Civil disobedience has emerged as a key political and philosophical concept. The meaning of the phrase, however, remains contested – from discussions on the radicalism of Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter to controversy over the legitimacy of Edward Snowden’s whistleblowing to debates about the appropriation of the concept by anti-abortion movements. But what does “civil disobedience” mean?

Starting on Monday 5th June, we’ll be reading Night Vision: Seeing Ourselves Through Dark Moods by Dr. Mariana Alessandri. Over six weeks we’ll read about and discuss how best to see and talk about difficult moods including anger, sadness, grief, depression, and anxiety. We’ll discuss our own experiences alongside Ancient and Existentialist philosophies, Western medicine, and Professional Psychology.

“Objectivity” is a common point of reference in intellectual culture. We use it as a criterion for good journalism, good scientific theory, good moral reasoning, and so on. However, there are reasonable questions about its value that will be addressed on this course: Is objectivity achievable? Does this matter for its value? Does the pursuit of objectivity hamper important ethical goals? Does it prevent us from considering the interests of marginalized groups?