Phenomenology Reading Group

A group dedicated to the close reading of Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology of Perception. 

We welcome new members! Our existing group is a mixture of English Literature and Art History postgraduate students who share an interest in theoretical approaches to embodiment. None of us have a formal background in philosophy.

Revised dates and Reading for the Summer Term 

Due to time pressures on various members of the group we have decided to start reading in larger sections, with one less meeting than previously planned. We will finish Part II: The World As Perceived before the summer break, tackling Part III: Being-for-Itself and Being-in-the-World in the Autumn Term, aiming to complete the whole text by Christmas. Please don’t worry if you can’t manage to read the whole text in advance of each session – I will continue to provide a brief synopsis of each section, and we will close read smaller sections in the group.

Weds 25th April – 6-7.30pm, room 114, Keynes Library: ‘The Theory of the Body is already a Theory of Perception’, and ‘Sense Experience’, pp.240-282

Weds 9th May – 6-7.30pm, Room 112: ‘Space’, pp.283-311

Weds 23rd May – 6-7.30 pm, Room 112: ‘Space’, pp. 311-347

Weds 6th June – 6-7.30pm, room 114 (Keynes Library): ‘The Thing and the Natural World’, pp. 348-402

Weds 20th June – 6-7.30pm, Room 112: ‘Our Selves and the Human World’, pp.403-427

Please note that the session on Weds 4th July has now been cancelled. We will meet again after the summer for three more sessions (The Cogito / Temporality / Freedom – dates tbc), and will aim to finish the book by Christmas!

All page number refer to the Routledge 2010 edition (trans. Colin Smith).

If you would like to register your interest or have any questions, please contact Fiona Johnstone fijohnstone@hotmail.com or Kirstie Imber kirstieimber@hotmail.co.uk.