Dr Christopher Thomas

Who am I?

I am a lecturer in Philosophy at Manchester Metropolitan University. My research interests include early modern philosophy–specifically the philosophy of Benedict Spinoza–, contemporary French philosophy–specifically the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze and Simone Weil–, aesthetics, and art theory.

Why do I teach?

I teach for two reasons: Firstly, because I believe in the transformative potential of philosophy as a subject, and secondly because teaching is vital to my own research process. 

Words of wisdom

"Knowledge of evil is an inadequate knowledge" (Spinoza, Ethics, IVP64)

How I’ll teach you

My teaching is informed by the various people who have had the greatest influence on my own career as an academic: Ask me about my teachers.
I will try to be as lucid and clear in my lectures as possible, and then go on to problematize the content of my lectures in the seminars. This will allow students to understand and absorb the content of the lecture, before engaging critically and in an original way with the lecture material.

Academic and professional qualifications

PhD Philosophy, University of Aberdeen

MA Contemporary Art Theory, Goldsmiths University of London

Why study ?

Undergraduate courses

Tutor: Understanding the Contemporary World (Foundation year)

Lecturer: Introduction to the History of Philosophy (First year)

Lecturer: Death, God, and the Meaning of Life (First year)

Lecturer: Philosophy of Religion (Second year)

Lecturer: Theism and Paganism: Alternative Approaches to the Philosophy of Religion (Third year)

Postgraduate teaching

Key Texts in Modern European Philosophy (MA)

Research expertise

Early Modern Philosophy, the philosophy of Benedict Spinoza, contempoary French Philosophy (especially the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze and Simone Weil), aesthetics and art theory. 

Publications

• Journal articles

  C. Thomas (2018). From Complex Bodies to a Theory of Art. Epoché: A Journal for the History of Philosophy. 22(2), pp.367-387.

• Chapters in books

  C. Thomas (2017). Primary and Secondary Nature: The Role of Indeterminacy in Spinoza and Bartleby. In: Philosophy After Nature.

Conference organisation

Contemporary and Historical Perspectives on Spinoza and Culture: 03/08/18 at Manchester Metropolitan University. This conference has been generously supported with grants from 'The British Society for the History of Philosophy' and 'Mind'. 

Expert reviewer for journals and publishers

Textual Practice Journal (2018)

Grants

2018: MIND Conference Grant (£500)
2018: British Society for the History of Philosophy minor conference grant (£500)
2017: Newberry Renaissance Consortium Grant (£1000)
2015: Newberry Renaissance Consortium Grant (£1000)
2014: Santander Mobility Award  (Visitor at New York University, Department of Philosophy) (£1500)
2013-2017: Full PhD Funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council of Great Britain