The Social Contract Research Podcast

• The Oceans as a Commons: everyone’s, no-one’s, or a public good? with Douglas Guilfoyle

  In this seminar Prof. Douglas Guilfoyle analyzes the oceans as a global commons, detailing the legal frameworks like the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that define maritime zones such as the high seas and exclusive economic zones. He explores the historical development of these laws, the inherent conflicts between national interests, resource exploitation, environmental protection, and the "common heritage of mankind," alongside emerging critical perspectives challenging traditional ocean governance.The seminar is followed by a time of questions and discussion.A video version of the seminar is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlFRj3piiR0The seminar took place over Zoom on 29 April 2025, and was hosted by Christopher Watkin (Monash University), as part of the project "Rewriting the Social Contract: Technology, Ecology, Extremism". This seminar is an initiative of the Social Contract Research Network. To be notified when future seminars, conversations and interviews are uploaded, you can subscribe to te SCRN YouTube channel by clicking on this link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq7geWYdmGE3kIcJrw8Ebsw?sub_confirmation=1

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• Standing up to Beijing, with David McCourt

  In this seminar Prof. David McCourt analyzes the recent shift towards tougher China policies in the US, Australia, and the UK, arguing it results from an alignment between interconnected "fields" of knowledge production and specific groups of influential "China Watchers" in Washington, Canberra, and London. He traces how these experts promoting strategic competition or security concerns gained prominence over proponents of engagement, raising questions about the trade-offs between this geopolitical stance, the common good, and domestic societal impacts.A video version of the seminar is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMiMDbm_vQ0The seminar took place over Zoom on 8 April 2025, and was hosted by Christopher Watkin (Monash University), as part of the project "Rewriting the Social Contract: Technology, Ecology, Extremism". This seminar is an initiative of the Social Contract Research Network. To be notified when future seminars, conversations and interviews are uploaded, you can subscribe to te SCRN YouTube channel by clicking on this link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq7geWYdmGE3kIcJrw8Ebsw?sub_confirmation=1

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• Cultures of Trust, with Thomas Simpson

  In this seminar Prof. Thomas SImpson addresses questions of trust in contemporary society, including questions such as: under what circumstances is trust warranted within a community? What is the relationship between compliance with the law and a culture of trust? The seminar is followed by a time of questions and discussion, including reflections on whether or not trust is a virtue, and whether trust is in fact necessary for something like the social contract to emerge.A video version of the seminar is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wlyh7sATY1sThe seminar took place over Zoom on 8 April 2025, and was hosted by Christopher Watkin (Monash University), as part of the project "Rewriting the Social Contract: Technology, Ecology, Extremism". This seminar is an initiative of the Social Contract Research Network. To be notified when future seminars, conversations and interviews are uploaded, you can subscribe to te SCRN YouTube channel by clicking on this link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq7geWYdmGE3kIcJrw8Ebsw?sub_confirmation=1

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• Creating the Commonwealth: Power, Projection and Religion in Hobbes’s Leviathan, with Amy Chandran

  In this seminar Dr Amy Chandran addresses questions of power and religion on Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan. The seminar is followed by a time of questions and discussion.A video version of the seminar is available at https://youtu.be/ONemBZ7mmWYThe seminar took place over Zoom on 25 March 2025, and was hosted by Christopher Watkin (Monash University), as part of the project "Rewriting the Social Contract: Technology, Ecology, Extremism". This seminar is an initiative of the Social Contract Research Network. To be notified when future seminars, conversations and interviews are uploaded, you can subscribe to te SCRN YouTube channel by clicking on this link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq7geWYdmGE3kIcJrw8Ebsw?sub_confirmation=1

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• Of Contract and Covenant: Thomas Hobbes, Baruch Spinoza, and Augustine on Social Agreement and Power, with Boleslaw Z. Kabala

  In this seminar Dr Bolek Kabala addresses the relationship between notions of contract and covenant in the work of Thomas Hobbes and Baruch Spinoza, with reflections on Augustine's two cities. The seminar is followed by a time of questions and discussion. A video version of the seminar is available at https://youtu.be/0anw_nIfsXY The seminar took place over Zoom on 6 August 2024, and was hosted by Christopher Watkin (Monash University), as part of the Australian Research Council funded Future Fellowship project "Rewriting the Social Contract: Technology, Ecology, Extremism". This seminar is an initiative of the Social Contract Research Network. To find out more about the SCRN, and to subscribe to email updates, please visit https://www.monash.edu/arts/languages-literatures-cultures-linguistics/social-contract-research-network To be notified when future seminars, conversations and interviews are uploaded, you can subscribe to te SCRN YouTube channel by clicking on this link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq7geWYdmGE3kIcJrw8Ebsw?sub_confirmation=1

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