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Christopher Watkin

@drchriswatkin.bsky.social
358 followers 75 following 159 posts

A/Prof French & Francophone Studies, Monash University. Author: Michel Serres: Figures of Thought(2020); Biblical Critical Theory (2022); The State of Nature and the Shaping of Modernity (2025). Linktr.ee/christopherwatkin

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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
"As AI steamrollers over one profession after another, let us fling open the doors of our churches and be among the first to offer sanctuary to people who found their worth in their performance, and have just had it brutally ripped out of their chest." lnkd.in/p/g3yPwFkD
lnkd.in
Last week OpenAI released more than 700 AI-generated mathematical manuscripts, claiming progress on longstanding problems. Many of the claims still need checking, but it was the human reaction that…...
Last week OpenAI released more than 700 AI-generated mathematical manuscripts, claiming progress on longstanding problems. Many of the claims still need checking, but it was the human reaction that ...
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
AI can relieve toil, but it cannot replace the human work that makes a church a community. Silicon Spiritualities season 1 finale: YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fWY... Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/4Gu6... Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i...
youtube.com
AI and Everyday: What Are Some Practical Frameworks for Christians? [Silicon Spiritualities - Ep. 8]
YouTube video by The Gospel Coalition
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
In the latest episode of Silicon Spiritualities, Joshua Baru asks: *for whom* is AI good or bad? We discuss AI judges, hidden labour, digital colonialism, and why neighbour-love must reach the people our “frictionless” tools can make invisible. www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-Fn...
youtube.com
AI and Ethics: Can AI Promote Truth and the Common Good? [Silicon Spiritualities - Ep. 7]
YouTube video by The Gospel Coalition
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
The latest episode of Silicon Spiritualities explores how some of the limits AI promises to overcome are actually part of the goodness of being human. Dr Autumn Ridenour on finitude, rest, idolatry, aging, and why dependence is not a defect. www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLtG...
youtube.com
AI and Aging: The Grace of Limits [Silicon Spiritualities - Ep. 6]
YouTube video by The Gospel Coalition
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Can machines recognise emotion without feeling it? Rosalind Picard on AI companions, simulated affection, and why the real question is what sort of human relationships our technologies are helping us build. www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpOf...
youtube.com
AI and Emotion: Can Machines Feel? [Silicon Spiritualities - Ep. 5]
YouTube video by The Gospel Coalition
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
New episode of Silicon Spiritualities: What is creativity for when AI can make art in seconds? Brett McCracken on process, wisdom, attention, and why human making still matters. YouTube: youtu.be/BPBvtdK3tFc Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a... Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/5lbT...
youtu.be
AI and Art: What is Creativity For? [Silicon Spiritualities - Ep. 4]
YouTube video by The Gospel Coalition
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Latest episode of Silicon Spiritualities: What happens to human worth when AI becomes more intelligent, creative and economically useful than we are? Stephen Driscoll and I discuss identity as gift, “humanity of the gaps,” personhood, and more. www.youtube.com/watch?v=zr2U...
youtube.com
AI and the Image of God: What Does it Mean to be Human? [Silicon Spiritualities - Ep. 3]
YouTube video by The Gospel Coalition
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
Latest episode of Silicon Spiritualities: Michael Keller and I discuss prayer, sermons, human dignity, and Christian counter-formation in the age of AI. YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=j45x... Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a... Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/3Cz7...
youtube.com
AI and Formation: How Does AI Shape Our Loves? [Silicon Spiritualities - Ep. 2]
YouTube video by The Gospel Coalition
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
New podcast episode AI can write, but it cannot witness. It can imitate a voice, but it does not speak from somewhere. When it removes struggle from work, it may preserve the product while outsourcing our formation. Rachel Gilson on Silicon Spiritualities: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACp1...
youtube.com
AI and Work: What happens when AI can do your job better? [Silicon Spiritualities - Ep. 1]
YouTube video by The Gospel Coalition
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
AI may or may not be coming for our jobs, but it’s certainly coming for our anthropology. The key figure of our age may be the sovereign-slave: promised mastery over everything, only to be mastered by the systems that serve us. More here: www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/ai-s...
thegospelcoalition.org
How AI Makes Us Sovereign Slaves
If human dignity rests on intelligence, then the smartest machine wins. But if human dignity is a crowning gift from God, then no machine can out-compute it, automate it, or take it away.
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
It was such a pleasure having you on the show, Keith, and benefiting from your rich thinking in this area!
