Addressed to the Vice-Chancellor and Provost of Kingston University, and the Dean of the Kingston School of Art
2 April 2025
Dear Professors Spier, Laville, and Ure,
We are shocked and dismayed to learn of the proposed closure of the Centre for Research in Modern European Philosophy (CRMEP). While we acknowledge the financial challenges faced by all modern universities, we urge you in the strongest possible terms to reconsider this proposal.
The Australasian Society for Continental Philosophy (ASCP), established in 1995, represents researchers working in the field of Continental European philosophy across Australia, New Zealand, the South Pacific and Southeast Asia, and in disciplines ranging across the humanities and social sciences. Our Society promotes the interdisciplinary exchange of ideas inspired by the diverse traditions of European thought (such as phenomenology, existentialism, critical theory, hermeneutics, deconstruction and poststructuralism), and the development of productive links with educational institutions, government bodies, and marginalized communities within the wider Australasian public.
The CRMEP and its staff are well known to our Society. Collectively and individually, they have had, and continue to have, an enormous impact on the work of our members. Indeed, the CRMEP has perhaps the strongest concentration of research leaders in the field of Continental European philosophy anywhere in the world. They are not only highly cited, they have indelibly shaped the areas of inquiry in which they participate. Their contributions to the philosophical and broader intellectual landscape in the UK and internationally are unique and invaluable.
We express our unreserved support of the Open Letter from CRMEP researchers and students. We are deeply concerned about the negative repercussions the proposed closure of the CRMEP will have on the students and staff in your care, 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 Kingston University, which should be of concern to the Board of Governors, Senior Leadership Team and Academic Council. Finally, we fear that, should the University proceed with its proposal, an absolutely vital public good will be further undermined at a crucial moment in our collective history. At a time of political, technological, economic and ecological upheaval, we need the kind of critical thought nurtured by CRMEP more than ever.
Sincerely,
A/Prof. Charles Barbour, Chair of the ASCP
On behalf of the ASCP executive.