ALEX catalogue of electronic texts
http://www.infomotions.com/alex/
For those eager to locate electronic versions of major English and American literary or Western philosophical works, a good place to look is the ALEX Catalogue of Electronic Texts. Developed by Eric Morgan (North Carolina State University), the catalogue is a substantial search engine offering access to writings from over 100 different western authors, primarily from the seventeenth to twentieth centuries, but with a few Aristotelian and Augustinian works thrown in for good measure. ALEX has a collection development policy which in summary defines its scope as public domain texts (available in complete form), written in English, relevant to English, American Literature or Western Philosophy, and classed as 'great literature'. On the last point the editor is guided by the inclusion of the work within such reference works as the Oxford Companions or the Norton Anthologies. ALEX contains about 140 MB of texts (the actual number of distinct works is not easily available). The selection of works is eclectic at best, but it is difficult to imagine undergraduate students not encountering a sizable portion of these authors during their academic careers. The catalogue itself may be searched by author and/or title, date, keyword, and whole volumes (which can often be very large) instantly read. Texts can be selected, built into corpora, and then further searched. Results are in the form of records which give details about the original publication date, any subsequent copyright date, subject keywords, and its location (both original and archive locations). Morgan has also gone out of his way to include additional features that make the texts more functional and portable. A number of the works are accompanied by an electronic concordance that will be welcomed by anyone trying to locate a particular theme or sentence. It is also possible to add the text to a personalisd online bookshelf; create transferable PDF-files; or even configure files to read on Palm-based PDAs (Personal Data Assistants).
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American memory from the Library of Congress
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html
The American memory website aims to provide electronic access to holdings at the Library of Congress which relate to the United States. The material on the site includes photographs, manuscripts, rare books, maps, recorded sound and moving pictures. There are currently over ninety collections on the site covering a broad range of topics. It is possible to search across the entire collection or to search individual collections. It is also possible to browse the collections. The collections can be listed by keyword or title and a brief description is available for each collection. The collections can be listed alphabetically or alphabetically within subject groups or by material type. Online help on how to locate information from the collections and how to use the search engine is available on the site. The website has a list of FAQs providing further help and information about the project. The site also provides help for students and teachers on the resources available in the learning page section. The collections of the American memory site provide a fascinating and valuable resource.
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American philosophy
http://radicalacademy.com/amphindex.htm
American Philosophy is a subsite of The Radical Academy, a privately-maintained online platform for those with a general interest in philosophy. This site will best serve students, teachers and undergraduates who are focussing on American thought from the colonial period to World War II. The site posts short explanatory and introductory essays for various themes and periods, and sourced from a variety of texts. These essays have links embedded within them to explain further the lives of philosophers and their ideas. The site also provides primary texts online, with the foundational documents of different streams of American Philosophy classified under different headings. Among these are: American Political Philosophy; the American divines (from the Puritan, Calvinist, Quaker and Anglican traditions); the Founding Fathers, with a focus on Enlightenment influences; America's Coming of Age, featuring the figures who grappled with the abolition of slavery and early civil rights debates; American Transcendentalism; Late 19th Century thinkers; Idealism in America; American Pragmatism; and Recent American Thought. Navigation of these sources is clear and straightforward. However, there is no immediate bibliography for the site, which would have been useful.
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Andy Miah
http://www.andymiah.net/
The homepage of Andy Miah is a portal to an extensive range of Miah's thinking on the topics of ethics of biotechology and new technologies, specifically in relation their use in human augmentation. His website contains around 50 free full-text PDF papers and book chapters on such topics. Sample titles are: 'Justifying Human Enhancement: The Accumulation of Biocultural Capital'; 'Ethical Considerations of Human Performance Optimisation'; and 'Genetic Tests for Ability?: Talent Identification and the Value of an Open Future', among others. The author also maintains active weblogs on: Posthumanism; the medicalisation 'panic' around internet and videogame users; and bioethics in sports.
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Atlas Shrugged
http://www.atlasshrugged.com/
'Atlas Shrugged' is a free website providing materials for the study of Ayn Rand's 1957 novel of the same name. Published by the Ayn Rand Institute, this website provides an accessible study-guide to an influential novel that has sold six million copies and continues to sell 185,000 copies each year. The website is best used after a full reading of the novel, since it contains numerous 'plot spoilers'. The website contains a 'History of Atlas Shrugged', audio commentaries and recordings, a chapter-by-chapter video examination of the themes and ideas to be found in the novel, a full profile of Rand and her works, and links to a handful of selected external websites.
