Katy Fulfer

Philosophy in the world

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A Painful Message

This opinion piece appeared in the Globe and Mail on January 24. With permission, I am re-posting it here, the day the sentence decision will be issued. You can listen to my January 28 interview on the CBC's Morning Edition, or watch a video interview here. (I wasn't warned there would be video! I had come straight from the gym! Hopefully there isn't smoothie all over my face). For further reading, see We Need to Talk About the Backlash--What is To Be Done?, a report prepared for the … [Read more...]

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Inaccessible Tables

This is the final installment of "Power and Pleasure at the Dinner Table." Find part 1, An Invitation, part 2, The Party Table, and part 3, The Community Table, in previous posts. I intuitively feel the pull of how eating together can be pleasurable, a site of connection. Yet I suspect many of us likely have examples of exclusion when it comes to sharing food with others. Sometimes feelings of exclusion indicate opportunities for new experiences, such as being an omnivore at a vegan potluck. … [Read more...]

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An Invitation to Power and Pleasure at the Dinner Table

Café-Philo Kitchener was founded by Hannah Gardiner in 2020 with the aim of promoting openness, tolerance, and critical thought within the local community. This summer,Café-Philo Kitchener hosted a Food/Sex/Philosophy fest to collectively explore the age-old intersection of food & sex in the cultural imagination. I was delighted to participate in the Food/Sex/Philosophy fest by giving a talk called "Power and Pleasure at the Dinner Table." Connections between embodiment, pleasure, … [Read more...]

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World-building through stories

Once upon a time in book club . . .   I was surprised when a person in my book club expressed an anti-feminist sentiment. I had forgotten that this person had problems with (or, perhaps more charitably, misconceptions about) feminist politics.   Imagine that the person in my book club habitually, rather than infrequently, expresses views that I interpret as anti-feminist. If it were not for book club, I likely would not choose to spend time with them. That’s not how I want to spend my down … [Read more...]

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Running with Arendt

My name is Janet. I’m an Applied Philosophy PhD student at the University of Waterloo. I’m an advocate for people with addiction. And I’m a runner. Running doesn’t quite fit in with the other descriptors. When I meet new people, I get asked about what I do, where I’m from, or what I hope to do after I graduate. Running, by comparison, is something I only talk about with people who know me more personally. Friends and family are the only ones that know, for example, that I got ‘serious’ about … [Read more...]