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
New podcast series + Discord server: Silicon Spiritualities Examines AI as a mirror of our hopes, desires, nightmares. Asks what AI reveals about work, trust, power, embodiment, and being human. 1st episode coming soon. Listen via The Gospel Coalition: www.thegospelcoalition.org/podcasts/sil...
thegospelcoalition.org
Introducing ‘Silicon Spiritualities’
Join Christopher Watkin as he and guests explore the deeper questions artificial intelligence raises about work, worship, truth, power, and what it means to be human.
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
"AI, Human Dignity, and the common good" A video response to Pope Loo XIV's encyclical Magnifica Humanitas. Themes: 1) What is AI building? 2) The difficulties of "dignity" 3) Why the common good is not the common utility www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VJx...
youtube.com
AI, Human Dignity, and the Common Good: a response to the Pope's Encyclical Magnifica Humanitas
YouTube video by Christopher Watkin
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
New SCRN episode Robert Sparrow on “Slaves to the Algorithms”, on algocracy, republican liberty, and whether AI-assisted government might threaten freedom by making political decisions harder to contest. Apple podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s... YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eDy...
youtube.com
Robert Sparrow, Slaves to the Algorithms? Algocracy and Republican Liberty
YouTube video by Social Contract Research Network
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Tomorrow: Laure Gillot-Assayag on “Rethinking the Social Contract: A Ricœurian Perspective”. Social Contract Research Network Zoom seminar Tuesday 12 May, 8pm Melbourne / 11am London / 6am NYC. Register: monash.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
monash.zoom.us
Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: SCRN seminar: Laure Gillot-Assayag, Rethinking the Social Contract: A Ricœurian Perspective. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about ...
This presentation examines the contribution of Paul Ricœur’s political philosophy to the social contract tradition. It shall explain how Ricœur’s notion of the “political paradox” highlights the funda...
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
Upcoming SCRN Seminar Mon 4 May, 8pm Melbourne, 11am London: Prof Robert Sparrow, "Slaves to the algorithms? Algocracy and republican liberty" Register: monash.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
monash.zoom.us
Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: SCRN seminar: Robert Sparrow, Slaves to the algorithms? Algocracy and republican liberty. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joi...
Increasingly, governments are relying on artificial intelligence to make, or inform, important decisions—a phenomenon that John Danaher has styled, “algocracy”. Republicanism implies that there are at...
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
New Social Contract Research Network video: Simon Angus, "Inclusive Economics: How Could AI Technologies Shape a New Inclusive Economy?" Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/0ELexia... Apple podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t... YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ymth...
open.spotify.com
Inclusive Economics: How Could AI Technologies Shape a New Inclusive Economy?, with Simon Angus
Spotify video
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
SCRN Zoom seminar today: Prof Simon Angus, "Inclusive Economics - How could AI technologies shape a new inclusive economy?" 27 April, 8pm Melbourne time | 11am London | 6am NYC Other time conversions: www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/c... Register here: monash.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
timeanddate.com
Time Zone Converter – Time Difference Calculator
Find the exact time difference with the Time Zone Converter – Time Difference Calculator which converts the time difference between places and time zones all over the world.
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Geoff Keeling's SCRN seminar is now available on YT/podcast. "Emerging Questions in AI Welfare" explored AI consciousness, the precautionary principle, and democratic consensus. Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/62Kx... Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t... YT: www.youtube.com/watch?v=y749...
open.spotify.com
Emerging Questions in AI Welfare, with Geoff Keeling
Spotify video
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Final chance to register for today’s seminar: “Emerging Questions in AI Welfare”. Dr Geoff Keeling (Google Research), on whether AI systems could ever be subjects of welfare Tue 31 March 2026 | 8pm Melbourne / 10am London More info + Zoom registration: monash.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
monash.zoom.us
Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: SCRN seminar: Geoff Keeling, Emerging Questions in AI Welfare. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.
This talk investigates whether artificial intelligence (AI) systems could ever be welfare subjects, understood as entities for which things can go better or worse. Some people argue that AIs could pla...
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 29/03/2026
SCRN Zoom seminar this coming week: Geoff Keeling (Staff Research Scientist, Google) "Emerging Questions in AI Welfare" Tu 31 March, 8pm Melbourne time; 10am London; other time conversions: www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/c... Register here: monash.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
monash.zoom.us
Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: SCRN seminar: Geoff Keeling, Emerging Questions in AI Welfare. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.
This talk investigates whether artificial intelligence (AI) systems could ever be welfare subjects, understood as entities for which things can go better or worse. Some people argue that AIs could pla...
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
AI is forcing some of the deepest human questions to the centre of our cultural conversation: What is a person? What is truth? What is work for? In June–July I’m teaching a 5-week online course “Artificial Intelligence and Christian Wisdom.” Details & registration: events.nd.edu.au/artificial-i...
