Wednesday 28 March 2018

Two trips abroad arranged

I have arranged two trips; a writing trip for Oxford in the transition from April to May, and my trip to Canada for the OECD Social Policy Ministerial in Mid-May.

As for the writing trip, I suggested to meet up with someone from the Oxford Center for Animal Ethics, but apparently they don´t do that sort of thing (meetings).

Tuesday 27 March 2018

Two explanations of grading given

I have just written two explanations of grading for the continuation exam in Ex.Phil.

No PhD project on welfare and prosperity

I have now been notified by my Head of department that he has concluded there will not be any PhD project on welfare and prosperity, which I proposed. My work plan for the next academic year has been adjusted accordingly.

See also:
Outline of possible PhD project on welfare revised; long-term research plan sketched
Performance appraisal; PhD project on welfare highly uncertain

Supervision

This week I have completed the second supervision session with the fourth and last of my child welfare bachelor thesis students.

Monday 26 March 2018

Terraforming Mars? Discussion aired on P2´s Verdibørsen

On March 22nd NRK P2´s Verdibørsen, with program host Jostein Gjertsen, included a 25 minute feature with me and Ingvil Førland Hellstrand entitled "Muligheten av Mars", on terraforming Mars. Podcast is available here

The interview aired again on Sunday March 25th, as the weekly sum-up of Verdibørsen.


COST progress report mentioning ethics of laying hen genetics article

GroupHouseNet has compiled and submitted a progress report at 24 months. The report makes reference to the ethics of laying hen genetics article that is in process written by Mia Fernyhough, me and three more.

Friday 23 March 2018

Work lunch - evaluating and planning teaching

Today I have attended a work lunch with two colleagues concerning evaluation and planning of teaching at Master level on welfare policies etc.

To attend 2018 OECD Social Policy Ministerial

I have been registered for attending 2018 OECD Social Policy Ministerial, which has the theme "Social policy for shared prosperity: Embracing the future". The event, which will be held in Montréal, Canada, May 14-15th, will include a Policy Forum as well as ministerial meeting involving 35 ministers of social policy.
 
 

Thursday 22 March 2018

17 MA exam papers graded

I have just reported having graded 17 home exam papers in "Philosophy of science and health care ethics".

Wednesday 21 March 2018

Complaint examiner in GEN550

I have agreed to act as internal complaint examiner for the exam in the MEES master course "A new posthuman era? New theoretical reflections on the human and its relations" (GEN550), coordinated by Ingvil Førland Hellstrand.

Interviewed on colonizing Mars for NRK P2 Verdibørsen

I have just been at NRK Rogaland recording an interview organised by Jostein Gjertsen and also featuring Ingvil Førland Hellstrand, on the theme of colonizing Mars. Will air on NRK P2´s Verdibørsen tomorrow.
 

Monday 19 March 2018

Performance appraisal; PhD project on welfare highly uncertain

I have just attended the annual performance appraisal with my Head of department. Topics included next academic year´s work plan, research activities and plans, etc.

An important topic we discussed is my proposal for a PhD project on welfare and prosperity - now focused on socioeconomically vulnerable groups. After receiving negative feedback from a key colleague for a second time, the feasibility of the project is highly uncertain, if not definitively disproved.

Friday 16 March 2018

Wolf chapter revised and expanded

I have revised and expanded my chapter "Rovdyrstriden: Det kulturelle bakteppet", an invited contribution to a book on large predators in Southern Norway. Now approaching a full draft (currently close to 5.000 words).

Second print run for human-animal studies anthology

Our book Hvem er villest i landet her? Råskap mot dyr og natur i Antropocen, menneskets tidsalder has just been printed with a second print run (first print run was in 2013). See publisher´s book presentation here. I think this is the first time a book I have co-edited has had a second print run.

Outline of possible PhD project on welfare revised; long-term research plan sketched

Yesterday I finished revising a possible call for applications announcement text for a PhD project on welfare and prosperity - now with focus on people in vulnerable socioeconomic situations. I also drafted a long-term research plan, indicating possible topics for my own writing as well as possible partners and contacts. I am now awaiting feedback from a colleague and my head of department.

Welfare services research meeting

On Tuesday March 13th I attended the meeting of the program area for welfare services research, where we discussed this year´s research applications, and how we can help each other with regard to academic writing.

Thursday 15 March 2018

Greenhouse lunch

For the first time in quite a while I attended the (mostly weekly) Greenhouse work lunch at UiS today. Nice catching up.

Work plan drafted, revised; research reported and planned

I have just revised my current work plan for the academic year 2017-18, drafted a work plan for 2018-19, and compiled a report for research activities for 2017-18 and plan for 2018-19, in preparation of performance appraisal with my Head of department next week.

Tuesday 13 March 2018

NORPART application meeting

I have just met with a colleague to discuss our NORPART application, which I am involved in preparing.

Talk and discussion on Ex.Phil. at UiS leadership strategy seminar

Yesterday I gave a brief invited talk on perspectives on Examen Philosophicum at a strategy seminar for the leadership of University of Stavanger (rector, all deans, and a few more people in key positions), at Clarion hotel in town. My fellow philosopher Tarjer Mandt Larsen also attended and took part in the ensuing discussion.

