Michael Barr

I am interested in expanding the range of resources and topics that PWOL draws upon. Underlying this is an interest in the connection between ways of life and theoretical discourses – that is, how can we embrace PWOL, as understood in ancient philosophy, in circumstances vastly changed from the Hellenistic period? At Newcastle, I’ve explored these issues through an innovative MA class in which students practiced autoethnographic self-writing as a means of interrogating their own complicity in structures of oppression and of complicating their notions of the demands and limits of responsibility.

A native of Pennsylvania, I’ve lived and taught in China, Egypt, the US, and the UK. I trained in theology and philosophy at Durham before doing postdoctoral work on the ethics of antidepressant medication at the LSE. I am the author of two books and numerous articles on topics ranging from pedagogical methods, soft power, bioethics, biosecurity and environmental politics.

I enjoy baseball and cooking while drinking. I live in Kent with my wife, where we serve on the staff of our neighbour’s cat.