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
Time and date for final SCRN AI seminar now set: Robert Sparrow, Monash University, "Slaves to the algorithms? Algocracy and republican liberty" Monday 4 May 2026, 8pm Melbourne time. 11am London. More info: www.monash.edu/arts/languag... Register: monash.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
monash.edu
Events and media
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
Pleased to share Peter Johnson’s new book on Michel Serres’ ecological thought. For readers interested in Serres, ecological jurisprudence, political ecology, technology, and hope, this looks like a very welcome and accessible introduction. www.amazon.com/Philosophy-T...
amazon.com
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
To accompany the launch of my new book... an article on the Fifteen Eighty Four blog: "The State of Nature: Historical Fable, Haunting Future" cambridgeblog.org/2026/02/the-... Book launch details: bsky.app/profile/drch...
cambridgeblog.org
The State of Nature: Historical Fable, Haunting Future
If the last year of geopolitical upheaval has taught us anything, it is that the international order is far more fragile than we cared to imagine.
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
5/5 12 May: Laure Gillot-Assayag — Rethinking the Social Contract: A Ricœurian Perspective. Institutions, justice, and the “political paradox.” Register: monash.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
monash.zoom.us
Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: SCRN seminar: Laure Gillot-Assayag, Rethinking the Social Contract: A Ricœurian Perspective. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about ...
This presentation examines the contribution of Paul Ricœur’s political philosophy to the social contract tradition. It shall explain how Ricœur’s notion of the “political paradox” highlights the funda...
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
4/5 27 Apr: Simon Angus (Monash): Inclusive Economics. AI as institutional infrastructure shaping participation in economic life. Register: monash.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
monash.zoom.us
Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: SCRN seminar: Simon Angus, Inclusive Economics - How could AI technologies shape a new inclusive economy?. After registering, you will receive a confirmatio...
Sometime in 2017, Google researchers developed and demonstrated the 'transformer' architecture, a fundamentally new way to overcome the human--computer representation problem. Fast forward to 2026 and...
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
3/5 Robert Sparrow (Monash): Slaves to the Algorithms? Algocracy & Republican Liberty. Does AI decision-making in government threaten political liberty? Date/time tbc. Details: www.monash.edu/arts/languag...
monash.edu
Events and media
You are here:
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
2/5 24 Mar: Geoff Keeling (Google Research): Emerging Questions in AI Welfare. Could AI ever be a welfare subject? What would we owe digital minds? Register: monash.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
monash.zoom.us
Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: SCRN seminar: Geoff Keeling, Emerging Questions in AI Welfare. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.
This talk investigates whether artificial intelligence (AI) systems could ever be welfare subjects, understood as entities for which things can go better or worse. Some people argue that AIs could pla...
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
1/5 The increasing prominence of AI and LLMs in society raises profound and pressing questions for the social contract and ideas of the common good. The SCRN has an upcoming Zoom seminar series exploring these questions. Details + free registration links: www.monash.edu/arts/languag...
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
What a frustration that they ended up in the spam folder! I hope you enjoy the next meeting.
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
6/6 If you’re curious about how our origin stories shape our sense of who we are and where we’re going, please come along (in person or online). #PoliticalTheory #IntellectualHistory
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
5/6 SYDNEY (with online option) — Thu 9 April, 1–4pm University of Notre Dame Australia + Microsoft Teams Author-meets-critics with Dr Sandra Field, Prof Peter Harrison & @jessicawhyte.bsky.social . Register: events.nd.edu.au/state-of-nat...
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
4/6 MELBOURNE — Fri 20 March, 3–4pm University of Melbourne (Parkville), 407 Babel Building Talk: Rousseau + Foucault on the state of nature as a “regime of truth”. Details: australiansocietyforfrenchstudies.com/2026/02/16/m...
australiansocietyforfrenchstudies.com
Melbourne French Studies Seminar Series (March)
🗓️When: Friday 20 March, 3–4pm 📍Where: 407 Babel Building, The University of Melbourne – Parkville Campus “Nature as Norm: Rousseau, Foucault, and the State of Nature as a Regime of Truth” The vari…
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
3/6 If you’d like to explore how early modern stories still echo in contemporary debates, I’d love to invite you to one of two events connected to my new book "The State of Nature and the Shaping of Modernity": www.cambridge.org/core/books/s...
cambridge.org
The State of Nature and the Shaping of Modernity
Cambridge Core - History of Ideas and Intellectual History - The State of Nature and the Shaping of Modernity
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
2/6 Unpacking those stories gives us a powerful lens for understanding the complex forces shaping our contemporary political and cultural landscapes.
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
1/6 Two upcoming book launch events... The stories we tell about human origins quietly shape our assumptions and intuitions about fundamental values like freedom and equality, and about how we relate to each other and to the natural world.
