Today doesn't seem to be a very productive one, so I'll take a moment to let you in a few big things happening around here.
First... you may have noticed that my book A Philosopher Reads Marvel Comics' Civil War was taken down from Amazon Kindle Direct. There is a reason, and it's a good 'un: it will soon be published in paperback and ebook by Ockham Publishing, and the rather striking cover is shown to the right. I'll provide more details about pre-ordering and such when they become available.
(Should I have called this post "Civil War: Rebirth"? Too cheeky by half, I think.)
But there's more! Not only are they publishing my book on Civil War, but Ockham also signed me for the A Philosopher Reads... series, for which I will write more books on comics and the philosophical thoughts they inspire. As I suggested in my post at The Comics Professor announcing the Civil War book, this was in the back of my mind when I chose "A Philosopher Reads..." for the beginning of the title, but Ockham and I have made it a reality.
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Next... I'll be participating in two very exciting events over the next several weeks.
The first is "An Evening with Batman's Brain," a panel on March 16 at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada, hosted by neuroscientist E. Paul Zehr (author of Becoming Batman) and also featuring psychologist Travis Langley (author of Batman and Psychology) and myself. The three of us will highlight our individual perspectives on the Dark Knight from our respective disciplines, with some significant overlaps and contrasts that are sure to prompt fascinating discussion. Personally, it will also be the first chance I've had to meet either Paul or Travis in person, which I'm very much looking forward to.
In the meantime, here's a short radio interview Paul and I did with Joe Travis at CFAX 1070 (starting 17:15 into the hour), and some press coverage from Metro Vancouver.
The second is "What Superheroes Can Teach Us About Liberty and Security," a talk I'm giving at Northwood University in Midland, Michigan, upon invitation from my good friend Glenn Moots (chair of political science and philosophy at Northwood). In the talk, I will cover many of the themes from my book on Civil War as well as The Virtues of Captain America.
Add those to my quick trip to the Central Division meetings of the American Philosophical Association last weekend to participate in a session on punishment—which rekindled some dormant thoughts on retributivism I hope to explore more later—and this March will have been the most travel-filled month in my academic life so far.
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Other than that, my life the past month and a half since my last update has mainly been taken up by working on two books-in-progress and a handful of papers, as well as normal chairing duties at the college. (I do have a major editing gig to announce soon, but I'll hold onto that until the contract is signed.)
I'm sorry to say that my latest attempt at scheduling time failed (as every preceding attempt did); maybe I'll discuss my suspicions why in a later blog post. I've been managing to get what I need to do done, but as always, with far too much stress and anxiety. Frankly, I'm tired of waking up every morning—very early—feeling like I'm starting the day already behind. That can't be a good way to live, but until I find a better way, that's the way it is.
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