IEPPP Current Students and Alumni

Current MPhil/PhD

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Colin Austin

I am currently in my second year of what may turn out to be an MPhil or PhD - haven't decided which yet. It is on work in utopian societies, with a large part of the focus on nineteenth century utopian socialism. I am researching a large range of both utopian and 'theory of work' writing, both novels and theory - everyone from HG Wells to Hannah Arendt. Aside from utopian writing, I am interested in any philosophy which is unscientific, subjective, emotional, and bombastic. I took my undergraduate degree at Lancaster a few years ago, and am now based on the outskirts of Windermere. Email Colin

Anne Chapman

I am now doing a PhD in IEPPP on 'Ethical and Epistemological Issues in Technology Assessment'. I am using the regulation of chemicals as a case study and have become very interested in the work of Hannah Arendt. I live in Lancaster and in May 2003 became a Green Party City Councillor, for
Castle ward. Email Anne

Maialen Galarraga

My research interest in on the area of Philosophy of Technology. Although I am primarily interested in the humanitarian perspective of the philosophy of technology (mostly the Frankfurt School critique of instrumental rationality—specifically Herbert Marcuse) I also want to look at what the analytical perspective has to say on these topics. I have looked at the heideggerian philosophy of technology and the discussions that emerge from it and have also entered the topic of democracy, technology, totalitarianism… where the contribution of Critical Theory has been significant. I am also hoping that somewhere alone the line I’ll be able to introduce something on the environment by maybe comparing Marcuse´s idea of “nature as a subject” and the Habermasian failure to take the environment into account.
Yes, somewhere around these ideas I am hoping to find a coherent topic for a Phd.
I come from the Basque Country and like Lancaster, socialising, painting, using a bike, organic gardening, and I also get angry with the stupidity of global politics… my email

Mei-Fang Fan

My PhD research is ‘Nuclear Waste Management and Environmental Justice in Taiwan’. It explores issues of risks and environmental justice surrounding nuclear waste dilemmas in a plural society. Most Taiwanese low-level nuclear waste is temporarily stored on Orchid Island, the homeland of one of the ten aboriginal tribes in Taiwan - the Yami. I’ve done my fieldwork and found differing ways of framing risk issues and the multiple understanding of the concepts of environmental justice. I have become interested in environmental pragmatism and intercultural dialogue that might help to defuse the tension.
My email: Mei-Fang Fan

Steven Handyside

Steven holds a first class honours degree in Environmental Management and Technology and in 2003 completed the MA in Environment, Culture and Society (Research). He is interested in the ethical dimensions of biotechnology and nanotechnology. Steven wants to explore the human response to these technologies and sees in the western philosophical tradition valuable resources for understanding and articulating expressions of the ordinary person’s ethical consciousness. Of particular interest are nonconsequentialist concerns such as those about unnaturalness and about the motivations of the actors driving the development of technologies that entail interventions in the natural processes of creation. It is important that the representations made by the relevant ethics institutions properly reflect the perspectives held by members of the public in order that policies can claim democratic legitimacy. Through this agenda, Steven will be developing a fresh interdisciplinary approach to researching the ethical at the interface of philosophy, society and technology.
email Steven Handyside

Bruce Johnstone-Lowe

Greeting. My research combines a life long fascination with prehistory, Neolithic monuments and philosophy. In simple terms, I am researching the 'Oh Wow' factor of stone circles and the like. Specifically I am interested in the imaginative experience that can develop from visiting prehistoric monuments. Our imagination plays a considerable part in how we develop our sense of place, and what we take away with us as memories and impressions. During such visits, the imagination is subject to many influences, some internal and subjective, and some from the local environment. My aim is to maximise the pleasure and adventure of the imaginative experience, and to keep alive a sense of magic and romance at historic sites. Compare finding a ruined stone circle on a remote hillside, to a visit to Stonehenge. There is more of this, and some nice pictures on my web site I currently live in Wellington, Somerset, where I have just bought a very modest house. I lecture on road transport management and drive lorries for a living, Most nights I play in English and Irish music sessions, and go to Irish set and Morris dancing for fun. I enjoy hill walking, traveling, photography and charity shops. I am very sociable, and if you would like to share interests, please get in touch. Bruce

