Associate Professor Mary Zournazi

How do we see and act justly in the world? In what ways can we ethically respond to social and economic crisis? How do we address the desperation that exists in the new forms of violence and atrocity? These are all questions at the heart of Justice and Love, a philosophical dialogue on how to imagine and act in a more just world by theologian Rowan Williams and philosopher Mary Zournazi. Looking at different religious and philosophical traditions, Williams and Zournazi argue for the re-invigoration and enriching of the language of justice and, by situating justice alongside other virtues, they extend our everyday vocabularies on what is just. Drawing on examples ranging from the Paris Attacks, the Syrian War, and the European Migrant Crisis to Brexit and the US Presidential elections, Williams and Zournazi reflect on justice as a process: a condition of being, a responsiveness to others, rather than a cold distribution of fact. By doing so, they explore the love and patience needed for social healing and the imagination required for new ways of relating and experiencing the world.

Engaging with contemporary issues responsibly and creatively can become a very abstract activity. We can sometimes find ourselves talking in terms of theories and philosophies which bear very little resemblance to how life is actually lived and experienced. In Thinking in the World, Jill Bennett and Mary Zournazi curate writings and conversations with some of the most influential thinkers in the world and ask them not just why we should engage with the world, but also how we might do this. Rather than simply thinking about the world, the authors examine the ways in which we think in and with the world. Whether it's how to be environmentally responsible, how to think in film, or how to dance with a non-human, the need to engage meaningfully in a lived way is at the forefront of this collection. Thinking in the World showcases some of the most compelling arguments for a philosophy in action. Including wholly original, never-before-released material from Michel Serres, Alphonso Lingis, and Mieke Bal, the different chapters in this book constitute dialogues and approachable essays, as well as impassioned arguments for a particular way of approaching thinking in the world.

In this chapter, Mary Zournazi introduces the role of art and poetry in responding to violence, trauma, and social crisis as discussed in the following three contributions. In her own chapter, Mary Zournazi reflects on art as an alternative to retaliation. She explores how artistic expression fosters reflection and justice, drawing from her work Inventing Peace (2013) and Dogs of Democracy (2016). Bruce Clarke examines the Rwandan genocide, showing how his own artworks like Upright Men and The Garden of Memory create spaces for mourning and social healing. Philip McDonagh highlights poetry's political significance, arguing that it reshapes distorted realities and fosters diplomacy. Together, these contributions reveal how art and poetry offer alternative narratives, resist cycles of violence, and nurture the conditions for peace.

This paper opens out some philosophical questions on the accelerated use of technology in our teaching environments as a result of the global pandemic and it considers the ongoing implications for education. Revisiting some of the work of Martin Heidegger and his questions concerning technology in conjunction with what I call a dialogical approach to teaching and learning, this paper explores how we can create and think with technologies to consider the possibilities and limitations of technological use in our educational contexts. Furthermore, it reflects on some questions that we may need to address for pedagogical care and responsibility as we move toward a future of learning.