13 July 2026
Dear Professors Seaton and Blackford, Doctor Frame and Members of Senate,
The Executive Committee of the Australasian Society for Continental Philosophy (ASCP) is shocked and dismayed to learn of the University of Dundee’s plan to discontinue Philosophy as a named degree from 2027. While we acknowledge the financial challenges faced by modern universities, we urge you in the strongest possible terms to reconsider this proposal.
The ASCP, established in 1995, represents researchers working with the Continental European philosophical tradition across Australia, New Zealand, the South Pacific and Southeast Asia, and in disciplines ranging across the full breadth of the Humanities and Social Sciences. Our Society promotes the interdisciplinary exchange of ideas inspired by the diverse traditions of European Philosophy, and the development of productive links with educational institutions and government bodies.
The staff of the Philosophy Programme at the University of Dundee, and its associated Scottish Centre for Continental Philosophy, are very well known to our Society. Collectively and individually, they have had, and continue to have, an enormous impact on the work of ASCP members. They are research leaders who have shaped and continue to shape the areas of inquiry our Society was set up to promote.
Philosophy at Dundee also has a stellar reputation for the quality of its teaching. It is the only programme specializing in Continental European Philosophy in Scotland, making its offerings unique. As the University Executive will be aware, it is also highly ranked against key metrics in the Complete University Guide, the Guardian University Guide and the Times University Rankings. Finally, the programme is highly cost effective. According to the Guardian University Guide 2026, its student-to-staff ratio is 19.8, one of the highest in the UK, even as it produces graduates who ascend to key social and intellectual roles, such as Amanda Askell, an AI Ethicist and one of Time magazine’s Top 100 most influential people in the world in 2024. Given these facts, we find it incomprehensible that the programme is currently under threat.
We express our unreserved support of the Petition to Save the Philosophy Programme at Dundee University. We are deeply concerned about the negative repercussions the proposed closure will have on students and staff, as well as on our discipline as a whole. We firmly believe the closure, should it go ahead, we will do lasting harm to the reputation of the University of Dundee. Finally, we fear that, should the University proceed with its proposal, a vital public good will be undermined. At a time of political, technological, economic and ecological upheaval, tackling the major cultural and social challenges of our time will require the kind of critical and engaged thought nurtured by the Philosophy Programme at the University of Dundee.
Sincerely,
A/Prof. Charles Barbour, Chair of the ASCP
On behalf of the ASCP executive.