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Ayn Rand society
http://www.aynrandsociety.org/
The Ayn Rand Society (ARS) is "a professional society affiliated with the American Philosophical Association. ... Its aim is to foster the scholarly study by philosophers of the philosophical thought and writings of Ayn Rand." The ARS webpage has details of the ARS Steering Committee, past and current programmes, and details of obtaining membership - the ARS is only open to members of the American Philosophical Association. The ARS website has a reliable full-text essay, titled 'Ayn Rand and Objectivism: an overview', and a short selected biblilography of works by Ayn Rand. The ARS was established in 1987, and it will be a useful contact point for British scholars seeking to contact those working in U.S. universities on aspects of Rand's philosophy, her novels, and her ideas on art.
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Benedict de Spinoza's political treatise (Tractatus Politicus)
http://www.constitution.org/bs/poltr-00.htm
This website offers an English text of the Political Treatise (Tractatus Politicus), by Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677). The unfinished treatise was composed shortly before its author's death, and is considered one of the classics of political philosophy as well as an excellent example of rationalist argument. The translation provided here is by A.H. Gosset, and was first published in 1883. It includes a short preface by R. H. M. Elwes. The text is reproduced chapter by chapter, with a contents page allowing the user to jump straight to the relevant section. It forms part of the "Liberty Library" website of the Constitution Society.
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Bollettino telematico di filosofia politica
http://bfp.sp.unipi.it/hj05b/
This is the website of the Italian online philosophy journal Bollettino telematico di filosofia politica [Online journal of political philosophy]. The journal contains review articles, articles, bibliographies, book reviews, and teaching resources about political philosophy - both from historical and contemporary perspectives. Online since the year 2000, the site offers a number of articles in Italian on subjects such as: Kant and Foucault; Scaravelli's interpretation of Leibniz; feminist philosophy and John Locke. The website also contains links to other philosophy sites, and has a search engine for philosophy resources. In theory the journal publishes and accepts articles in a variety of European languages, but in practice virtually all articles are in Italian (with a handful in English and Spanish), as is the content of the site.
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Brooks blog, The
http://the-brooks-blog.blogspot.com/
The Brooks Blog is the work of Thom Brooks, Reader in Political and Legal Philosophy at the University of Newcastle. The blog is regularly updated, and posts include reflections on political news stories, links to online material that may be of interest to legal and political philosophers, details of job vacancies, and discussion of various higher education issues. The right hand side bar also offers useful lists of links to other blogs that may be of interest, to the home pages of philosophy journals, and to the websites of philosophers with research interests similar to Brooks's. A useful resource for those working in this area.
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Brown electronic article review service
http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Philosophy/bears/homepage.html
Brown electronic article review service (BEARS) is a fast-paced site reviewing publications in moral and political philosophy. Motivated by the notoriously slow nature of academic publishing, BEARS is committed to providing authors with quick responses to their work. The reviews are produced within six months of the publication of the articles and are kept under a thousand words long. Carrying both solicited and unsolicited reviews, BEARS allows academic debate something of the fluidity and suppleness of journalistic discussion. Simple to use and easy on the eye, the site is a welcome addition to electronic innovations in academic publishing. BEARS will be of interest to anyone working in philosophy and politics.
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Budhi : a journal of ideas and culture
http://www.philjol.info/index.php/budhi
'Budhi: a journal of ideas and culture' is a cross-disciplinary refereed ejournal. At February 2009 there is one full-text issue online, although this is "Vol.9, No.1", from 2005. The journal aims to... "define and further develop the practices of thought in the fields of philosophy, theology, literature, culture, the social sciences, and the arts", and is published in English from Manila University in the Philippines. Articles are offered in PDF format. Example titles from the first issue are: 'Continental Philosophy: Towards the future'; 'Reimagining the Intervention Narrative: Complicity, Globalization, and Humanitarian Discourse'; and 'Notes on American Cultural Imperialism', among others. The journal also publishes poetry. There are details of the editor, Editorial Board, open access policy, and submissions procedure. Since no additional issues have been added since 2005, yet the stated frequency is "three times a year", it is possible the journal has effectively ceased publication online.
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Capabilities measurement project
http://www.open.ac.uk/ikd/projects_capabilitiesmeasurement.shtml
This short Web page describes the AHRC-funded ‘Capabilities Measurement Project’ at the Open University’s Centre for Innovation, Knowledge and Development (IKD). This project builds on previous research into freedom and decision making. The project aims to operationalise Amartya Sen's capabilities approach by developing ways in which capabilities can be measured and creating datasets providing capability indicators across a wide range of life domains. The Web page lists publications and presentations associated with the project.
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Carnegie council
http://www.cceia.org/
Established in 1914, the Carnegie Council is an independent, non-partisan organization dedicated to research and education in ethics and international policy. The site provides access to extensive resources produced by the Council related to human rights, armed conflict, reconciliation, global justice, the environment, and international ethics. Resources available include articles and book reviews stemming from the Council's many publications (e.g. 'Ethics and International Affairs' and 'Human Rights Dialogue'), as well as various classroom tools. Many abstracts and some full length articles from the Council's publications are available online. This site is an excellent resource for students of applied ethics and it is very well presented.
