The End of the West - Associate Professor Sean Meighoo
The meaning of life and other inconveniences - Philosophy in everyday life - The End of the West
Professor Nicole Anderson engages in conversation with Sean Meighoo who is Associate Professor and Chair of Comparative Literature at Emory University. He is author of 'The End of the West and Other Cautionary Tales' (Columbia UP, 2016) and 'Postcolonial Derrida' (Edinburgh UP, 2026). Meighoo's work has also appeared in the journals 'Small Axe', 'Cultural Critique', 'Journal for Critical Animal Studies', 'Humanimalia', 'Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and the Environment', 'Journal of World Philosophies', and 'Derrida Today' as well as in the volumes 'Nation Dance: Religion, Identity, and Cultural Difference in the Caribbean' (Indiana UP, 2001) and 'Beastly Morality: Animals as Ethical Agents' (Columbia UP, 2015).
Most historical accounts of "the West" take it for granted that the guiding principles of the Western tradition - reason, progress, and freedom - have been passed down directly from ancient Greece to modern Europe, evolving in isolation from all non-Western cultures. Today, many political analysts and cultural critics maintain that the Western tradition is fast approaching its end, for better or worse, as it becomes more and more integrated with non-Western cultures in an increasingly globalized world. In his new book Meighoo extends further this critique of the historical accounts of the West, by exploring the effects of post/coloniality through diverse philosophical and literary figures.
About The Meaning of Life and Other Inconveniences - Philosophy in every day life. In conversations with Professor Nicole Anderson.
Nicole Anderson engages in conversation with a number of leading international and national philosophical thinkers and intellectuals on the meaning of life. Covering topics as diverse as technology, music, religion, animals, psychology, life and death, the series explores fundamental questions about what it means to be alive, and what gives us meaning.
The series kicked off in October 2025 with an inaugural discussion with Professor David Wills around questions of what constitutes the meanings of life and death. This was followed by a conversation with Mark Swivel in November 2025 on the rules that might provide foundations to build meaning and purpose,
Professor Nicole Anderson - series host
Nicole Anderson is Professor at Macquarie University, Sydney; affiliate (adjunct) faculty at Arizona State University; and Honorary Professor at the University of Canberra. She has published over 50 articles and books on animals, ethics, culture, democracy, and philosophy, all of which have been informed by her scholarship on French Philosopher Jacques Derrida. In regards to the latter she has published Derrida: Ethics Under Erasure, and is currently writing a second book on Derrida and animals (forthcoming 2026). She is the founding editor of the Derrida Today Journal (based on the work of Jacques Derrida), published by Edinburgh University Press, and which has been running since 2007. Aligned with the journal is the Derrida Today International Conferences (Home ), of which Nicole is the founding Executive Director. The conferences have been held in Britain, UK, USA, Europe and Australia, and provides a forum for academics from around the world to discuss and apply the thinking of Derrida to contemporary world events and issues.
Nicole has also co-produced with Julian Knowles a podcast series with PBS called the ‘Futures of Democracy’ (A podcast series ), which has been ranked number 5 out of 10 for 3 years in a row 2022 – 2025 for best Political Podcasts in Arizona, USA by Feedspot: 10 Best Arizona Political Podcasts You Must Follow in 2025. She has won a prestigious Australian Research Council Linkage Grant with John Potts, and as part of the grant co-curated a six month exhibition at the NSW Art Gallery, Sydney, on the philanthropist John Kaldor’s extensive art collection.
Light Refreshments will be provided.
Tickets: https://www.trybooking.com/DJTWL
Professor Nicole Anderson engages in conversation with Sean Meighoo who is Associate Professor and Chair of Comparative Literature at Emory University. He is author of 'The End of the West and Other Cautionary Tales' (Columbia UP, 2016) and 'Postcolonial Derrida' (Edinburgh UP, 2026). Meighoo's work has also appeared in the journals 'Small Axe', 'Cultural Critique', 'Journal for Critical Animal Studies', 'Humanimalia', 'Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and the Environment', 'Journal of World Philosophies', and 'Derrida Today' as well as in the volumes 'Nation Dance: Religion, Identity, and Cultural Difference in the Caribbean' (Indiana UP, 2001) and 'Beastly Morality: Animals as Ethical Agents' (Columbia UP, 2015).
Most historical accounts of "the West" take it for granted that the guiding principles of the Western tradition - reason, progress, and freedom - have been passed down directly from ancient Greece to modern Europe, evolving in isolation from all non-Western cultures. Today, many political analysts and cultural critics maintain that the Western tradition is fast approaching its end, for better or worse, as it becomes more and more integrated with non-Western cultures in an increasingly globalized world. In his new book Meighoo extends further this critique of the historical accounts of the West, by exploring the effects of post/coloniality through diverse philosophical and literary figures.
About The Meaning of Life and Other Inconveniences - Philosophy in every day life. In conversations with Professor Nicole Anderson.
Nicole Anderson engages in conversation with a number of leading international and national philosophical thinkers and intellectuals on the meaning of life. Covering topics as diverse as technology, music, religion, animals, psychology, life and death, the series explores fundamental questions about what it means to be alive, and what gives us meaning.
The series kicked off in October 2025 with an inaugural discussion with Professor David Wills around questions of what constitutes the meanings of life and death. This was followed by a conversation with Mark Swivel in November 2025 on the rules that might provide foundations to build meaning and purpose,
Professor Nicole Anderson - series host
Nicole Anderson is Professor at Macquarie University, Sydney; affiliate (adjunct) faculty at Arizona State University; and Honorary Professor at the University of Canberra. She has published over 50 articles and books on animals, ethics, culture, democracy, and philosophy, all of which have been informed by her scholarship on French Philosopher Jacques Derrida. In regards to the latter she has published Derrida: Ethics Under Erasure, and is currently writing a second book on Derrida and animals (forthcoming 2026). She is the founding editor of the Derrida Today Journal (based on the work of Jacques Derrida), published by Edinburgh University Press, and which has been running since 2007. Aligned with the journal is the Derrida Today International Conferences (Home ), of which Nicole is the founding Executive Director. The conferences have been held in Britain, UK, USA, Europe and Australia, and provides a forum for academics from around the world to discuss and apply the thinking of Derrida to contemporary world events and issues.
Nicole has also co-produced with Julian Knowles a podcast series with PBS called the ‘Futures of Democracy’ (A podcast series ), which has been ranked number 5 out of 10 for 3 years in a row 2022 – 2025 for best Political Podcasts in Arizona, USA by Feedspot: 10 Best Arizona Political Podcasts You Must Follow in 2025. She has won a prestigious Australian Research Council Linkage Grant with John Potts, and as part of the grant co-curated a six month exhibition at the NSW Art Gallery, Sydney, on the philanthropist John Kaldor’s extensive art collection.
Light Refreshments will be provided.
Tickets: https://www.trybooking.com/DJTWL
Friday 13 March 2026 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM (UTC+11)
Location
Manning Clark House
11 Tasmania Circle , Forrest ACT 2903
Contact Details
Contact Form
The End of the West - Associate Professor Sean Meighoo
Resend recently purchased tickets to our events to your email.
Enter email to start search
You can review the event organiser's terms and conditions here.