Monday 12 March 2018

3 hours of MA teaching on welfare state topics

Today I have taught for three hours in the Norwegian Master course "Velferdsstaten - politikk og teori". The topic was liberalism´s idea of a neutral state and its relation to people´s freedom to choose their life projects, with Norwegian family policies as a case study.

Sunday 11 March 2018

9 exam papers graded

I have just graded 9 exam papers for the continuation exam in Examen Philosophicum (home exam) at Department of social studies.

Friday 9 March 2018

Reimbursement paperwork

Today I have spent quite some time doing paperwork in order to get reimbursed and compensated for my trips to Mexico City and Havana this January.

Book review published in Prosa

My book review of
Merethe Roos og Johan Tønnesson (red.)
Sann opplysning? Naturvitenskap i nordiske offentligheter gjennom fire århundrer
Cappelen Damm Akademisk, 2017
has been published in Prosa no. 1/2018, titled "Natur og kultur". Online version here.

Thursday 8 March 2018

Google Scholar: 279 citations

According to Google Scholar (see my profile) my work has now been cited 279 times, including 8 times so far in 2018 publications. This is up 7 since February 4th. 2017 now stands with 62 citations, vs. 61 in 2016. The screenshot below shows my seven most cited texts.


Two of my articles cited in de Jesus 2018

My articles
Tønnessen, M. (2011). Semiotics of being and Uexküllian phenomenology. In: Phenomenology/Ontopoiesis retrieving geo-cosmic horizons of antiquity (pp. 327340). Springer Netherlands.
Tønnessen, M. (2016). Agency in biosemiotics and enactivism. In: Meaning, mind and communication: Explorations in cognitive semiotics. Peter Lang Publishing Group. pp. 69-82
are cited in
de Jesus, Paulo 2018. Thinking through enactive agency: sense-making, bio-semiosis and the ontologies of organismic worlds. Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences. Published online March 2nd 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11097-018-9562-2.
Excerpts, p. 17:
BE [Biosemiotic Enactivism] endorses enactivisms strong life-mind continuity but grounds it on Uexkülls Umwelt theory and the bio-semiosis (sense-making/meaning-making) of living organisms (see also Meacham 2016).
   In so doing BE explicitly distances itself from enactivisms reliance on Hans Jonas and suggests in its place, following Morten Tønnessen (2011), an "Uexküllian phenomenology". Which, "is loyal not to Uexküll thought in detail but to the essential finding that nature is constituted by the intricate relations of all living creatures, which are all subjects of the phenomenal world at large" (Tønnessen 2011, p. 331). These relations are in turn conceived as bio-semiotic processes involving, at its most foundational-level, iconic (similarity-based) or/and indexical (causal) and at its most
developed-level symbolic (conventional) signs.
Footnote 11:
Biosemiotics, somewhat like enactivism, is still a field in its developing stages constituted by a loose group of connected yet different approaches. For an overview of the distinct schools and their relation see Barbieri (2009). For an exploration and comparison between enactive and biosemiotic approaches to agency see Tønnessen (2016).

Wednesday 7 March 2018

Two supervision sessions

Today I have supervised two students, one Bachelor thesis student and one Master thesis student.

Tuesday 6 March 2018

Staff meeting attended

Today I have attended the Department of social studies´ staff meeting. Issues for discussion included the department´s action plan for the next few years.

Lecture with ethics theme given at Sølvberget galleri

On Wednesday February 28th I gave the first of three lectures at Sølvberget galleri in relation to Eli Glader´s video art exhibition Vitner. This first talk was entitled "Nær eller upartisk? Etikk i mangfoldets tid". About 10 people were present.

Monday 5 March 2018

Two papers accepted for presentation in Berkeley (18th gathering in biosemiotics)

I have been informed by the organizers of the 18th gathering in biosemiotics, to be held at UC Berkeley June 17-20th, that my two paper submissions have been accepted for oral presentation:
  • The search image as link between sensation, perception and action
  • Biosemiotic readings in a Norwegian philosophy of science MA course (paper in session "Biosemiotics and the curriculum", organized by Paul Cobley)

Friday 2 March 2018

Three supervision sessions

This week I have supervised three students - a PhD student and two bachelor thesis students.

Thursday 1 March 2018

Course dates autumn 2018

I have just submitted my preferences for course dates and times for autumn 2018.

"Introducing zoosemiotics" chapter to be translated to Hungarian

Our chapter to below is to be translated to Hungarian published in an edited collection.
Maran, Timo, Morten Tønnessen, Riin Magnus, Nelly Mäekivi, Silver Rattasepp and Kadri Tüür 2016. Introducing Zoosemiotics: Philosophy and Historical Backgrounds. In Maran, Tønnessen and Rattasepp (eds), Animal Umwelten in a changing world – Zoosemiotic perspectives (Tartu: Tartu University Press 2016), 10–28.

To be plenary speaker at hybrid natures conference in Tartu

I have agreed to be a plenary speaker at the conference “Semiotics of hybrid natures: anthropogenic ecosystems, multimodalities, transformed Umwelten”, to be held in Tartu, Estonia, November 8-10th 2018.

Mentioned on NRK Rogaland radio

On February 8th I was mentioned on NRK Rogaland radio in a story about Eli Glader´s video art exhibition Vitner on Sølvberget Galleri, in connection with the three lectures I am giving in relation to the exhibition.

Research program area application submitted

Our revised application for establishment of a research program area on philosophy and subjectivity was submitted yesterday.