Lovers of Wisdom on Stolen Land: On being a philosopher at an Australian University.

For the past six years, I have been exploring the role of academic philosophy and higher education in settler colonialism, and the role of settler colonialism in academic philosophy and higher education. As a non-Indigenous researcher who has been, for the duration of this project, occupying Turrbal and Jagera Land without permission, and receiving compensation from the government and institution(s) responsible for the dispossession of the Turrbal and Jagera Peoples, the very fact that I have been permitted to undertake this project (not to mention who has been doing the permitting) has made this project in itself an example of the power dynamics and ontoepistemic forces that I argue in my thesis remain operational within the sector. For my final progress review, I’d like to share some of the key overarching themes and ideas (both personal and professional) that emerged for me during this research project, explain some of the pivots and changes to methodology or research foci that I undertook as my understanding developed, and discuss how I believe my thesis represents an original contribution to the field of philosophy. In doing so, I hope to draw attention to some of the limitations of contemporary academic philosophy and Australian higher education that I argue in my thesis are unnecessary and harmful, and justify the approach I’ve taken to this research project writ large.