David Wood (philosopher)
Encyclopedia
David Wood is a professor of philosophy at Vanderbilt University
.
He was an undergraduate at the University of Manchester
where he was introduced to phenomenology by Wolfe Mays. He went on to graduate work in philosophy at New College, Oxford
(1968–71), where through the good offices of Alan Montefiore (at Balliol College) Derrida was a frequent visitor. Under the influence of a group of animal rights activists led by Roslind and Stanley Godlovitch (Peter Singer
, of Animal Liberation
fame, graduated from that group), he became a vegetarian and started Ecology Action, a short-lived environmental group. He was subsequently hired by the University of Warwick
where he went on to become chair of the philosophy department and director of the Centre for Research in Philosophy and Literature.
In 1974 he studied in Paris, and attended lectures by Claude Lévi-Strauss
, Michel Foucault
, Jacques Derrida
, Paul Ricoeur
and Michel Serres
. He left Warwick for Vanderbilt in 1994, where he became chair in 1995.
He has been a visiting academic at Berkeley
, Yale
and Stony Brook
, and has taught at Duquesne
and Turin. He is an honorary Professor of Philosophy at Warwick where he ran a research seminar (Fatal Projections: Pathologies of Alterity) in Spring 2006.
He is also an active sculptor and earth-artist.
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
.
Career and interests
Wood has taught philosophy in Europe and the United States for over thirty years and has published 16 books. In addition to teaching at Vanderbilt University, where he is Centennial Professor of Philosophy, and Joe B. Wyatt Distinguished University Professor, he also co-directs (with Beth Conklin) a research programme in Ecology and Spirituality for the Centre for the Study of Religion and Culture.He was an undergraduate at the University of Manchester
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
where he was introduced to phenomenology by Wolfe Mays. He went on to graduate work in philosophy at New College, Oxford
New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.- Overview :The College's official name, College of St Mary, is the same as that of the older Oriel College; hence, it has been referred to as the "New College of St Mary", and is now almost always...
(1968–71), where through the good offices of Alan Montefiore (at Balliol College) Derrida was a frequent visitor. Under the influence of a group of animal rights activists led by Roslind and Stanley Godlovitch (Peter Singer
Peter Singer
Peter Albert David Singer is an Australian philosopher who is the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University and Laureate Professor at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics at the University of Melbourne...
, of Animal Liberation
Animal Liberation (book)
Animal Liberation is a book by Australian philosopher Peter Singer, published in 1975.The book is widely considered within the animal liberation movement to be the founding philosophical statement of its ideas...
fame, graduated from that group), he became a vegetarian and started Ecology Action, a short-lived environmental group. He was subsequently hired by the University of Warwick
University of Warwick
The University of Warwick is a public research university located in Coventry, United Kingdom...
where he went on to become chair of the philosophy department and director of the Centre for Research in Philosophy and Literature.
In 1974 he studied in Paris, and attended lectures by Claude Lévi-Strauss
Claude Lévi-Strauss
Claude Lévi-Strauss was a French anthropologist and ethnologist, and has been called, along with James George Frazer, the "father of modern anthropology"....
, Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault , born Paul-Michel Foucault , was a French philosopher, social theorist and historian of ideas...
, Jacques Derrida
Jacques Derrida
Jacques Derrida was a French philosopher, born in French Algeria. He developed the critical theory known as deconstruction and his work has been labeled as post-structuralism and associated with postmodern philosophy...
, Paul Ricoeur
Paul Ricoeur
Paul Ricœur was a French philosopher best known for combining phenomenological description with hermeneutic interpretation...
and Michel Serres
Michel Serres
Michel Serres is a French philosopher and author, celebrated for his unusual career.-Life and career:...
. He left Warwick for Vanderbilt in 1994, where he became chair in 1995.
He has been a visiting academic at Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
and Stony Brook
State University of New York at Stony Brook
The State University of New York at Stony Brook, also known as Stony Brook University, is a public research university located in Stony Brook, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island, about east of Manhattan....
, and has taught at Duquesne
Duquesne University
Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit is a private Catholic university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, Duquesne first opened its doors as the Pittsburgh Catholic College of the Holy Ghost in October 1878 with an enrollment of...
and Turin. He is an honorary Professor of Philosophy at Warwick where he ran a research seminar (Fatal Projections: Pathologies of Alterity) in Spring 2006.
He is also an active sculptor and earth-artist.
Books authored
- Time after Time (2007).
- The Step Back: Ethics and Politics after Deconstruction (2005).
- Thinking after Heidegger (2002).
- Philosophy at the Limit (1990).
- The Deconstruction of Time (1988; 2nd edn. 2001).
Books edited
- Truth (2005). With Jose MedinaJosé MedinaFor the Chilean track and road cyclist see José Medina José Alexander Medina is a retired male weightlifter from Venezuela. He competed for his native South American country at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain....
. - On Derrida, Heidegger and Spirit (1993).
- Derrida: A Critical Reader (1992).
- On Paul Ricoeur: Narrative and Interpretation (1992).
- Writing the Future (1990).
- Philosophers' Poets (1990).
- The Provocation of Levinas (1988). With Robert BernasconiRobert BernasconiRobert L. Bernasconi is the Lillian and Morrie Moss Professor of Philosophy at the University of Memphis. He is well known as a reader of Martin Heidegger and Emmanuel Levinas, and for his work on the concept of race...
. - Exceedingly Nietzsche: Essays in Contemporary Nietzsche Interpretation (1988). With David Farrell KrellDavid Farrell KrellDavid Farrell Krell is a professor of philosophy at DePaul University. He received his Ph.D. in philosophy at Duquesne University, where he wrote his dissertation on Heidegger and Nietzsche. He has taught at many universities in Germany, France, and England...
. - Derrida and Differance (1985). With Robert BernasconiRobert BernasconiRobert L. Bernasconi is the Lillian and Morrie Moss Professor of Philosophy at the University of Memphis. He is well known as a reader of Martin Heidegger and Emmanuel Levinas, and for his work on the concept of race...
. - Time and Metaphysics (1982). With Robert BernasconiRobert BernasconiRobert L. Bernasconi is the Lillian and Morrie Moss Professor of Philosophy at the University of Memphis. He is well known as a reader of Martin Heidegger and Emmanuel Levinas, and for his work on the concept of race...
. - Heidegger and Language (1981).
Interviews
- http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/philosophy/faculty/wood_interview.html Thinking Against the Grain (with Darren Hutchinson)
- http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/philosophy/faculty/wood_interview2.html Food for the Imagination (with William McClure)
- http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/philosophy/faculty/wood_interview3.html Contretemps Interview (with John Dalton)
External links
- http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/philosophy/faculty/wood.html
- http://www.artsnashville.org/registry/index.php?scan=az&main=artist&id=193
- http://www.vanderbilt.edu/chronopod/
- http://www.earth-art.org/