University of St Andrews: Journal Hosting Service
Not a member yet
1414 research outputs found
Sort by
Towards Epistemic Justice: : On Translation as Epistemic Disobedience, Insurrection, Resistance, and Activism
Full text linkAs a Syrian-Arab-Canadian researcher, pedagogue, and racialized Woman of Color, I continue to grapple with the notion of the production of knowledge on the Arab subject and the ethics (or lack thereof) involved in this production—a knowledge that has come to be epistemologized, legitimized, canonized, institutionalized, and universalized. As importantly, it is a knowledge that insists on creating an “epistemic divide” that Others, dichotomizes, and polarizes Arab subjects in the West. In particular, I am concerned with how knowledge on the Arab subject is constituted, negated or simply dismissed in Western epistemology, with what counts as knowledge, and as importantly, with how we, as Arabs, can engage with “epistemic activism” to disrupt hegemonic Western Knowledge systems where “epistemic racism” is rampant in both social academic and institutional spheres.  
Teaching Ethical GenAI Use through Student-Led Discussions in EAP
Full text linkThis paper explores a student-led discussion activity on GenAI use within an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) module, designed to foster critical thinking and ethical reasoning with regard to GenAI. Students analyse realistic scenarios illustrating appropriate and inappropriate GenAI use, aligning their decisions with academic integrity principles. Teachers’ observations showed strong student engagement, with students reflecting on their own GenAI use. Nuanced scenarios prompted the most meaningful debate, although balancing complexity and clarity proved a challenge. Although its impact on misconduct is difficult to measure, the activity shows potential for promoting responsible and ethical GenAI use in academic settings.
‘For the creation waits with eager longing ...’: Panpsychism and the problem of evil: (D. W. D. Shaw memorial lecture 2025)
No full textThis paper was originally delivered as the fourth D. W. D. Shaw memorial Lecture at the University of Glasgow on 12th May 2025. In honour of Professor Shaw’s combined vocation as a churchman and an academic, this paper opens with a short homiletic reflection on Romans 8:17–25, wherein Saint Paul seeks to comfort the persecuted church in Rome by placing their suffering in solidarity, not only with Christ’s and his own experience, but also with the wider creation. In section two, it turns to one of Professor Shaw’s academic interests; namely Process theology and the panpsychist view of consciousness held by this movement. Panpsychism is the view that every creature or created thing is conscious to at least some degree. I provide a brief outline of this view and discuss biblical passages where nature is depicted as praising God or lamenting human sin. Section three explores how panpsychism might seem to make the problem of evil and suffering worse for Christians. Finally, section four then returns to Romans 8, and I suggest that rather than an intellectual theodicy that attempts to justify why God permits evil, panpsychism can be part of the church’s therapeutic or pastoral response to suffering
Defending Williamson\u27s Explanatory Challenge to Contingentism
No full textThis paper focuses on a particular challenge Timothy Williamson raised to contingentism in Chapter 6 of his book Modal Logic as Metaphysics and various responses towards this challenge. Section 2 reconstructs Williamson’s challenge; Section 3 explains two “trivialization" worries about this challenge and respond to them on Williamson’s behalf; Section 4 develops a possible substantive “anti-haecceitist" response to Williamson’s challenge and argue against this response. I argue that Williamson’s challenge is successful and contingentists have considerable dialectical disadvantages in trying to overcome the challenge
Salon Senses: A Feminist’s Internal Conflict
Full text linkVisiting the salon is a sensory experience, one that does not always end in the outcome we desire. Why are salons so visually appealing? Why do we put ourselves through these often painful procedures time and time again? Are these experiences adding value to our lives or stealing our time and self-worth? Why does salon gossip feel so good? These are some of the questions I explore in this essay where I navigate the boundaries of beauty expectations, feminism, and feelings of guilt from the auto-ethnographical perspective of a working-class woman in Scotland. Feminist literature on beauty is extensive and contradictory. I investigate if the beauty industry is inherently suppressive, whilst also exploring the idea of the body as a symbol and beauty a ritual, that creates and sustains social ties
Complicity, Conspicuousness, and Change: Protests for Palestine in St Andrews
Full text linkThe genocide in Gaza continues, and the University of St Andrews administration has stayed silent. However, members of the student body have used their rights to protest week after week, calling for action from the University, the United Kingdom, and the rest of the world. This article examines student-led protests for Palestine in St Andrews and argues that the challenges and tensions that come with exposing oneself to the town and university can be simultaneously disheartening and motivating. Through mainly auto-ethnography, supplemented with participant observation and interviews, I unpack the ways people understand their roles and experiences in protests. Protests are a way to spread a message, and this piece hopes to spread a message as well
Language, Identity, and Belonging: Immigrant Experiences in the St. Andrews Taxi Industry
Full text linkThrough the experiences of two immigrant taxi drivers, Malik and Pranab, this ethnography seeks to better understand the intersection between language, immigration, and identity. Using methods of participant observation and interviews, the study reveals how language operates as both a tool for connection and a source of exclusion. Both drivers face racism and xenophobia, but their responses differ based on their relationship to the language. Drawing on Benedict Anderson’s Imagined Communities, the paper argues that despite legal citizenship, immigrants face a second-class status shaped by language, cultural assimilation, and public perception. 
Introduction: Trends in Syria Studies in times of internal war
Full text linkThis issue, Vol 16, No 1, of Syria Studies explores the impact of Syria’s internal war on research and analysis of Syria in the more the more than decade beginning soon after the outbreak of the Syrian uprising. Contributors write from the perspective of their own research and positionality as researchers from/of Syria. They explore such questions as: How do we conduct research amidst protracted war? What constitutes ‘the field’ when access to the country is virtually impossible for many of us? How are our research questions and methods shaped by the current state of protracted war? Abboud argues that the post-2011 period represents a new, fourth period that will shape Syrian state formation. Ghada Atrash’s essay forefronts how “epistemic activism” can disrupt knowledge production. Rula Jabbour examines the utility of Strategic Studies for iunderstanding the Syrian conflict. Sumaya Malas considers how the “post-conflict” framework discourages researchers from pursuing projects until conflicts are perceived to be over. Rimun Murad assesses the emergence of the war novel as a consequence of the conflict. Christa Salamandra’s reflection on ethnography on understanding Damascene elites. Uğur Ümit Üngör asks how the Syrian conflict has affected the conduct of wider international politics. Fadi Skeiker personal testimony centres on theatre as a practice of citizenship and social justice. Alexa Firat examines visual narratives of the conflict