Donna Ladkin

I am an American of mixed-race heritage (Native American, African American, German and French) who has lived in the UK for the past twenty years. My first degree was in music and philosophy, and I subsequently undertook a PhD in organisational behaviour and have taught at Cranfield School of Management and the University of Bath for the past twelve years. I'm currently a Visiting Fellow at Bath where I teach and supervise students in the Centre for Action Research in Professional Practice.

Francis Robinson

The topic of my research is: The relevance of the study of complex systems to environmental ethics.
I have been looking at some of the research into 'attractors', networks and simple computer programs in order to try to better understand the properties of those systems that are classified as 'complex' systems. At present biological systems, 'mind' and language are all believed to be complex systems. It seemed to me, therefore, that the study of complex systems might have considerable relevance to environmental ethics. In particular, I am hoping to look at problems with the epistemological basis for the use of animals in experimentation.

Elizabeth Vander Meer

I am in the final year (let’s hope!) of a PhD and my research involves conceptions of ecology and sustainability embraced in mainstream biodiversity protection (as exhibited in the CBD). My work includes an in-depth look at ecological theory and the work of Charles Darwin in particular, considered through an ecofeminist perspective (which will emphasize the need to acknowledge the historical). I ask the question, can ecology provide us with an understanding of how to protect biodiversity, utilizing what concepts? My exploration of limitations and possibilities in ecology applied to protection of biodiversity includes two case studies of biosphere reserves in Latin America.
I currently live in Edinburgh (have a part-time position at the university), and visit Lancaster about every six weeks for a meeting with my advisor. I’m originally from the States, but have spent much of the past six years in the UK, and in France (since 2000, my cat has been traveling with me and has now settled happily into life in Scotland!).

Fran Speed

I am a long-distance PhD living and working in London. My research focuses on the relationship that exists between ethics and aesthetics as it impinges in environmental deliberation. Although I take an analytical approach, since I am interested in the practical implications that the relationship holds for environmental policy and practice, it is pragmatic in intention. My research interest arises out of a concern for the way that the lay public’s often passionate dissent of environmental practices is frequently judged as subjective or irrational. In the absence of any serious engagement with the basis for such dissent a frequent outcome is to dismiss such concerns as inappropriate. In seeking to provide credence for these concerns, my research explores their cognitive basis. My research involves an exploration of perception, and the role that aesthetic sensibility plays in influencing value judgments.

I am currently employed as a sessional lecturer at the School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Birkbeck College, London University, where I teach environmental ethics, broadly construed, at MSc level. Prior to this I taught visual culture and philosophy of the internet and the New Technologies, at the school of Visual Communications, University of Central England. Although not actively engaged in Green Party politics any longer, I have stood as a parliamentary candidate in two general elections and several council elections in the London Borough of Bromley and assisted in the production of the Party Election Broadcast in 1993. In my spare time I continue to enjoy the diversion of writing TV and film scripts. For several years I worked as a freelance producer in film, television and radio, and am currently developing a documentary treatment for independent production based on a topical aspect of my research. I hold a first degree in Fine Art and a Masters in environmental philosophy gained at Lancaster University in 1998.

Email Fran

Elisa Aaoltola

Gordon Aindow

Edgar Arredondo

Hugh Browton

Jack Carter

Alan Dogherty

Richard Evanoff

Davey Garland

Gus Glaser

Michael Hannis

Wallace Heim

Fabio Fraccaroli

Angeliki Laoutari

Maria Monteiro-Soares

Jake Morris

Sally-Anne Notley

Fiona O'Neill 

Martin Pedersen

Hidenori Suzuki

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