Originally published on April 24, 2019 (Episode 108)
Introduction
In 2008, the New York Times Magazine profiled Kelly Dean Jolley’s attempt to do something unusual in higher education: not just to rebuild a philosophy department in a southern university focused on STEM and football, but to foster a community that did and lived philosophy together. That is not quite the same thing as a Department of Philosophy, and it’s pretty hard to do.
In this conversation, Jolley reflects on that effort, the challenges of sustaining humanities programs in an era of skepticism, and what it means to teach not just students but to foster culture of inquiry. We also explore his broader life as a thinker, teacher, amateur poet, and philosopher of community.
About the Guest
Kelly Dean Jolley is the Goodwin-Philpott Endowed Chair in Religion and Professor of Philosophy at Auburn University. He works on judgment, metaphilosophy, ancient and 20th-century philosophy, and philosophy of religion. Beyond philosophy, he is a poet, reader of literature, football watcher, and pipe smoker.
For Further Investigation
The Website of Kelly Dean Jolley: Quantum Est in Rebus Inane
Jonathan Mahler, “The Thinker”, The New York Times, September 19, 2008
Related Episodes
“Higher Ed: A Guide for the Perplexed”—the Series
“The Battle for the Classics”—should we make arguments for the relevance of the liberal arts? Or is that a pitfall to avoid?
Listen & Discuss
What does it mean to build a community of philosophy rather than just a department?
How might Jolley’s vision inspire a renewal of the humanities in other contexts?
What would a community of history be like?
👉 Share this with a friend who knows that the humanities are in decline, or a professor who knows that their department is —it’s proof that rebuilding is always possible.
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