Dr William McDonald
Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, School of Humanities
Qualifications
BA (UNE), Dip.Ed. (UNE), Ph.D. (Syd)
Contact
| Email: | wmcdonal@une.edu.au |
| Room: | E11 1.32 |
| Phone: | 02 6773 2698 (or +61 2 6773 2698 overseas) |
| Fax: | 02 6773 3748 |
My research has focused on social and political issues in the history of western philosophy, particularly those that bear on the constitution of the self. It draws on current theories in continental European philosophy, especially those concerning power, language and gender politics. I am also interested in the relations between philosophy and literature. For this reason I wrote my PhD dissertation on Søren Kierkegaard, whose work crosses the disciplinary boundaries of philosophy, literature, psychology, and theology. I regard the techniques of comparative literature to be highly applicable in reading philosophical texts. These techniques of reading are particularly useful for understanding concepts of the self through analysis of narrative point of view. The concept of the self provides a good focal point for investigating social, political and gender issues and for crossing disciplinary boundaries.
I have also ventured outside the bounds of conventional philosophical discourse into theatre and filmmaking. My play True Sex is based on the memoirs of Herculine Barbin, a nineteenth century French hermaphrodite. It explores the imposition of sex and gender identities by institutional power. Through the use of puppets and masks, and the introduction of figures from nineteenth century French pantomime, questions of identity and power are performed rather than simply discussed.
More recently I have made a couple of documentary films about indigenous Australians - one on a regional Aboriginal Medical Service (Koori Health in Koori Hands); and one on the political career of the first indigenous Australian woman to contest a seat in federal parliament (Dreaming Out Loud). These films explore the politics of representation, identity, race, class, gender, and rural versus urban life in contemporary Australia .
Most recently I have become interested in philosophical psychology of religion and am comparing Kierkegaard's religious psychology with that of Tibetan Buddhism. This research looks in particular at the roles of passion and insight in religious experience and at the roles of love, compassion and empathy in ethics.
Areas of Teaching
Co-ordinator of and Lecturer in
PHIL151 Introduction to Philosophy A: The Examined Life
PHIL320/420 Nietzsche
PHIL322/422 Foucault
PHIL323 Philosophy of Social Science
PHIL401H Philosophy Hons Coursework
PHIL402H Philosophy Hons Dissertation
plus Lecturer in
PHIL343/443 Aesthetics
Research interests
The philosophies of Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and Foucault.
Publications
Books
Andrew Burgess, Steven Emmanuel, David Gouwens & William McDonald, A Kierkegaard Dictionary, Oxford: Blackwell (forthcoming).
Søren Kierkegaard, Prefaces: Light Reading for Certain Classes As the Occasion May Require, By Nicolas Notabene, translated and with an introduction by William McDonald, Tallahassee: Florida State University Press, 1989.
Book Chapters
"The Dialectic of Moods, Emotions and Spirit in Kierkegaard and Madhyamika Buddhism", in Andrew Burgess (ed.), Kierkegaard and Religious Pluralism, Scholars Press (forthcoming 2009)
"Demonic Boredom, in Carlo Salzani & Barbara Dalla Pezza (eds.), Between the Void and the Pure Event: Essays on Boredom and Modernity (forthcoming 2009)
“Kierkegaard,” in Graham Oppy & Nick Trakakis (eds), History of the Philosophy of Religion, (forthcoming 2009).
“Kierkegaard's Philosophical Reception in Australia: An Archaeology of Silence,” in Jon Stewart (ed.), International Kierkegaard Reception, Berlin & New York : Walter de Gruyter Verlag (forthcoming 2008).
“Gjentagelsen [Repetition]” in The Literary Encyclopedia, http://www.LitEncyc.com (2005)
“Frygt og Bæven [Fear and Trembling]” in The Literary Encyclopedia, http://www.litencyc.com/ (2005)
“Søren Kierkegaard,” in The Literary Encyclopedia, http://www.litencyc.com/ (2004)
"Søren Kierkegaard,"in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (ed. Edward N. Zalta), Stanford: Center for the Study of Language and Information, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kierkegaard/ (2004)
“Indirection and Parrhesia - The Roles of Socrates' Daimonion and Kierkegaard's Styrelse in Communication," in Poul Houe and Gordon Marino (eds), Kierkegaard and the Word, Copenhagen : Reitzel (2003): 126-138.
"Retracing the Circular Ruins of Hegel's Encyclopedia," in Robert Perkins (ed.), International Kierkegaard Commentary: Concluding Unscientific Postscript, Macon: Mercer University Press, 1997: 227-245.
“Translator’s Introduction,” in Søren Kierkegaard, Prefaces: Light Reading For Certain Classes As The Occasion May Require, By Nicolas Notabene, translated and with an introduction by William McDonald, Tallahassee: Florida State University Press, 1989, pp. 1-13.
Refereed Electronic Publications
“Love in Kierkegaard's Symposia,” Minerva – an internet journal of philosophy, Volume 7 http://www.ul.ie/~philos/vol7/kierkegaard.html (November 2003)
“Søren Aabye Kierkegaard,” The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy http://www.iep.utm.edu/k/kierkega.htm (2002)
Refereed Journal Articles
"Writing as a Technology of the Self in Kierkegaard and Foucault," Enrahonar , No. 25 Revista de Filosofia de la Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (April 1996): 55-67.
"Madness in Postscript," Søren Kierkegaard Newsletter , No.32 (November 1995): 4-9.
"Confession As Mask," Søren Kierkegaard Society Bulletin, No.1 (August 1995): 2-10.
Stage Plays
True Sex, UNE Theatre Studies Department (performed Aug. 21-23, 1997). Scripted and produced by William McDonald. Based on Michel Foucault (ed.), Herculine Barbin: Being the Recently Discovered Memoirs of a Nineteenth Century French Hermaphrodite. [2 hours].
Womb Loom. UNE Theatre Studies Department (performed Oct. 17-18, 1996). Scripted and produced by William McDonald [2 hours].
Films
Dreaming Out Loud – scripted and produced by William McDonald. A documentary film about the first indigenous Australian woman to contest a seat in federal parliament. Recipient of a NSW Centenary of Federation Aboriginal History Grant (June, 2001) [88 minutes].
Koori Health in Koori Hands – scripted and produced by William McDonald. A film on the ADSI Aboriginal Medical Service (June, 2000) [15 minutes].
Tomfool – scripted by William McDonald. New York Film Academy (January, 1998) [10 minutes].