Virtue and the quiet art of scholarship: Reclaiming the university

Dr Anne Pirrie will address some of the themes in her recent book Virtue and the Quiet Art of Scholarship: Reclaiming the University (Routledge, 2019). She offers a fresh perspective on what it is to be a ‘good knower’ in a social and educational environment dominated by the market order. Pirrie explores how narrowly conceived epistemic virtues might be broadened out by seeing those who work and study in the university in their full humanity. In an era characterized by deep and enduring social and cultural divisions, the book offers a timely, accessible and critical perspective on the perils of retreating behind disciplinary boundaries, reminding readers of the need to remain open to the other in a time of increased social and political polarization.

Drawing on the work of Leonard Cohen, Ali Smith, Italo Calvino and Raymond Carver, Pirrie seeks to move across disciplines and distort the line between the humanities and the social sciences as a way of bringing them closer together. She explores virtue in the context of scholarship and research, particularly how the ‘virtues of unknowing’ challenge traditional notions of the ‘good knower’. Virtue and the Quiet Art of Scholarship: Reclaiming the University offers the framework within which to bridge the gap between ‘us’ and ‘them’ in relation to developments in the university sector, addressing the urgent need for a form of language that promotes unity over division.

For a recent review of Dr Pirrie’s book see:
Sophie Ward (2019): Virtue and the quiet art of scholarship: Reclaiming the university, Educational Philosophy and Theory, DOI: 10.1080/00131857.2019.1666711

For any inquiries and to confirm attendance (free, but for catering purposes), please email: Dr David Lewin: david.lewin@strath.ac.uk