2/13 Meeting!

Hi, salutatorian friends and family! That’s a nice adjective-word, right?

We’re meeting this Thursday (2/13), from 3PM-4:20PM, at our Brand New Meeting Room, King Hall (KH) C2096A, to talk about material constitution, which is fancy for “how things are made from other things”! Someone last meeting asked whether a Pop-Tart is a sandwich, and we decided to take the joke seriously enough to run a meeting on it. What does it take for a lump of stone and marble to be a statue? Is the statue and the lumps of material it’s made out of the same thing? (Spoiler alert: Sakib thinks no, but if an artist presents lumps of raw material as a statue, then in that case, that lump becomes a statue!) Is a Pop-Tart a sandwich? These are the most important questions in philosophy, more important than, I daresay, anything else in philosophy. Anything in its long many-thousands-of-years history. I’m certain of it. This is objectively correct.

Best,
Sakib

2/6 Meeting!

Hello, cornichonish friends and family! I’m running out of adjectives to use for these messages, so I must start inventing more. If you have any suggestions, let me know.

We will be meeting for our first Spring ’20 meeting this Thursday (2/6), from 3PM-4:20PM, at King Hall (KH) D1045! We’ll catch up a bit with one another, and we’ll set up meeting topics we’re interested in for the upcoming semester. KH D1045 is the Honors College office; my good friend and partner-in-crime Isabelle works there, and she’s requested that everyone come into the office asking for the club meeting, and she will direct you into the appropriate conference room. Big Fancy!

Also, this Wednesday (2/5), from 6PM-8:30PM, at the Golden Eagle Ballrooms, is the City of Orgs mixer! Usually, we table out on the main walkway and talk about the club, why philosophy is cool, why I’m the kind of gal that I am, and if folks are interested in attending meetings. Things are switching up this time; folks will show up at the ballroom this time, while different club leaders give a pitch for their club and why it’s cool (and why I’m the kind of gal that I am), and folks can grab a bite and dance along with the on-site DJ’s tunes. If you’re interested in seeing me promote the club for, like, a minute, and then grabbing a bite and hanging out a bit before I go home to sleep because I get up early the next day for a doctor’s appointment, then do stop by!

Also, if you’re in the LA area, be careful when you’re out! Winds are really heavy, and the cold is particularly dry. Keep cozy, protect yourself with scarves and mufflers, and keep yourself hydrated!

Best,
Sakib

Confirmed Spring ’20 Meeting Times!

Hi friends and family! Sending out this short message to update you about meeting times this semester!

I tried my very best to accommodate for as many people as possible, but I could not get a perfect date and time that worked for everyone at once. This Spring ’20, we will be meeting on Thursdays, from 3PM-4:20PM. Given that, we will not be having a meeting tomorrow (1/30, Thursday)! Our first meeting will be next week, and I’ll be sending out another email sometime this weekend confirming that meeting date and our meeting location.

Also, thank you to those of you who bore with me and filled out the Google form! It made scheduling this time around that much easier, because I was able to much better organize people’s available days and times. I know it’s a bit more extra work than just replying with your times on the message, and I appreciate that you took up that bit of extra work. It helped a great deal! Lots of love.

Best,
Sakib

Spring ’20 Meeting Times!

Hello, toasty friends and family! It has been a long time. I am overheating with this scarf around my neck.

Two orders of business in this message:

1) Spring 2020 is coming up, and we must decide on club meeting dates and times again! I am trying something different. Usually, I will give you information about club meeting dates and times in the message body itself. It is not very organized on my end, since I have to keep collecting dates and times from different emails into a separate document. So, I figured I should cut the middleman out and just send a form where you can input when you’d like to hold club meetings!

*If you want to attend club meetings this Spring*, please fill out the Philosophy Club Spring 2020 Meeting Times form and let me know what days and times work for you. (If the hyperlink doesn’t work, please paste this into your browser: <https://forms.gle/i3rUXYYX6JszJKA47&gt;.) We will schedule our meetings this semester, as always, trying to accommodate for as many people as possible!

2) I know a good amount of you were interested in the recording for the free will debate that took place this last Fall semester. It has taken me a great deal of time to get this for you, and I thank you for being (perhaps cruelly and unusually) patient with me! If you’re still interested, then do check out the Fall 2019 Free Will Debate Recording! (If the hyperlink doesn’t work, please paste this into your browser: <https://drive.google.com/open?id=1d7TuFzZFRKM-CK_rk76rMP6SvEJTXKS2&gt;.)

And that’s all. There may be less quirks and decorations in club emails this semester, because I will be a very busy woman. I will try my best in spite of that!

Best,
Sakib

Upcoming Class in Political Philosophy, Spring ’20

Hello! Wanted to send out this email to let you know about a cool class coming up this Spring.

Our own Dr. Jay Conway will be teaching POLS 4370 – 20th Century Political Thought! It’ll be held Spring ’20, Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 10:50AM-12:05PM. If you are a philosophy student, this class can be used towards your Philosophy BA or MA degree.

In this class, Conway will be looking at some main figures in political philosophy and thought, including Sartre, Beauvoir, figures in the Critical Theory traditions, Foucault, and Deleuze. Here are some quotes from some of these authors to give you a taster of what’s in store in the course:

“It is the whole system that is at issue and our claim cannot be otherwise than radical–change life itself.” -Beauvoir

“What also fascinated me in Spinoza was his philosophical strategy: he began by taking over the chief stronghold of his adversary, redisposing the theoretical fortress in such a way as to turn it completely around, as one turns around cannons against the fortress’s own occupant. -Althusser

“Repressive forces don’t stop people expressing themselves but rather force them to express themselves. What a relief to have nothing to say, the right to say nothing, because only then is there a chance of framing the rare, and even rarer, thing that might be worth saying.” Deleuze

 

If you’re interested in these figures, in political philosophy writ large, or in taking a, excuse my language, bitchin’ class in political thought, do register for this class!

Carry on with your weeks.

12/3 Meeting!

Hello, supraliminal friends and family! We have two orders of business today.

1) This Tuesday (12/3), from 2PM-3:40PM, at Fine Arts (FA) 306, we’ll be once again meeting to have study-hall! Once again, I will bring some snacks to nosh on. This will indeed be the last meeting of this semester, since finals week will take over after the week.

2) This Wednesday (12/4), from 4:30PM-5:50PM, at King Hall (KH) B2005, the Philosophy Department will have Dr. Chip Sebens, a professor of philosophy from the California Institute of Technology, present, “What is the Quantum Wave Function?” Chip Sebens Talk Poster. Let me excerpt from the abstract to give you a taste of the talk:

“Quantum physics has found remarkably successful rules that describe the interactions of subatomic particles. But, what does it say about the nature of those particles? The particles are represented, at least partially, by a mathematical object called a ‘wave function.’ What is that? In this talk, I will explain some popular options and some new ideas as to how wave functions should be interpreted.”

Definitely check it out if you’re interested and can spare the time!

Wishing you well with all that you may have coming up next week.

Best,
Sakib

11/19 Meeting!

Hello, remunerated friends and family! I have just recovered from the flu. The flu is a thing that many would describe as “a thing that is very bad.”

The end of the semester is nearing, and I know pressure’s increasing. As we’ve done in past semesters, instead of holding a club meeting on a specific topic for the last couple weeks of the semester, we hold a study-hall session instead, so that you can bring any work you have to do and have the space and time for club meetings to utilize for doing your work. So!

This Tuesday (11/19), from 2PM-3:40PM, at Fine Arts (FA) 306, we’ll be meeting to have study-hall! I will bring some small snacks for us to nosh on. See you then!

Best,
Sakib