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Catoblepas : revista crítica del presente
http://www.nodulo.org/ec/
El Catoblepas (ISSN 1579-3974) is a peer reviewed monthly electronic journal that is concerned with contemporary cultural and area studies in general, but with particular emphasis on issues within the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking world. The journal's scope is broad, publishing articles on philosophy (the journal's main focus); literary and film criticism; politics; language; and television and the media. Users will find articles on, for example, the Spanish language in the US; social interpretations of Don Quixote; liberalism, war and terrorism in Colombia; and foreign intervention in the Spanish Civil War. Additionally, the journal publishes articles from broader, more comparative perspectives, with particular interest in materialist philosophical approaches to culture and politics. Free subscription is available. The site makes use of frames.
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Center for the study of the great ideas
http://www.thegreatideas.org/
The website for the Center of the Study of the Great Ideas aims to provide an online presence that furthers the work of the Center's mission to prove that 'philosophy is everybody's business'. Addressing the questions as to what we should seek in life and how we should go about our search sums up the life and work of Dr. Mortimer J. Adler (1902 - 2001), who founded the Center and whose academic credentials include the post of Professor Emeritus at the University of Chicago. The site aims to make the ideas of Dr. Adler widely available and while membership options at a range of prices are offered, the site contains a sufficient amount of open access material to provide comprehensive introductory insights. Under the headings such as 'The Great Ideas', 'The Great Books' and 'Liberal Education', the basic concepts of the Center are introduced fully, with a biography of Dr. Adler and a useful range of links. A search engine is available, which will yield results when searched by author name or subject. This is a wide-ranging site, with a large amount of thought-provoking material.
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Complete site on Mahatma Gandhi, The
http://www.mkgandhi.org/
This website holds a large selection of materials on the life, teachings and philosophy of the Indian political leader, Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948). There is a useful timeline which chronicles the important events in his life; an online version of his autobiography and several other books and articles written by him; a biography and papers and poems on him; a number of speeches, correspondences and quotations which documented his views on peace and non-violence; and an interesting collection of photographs capturing different phases of his life. The site is well-organised and is suitable for academic use.
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Cosmos and history : the journal of natural and social philosophy
http://cosmosandhistory.org/
Cosmos and History (ISSN 1832-9101) is a recent peer-reviewed, open-access journal of natural and social philosophy. Its focus is on what it perceives as the otherwise marginalised discussion of humankind's place as social, political and cultural entities within the cosmos. The range of topics thus covered is broad, from archaeology and economics, through to ethics, critical theory, and psychoanalysis. Thinkers discussed include: Georg Hegel (1770-1831); Martin Heidegger (1889-1976); and Alain Badiou (1937-), to whom an entire issue is devoted. The journal is open to the work of philosophically-inclined writers from all disciplines, although potential contributors should look in the 'About' section under Policies to check for subject-specific special issues that may be coming up. Full-text articles for all extant issues are available in PDF format, and a search facility is provided. The Register section gives the opportunity receive email alerts of new issues, or to participate in the peer-review process.
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Cultural logic : an electronic journal of Marxist theory and practice
http://clogic.eserver.org/
Cultural Logic is an ejournal of Marxist theory, practice and culture. The journal is academic in origin. However, Cultural Logic is committed not just to understanding the world, but changing it too. Featured articles in the journal encompass discussions of the health of Marxism in the wake of recent post-structuralist critiques, as well as more localised interventions in politics. Cultural logic, then, is a fascinating hybrid - part high-theory journal, part call to action. As such, it will be essential reading for anyone interested in contemporary radical movements, or working in theory or politics. Access to past issues, dating back to the journal's beginnings in 1997, are available, along with links and announcements, a search facility, and submission information.
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Cultural notes
http://www.libertarian.co.uk/lapubs/cultn/culindex.htm
Cultural Notes is a full-text ejournal produced by the UK's Libertarian Alliance. At May 2009 there are 54 issues freely available, with text as either HTML or PDF. Example article titles include: 'Tolkein's Ring: An Allegory for the Modern State'; 'Government Against the People In the USA: Reflections on the Documentary Film - Waco: The Rules of Engagement'; Roger Scruton's article 'Against Deconstruction'; 'Romanticism and Its Enemies in Twentieth Century Cinema'; 'Collectivism Versus Romanticism in the Early Cinema: Sergei Eisenstein and the Mass-Hero'; and 'Life, Liberty and the Stars: The Ideological Significance of Science Fiction', among many others. Articles are available as PDF files. This journal will be useful for those seeking articles offering a libertarian perspective on popular culture, music and the arts.
