our online archives, please go to the list information page: https://mailman.sydney.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/sydphil