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
It was so lovely to talk to you too, Ben! And all the very best for the exhibition about the book at Lancaster University Library.
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Oh no! I'm sorry. Petra has been quite responsive to mine. Have you still not heard back?
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
I built this system to help my university students master their vocabulary lists more effectively. It's free to anyone. It combines a spaced repetition algorithm with AI-assisted formative translation feedback. Supports many languages. www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLnh... #AcademicSky #OpenAccess
youtube.com
Spaced Repetition & AI: A Data-Driven Approach to Vocabulary Acquisition
YouTube video by Christopher Watkin
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
Calling Michel Serres scholars: Just heard about a new reading group "a small, friendly bunch", sharing an interest in theology and philosophy, who are getting together on Zoom (12th of Feb at 3 pm CET) to discuss The Natural Contract. email Petra at ctec@ehs.se to get a Zoom link
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
Had a wonderful time recently with the faculty and students at Singapore Bible College! Just posted the videos of 3 talks: 1️⃣Diagnosing Westernisation through Luke 15 2️⃣Subversive Fulfilment: Bridging the Divide 3️⃣Incarnation: The View from Somewhere www.thinkingthroughthebible.com/video-beyond...
thinkingthroughthebible.com
VIDEO. Beyond the “View from Nowhere”: Gospel, Culture, and the Logic of Incarnation
I recently had the privilege of visiting Singapore Bible College to give a series of talks about the cultural contextualisation of the gospel. I want to express my deep gratitude for the incredibly…
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
If you happen to be in Singapore on January 12, or want to hop online, I'll be giving an address entitled "Beyond Western Defaults: Diagonalizing Scripture and Culture" Singapore Bible College. 2-4pm. English with Chinese Translation Register: www.sbc.edu.sg/beyond-weste...
sbc.edu.sg
Beyond Western Defaults: Diagonalizing Scripture and Culture – Singapore Bible College
This lecture dismantles long-held theological dichotomies shaped by Western philosophy. Watkin’s biblical re-evaluation offers a unifying way forward and opens space for Asian scholars to pursue new c...
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
Video of my Stob lecture at @calvinseminary last week: "The Human Remains: Fragility and Fulfilment in the Age of Artificial Intelligence" www.youtube.com/watch?v=TM1oEhA8ou8
youtube.com
Christopher Watkin and AI | Stob Lecture 2025
YouTube video by Calvin Theological Seminary
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
Biblical Critical Theory is featured in Amazon’s Black Friday sale this year. amzn.to/4oUrtSY It is currently 55% off but pricing may fluctuate during the sale, which ends 12/2.
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 08/11/2025
Whether you're an AI boomer, doomer or scoffer, we need to work out the right questions to ask about genAI while it's still in its current horseless carriage phase. Last week I joined a team of AI industry experts, researchers and entrepreneurs in Seoul to try and figure it out. aiandfaith.org
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
Social Contract Research Network 🚨New Seminar🚨 Dr Mary Townsend "Simone de Beauvoir and the 'Adventurer'—Navigating the Return to the Common Good" Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/18MU... YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=RT6H...
open.spotify.com
Simone de Beauvoir and the “Adventurer”—Navigating the Return to the Common Good, with Mary Townsend
Spotify video
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
Social Contract Research Network Zoom seminar Tomorrow... Mary Townsend, "Simone de Beauvoir and the 'Adventurer'—Navigating the Return to the Common Good" Tu 4 Nov., 8pm Melbourne time. London: 10am; NYC: 5am. Register here for the Zoom meeting: monash.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
monash.zoom.us
Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: SCRN seminar: Mary Townsend, Simone de Beauvoir and the “Adventurer”—Navigating the Return to the Common Good. After registering, you will receive a confirm...
If return to a more robust social contract has become necessary, what do we do with the individuals who willfully step outside of it? In her Ethics of Ambiguity, Simone de Beauvoir describes five para...
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 24/10/2025
Yesterday I had the joy of hearing graphic novelist Clément Baloup speak about his remarkable work at the Monash European Languages Annual Lecture. Huge thanks to Dr Charlotte Mackay for organising , Dr Tess Do for coordinating, and sponsors @monashuniversity.bsky.social & @unimelb.bsky.social !
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Christopher Watkin @drchriswatkin.bsky.social · 23/10/2025
In April 2026, my book "The State of Nature and the Shaping of Modernity" will be launched at a symposium in Sydney, with Sandra Leonie Field, Peter Harrison and Jessica Whyte speaking (thank you all!). In-person and online attendance. Rego page: events.nd.edu.au/state-of-nat...
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