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Culture machine : generating research in culture and theory
http://www.culturemachine.net/
Culture Machine is an initiative which seeks to advance research and scholarship in culture and theory. For this, they provide an open access international peer-reviewed electronic journal dedicated to cultural studies (ISSN: 1465-4121). It publishes articles and reviews relating to British, Australian and American work in culture and theory that extends the boundaries of its field (but it also welcomes submissions outside these areas). The ejournal is published annually, whilst reviews are published on an on-going basis. All contents are freely available from this website. A section called 'InterZone' is a supplement to the electronic journal, publishing new and experimental research all year round. Each Culture Machine ejournal has a theme. Recent themes have included: Biopolitics; Community; the e-Issue (future of electronic literature; e-archive project; art history; literary ghosts); the Ethico-Political Issue (politics, ethics, radical democracy, aesthetics); Virologies: Culture and Contamination (poesis, atopoesis, autopoethics; nanotechnology; science fiction; artificial life); the University Culture Machine (Jacques Derrida; literature and philosophy; deconstruction; hypertext; future of humanities; academic publishing). A further supplement is a cultural studies electronic archive (CSeARCH) which provides visitors with access to other resources in this area. The website also includes detailed information about the editorial board and the submission process.
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Disability and disadvantage : re-examining topics in moral and political philosophy
http://parrcenter.unc.edu/events/seminars/disabilityconference/
This website describes an AHRC-sponsored workshop ‘Disability and Disadvantage: Re-examining Topics in Moral and Political Philosophy’. The workshop, which took place in 2007, aimed to advance the moral and philosophical discussion of disability and disadvantage beyond the traditional themes of quality of life and decisions over bearing healthy children. In doing so, it hoped to use considerations of disability to derive important insights overlooked by mainstream discourses in mainstream philosophy. The website lists the workshop programme and participants, but unfortunately access to discussion papers is restricted by password.
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Diversity syllabi project
http://www.apaonline.org/governance/committees/diversitysyllabiproject/inde
The American Philosophical Association (APA) Diversity Syllabi Project Web page offers a collection of sample syllabi for philosophy courses focusing on various aspects of the theme of diversity. Specific topics include: African American Philosophy; American Indian Philosophy; Asian Philosophy; Feminist Philosophy; Philosophical Perspectives on Disability Studies; Race and Multiculturalism; Peace and Social Justice/Philosophy of Law; and Gay and Lesbian Philosophy. Much of the material is hosted on site, but there are also a few links to external sources (some of which, unfortunately, are broken). The APA hopes that this site will encourage other instructors to develop courses of their own in these various fields, or to incorporate elements from these topics into more general philosophy courses.
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Dogma
http://dogma.free.fr/
Dogma is an electronic journal that publishes articles and reviews in the areas of philosophy, psychoanalysis, critical theory, political theory, aesthetics, and sociology. Most of the articles appear here in French, but there is also some material in English and German. All articles are fully downloadable and freely available. In addition to the papers, there is a broad selection of reviews of recent publications in the aforementioned fields. There is also an extensive bibliography of a selection of contemporary authors, as well as a sophisticated search facility. In sum, this is a very well-designed, user-friendly Web resource that offers a substantial range of high quality material.
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Electronic enlightenment
http://www.e-enlightenment.com/
Electronic Enlightenment is a substantial scholarly project of the University of Oxford's Humanities Division, available online via Oxford University Press. This subscription resource offers unrivalled online access to correspondence from the long 18th century (approximately 1688 to 1815, though some earlier and later materials are included). At time of writing, over 53,000 letters and other documents from almost 6,000 correspondents were available, with twice yearly updates promised. The authors include great thinkers such as John Locke; David Hume; Jeremy Bentham; and Adam Smith; plus a host of other scholars; politicians; writers; artists; churchmen; members of the professions; and society figures. The letters are taken from the best critical editions, and feature nearly 230,000 scholarly annotations. Works in a variety of languages (including Italian, French, and German in addition to English) are available, and some of the material is previously unpublished. Users can browse the collection, or make use of the sophisticated search tools. Although still in its early stages, this project should prove a valuable resource to the study of the 18th century across numerous disciplines.
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Ernest Gellner resource site
http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/gellner/
The Ernest Gellner Resource Site is maintained by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), where Gellner (1925-1995) was a Professor of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method for twenty-two years, between 1962 and 1984. The resources available here are wide ranging in nature, and cover all aspects of Gellner's work. These include, among other things: a bibliography of Gellner's work spanning from the 1950s to the 1990s; a collection of reviews of his books; and an assembly of quotes from his work. Visitors can read a small number of articles and excerpts from his better known books like 'Nation and Nationalism' (1983) and 'Conditions of Liberty: Civil Society and Its Rivals' (1994). The site also includes a biography, obituaries and access to relevant online resources.
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