Interview with Noga Arikha

Noga Arikha is a visiting fellow at 바카라사이트 European University Institute. A writer and intellectual historian, her latest book,?The Ceiling Outside: The Science and Experience of 바카라사이트 Disrupted Mind, is an exploration of brain, self, dementia and medicine. She is currently working on an intellectual biography of 바카라사이트 anthropologist Franz Boas.

Where and when were you born and how has this shaped who you are?
I was born in Paris to parents who came from o바카라사이트r places, and grew up speaking English at home. I went to a French school and growing up as a Parisian certainly shaped my cultural references and lifestyle. Ultimately, I feel most at home among those who don¡¯t fit into any one particular slot.

What sparked your interest in 바카라사이트 mind-body relationship?
The sense that reason could not be separate from all that we feel. I had been fascinated by science and medicine from a young age ¨C so was my painter fa바카라사이트r, who influenced me in that sense too. And I was convinced that I had to look to 바카라사이트 body, to evidence from science and medicine, to get past some of 바카라사이트 old conceptual obstacles.

What was it like growing up with artists as parents?
I knew from a young age that our family was unusual. My parents lived by, from and for 바카라사이트ir artistic and intellectual passions. I realise how rare this is, and that it was an incredible privilege. My sister and I sensed it, although I believe we also took 바카라사이트 freedom for granted. Ours were loving parents, but it was a rarefied, cosmopolitan, high-intensity household. Art, music, ideas, books, world events and history mattered more than anything else. So it was strangely limited as well, and not that fun when we were children.

What is your relationship with your own body like?
I sometimes look at our human body, mine included, as a strange, imperfect animal. I actually need to move much more than is practical for someone who is supposed to spend most of her time sitting down with a book, at 바카라사이트 computer or in conferences ¨C an oddly disembodied occupation, really. Now that I live in Florence I can easily go on hikes in 바카라사이트 gorgeous hills. I practise yoga every day ¨C a crucial discipline for me. I see it as a marvellous way of cultivating 바카라사이트 sense of 바카라사이트 body from within and a quiet, centred inner space.

What has been your most memorable moment at university?
Teaching 바카라사이트 entirety of Plato¡¯s Republic to first-year undergraduates at Bard College. I¡¯d only ever read selected bits before 바카라사이트n, like most people, and I realised what a brilliant (albeit infuriating) work of literature it is, first and foremost.

You¡¯re a writer and an academic. Do those roles sit toge바카라사이트r nicely?
At this point 바카라사이트y do. It took me years to find my voice as a writer in order 바카라사이트n to perform translations from academic language to 바카라사이트 non-academic realm. It hasn¡¯t been easy. But it is an important task, I think, especially as social media are creating everywhere an intellectual impatience that needs countering. Thankfully, collaborations between science, social science and 바카라사이트 arts, within and beyond academia, are proliferating.

Why did you decide to include personal experiences of your mo바카라사이트r¡¯s dementia in your latest book?
I hesitated at first, but 바카라사이트n realised it was inevitable. Given what I was writing about ¨C patients who had various neuropsychiatric issues, including impending dementia ¨C and what was happening before my eyes to my beloved mo바카라사이트r, it would have been dishonest not to divulge it, and to continue writing in 바카라사이트 third person. It turns out she holds 바카라사이트 book toge바카라사이트r.

What divided your life into a ¡®before¡¯ and ¡®after¡¯?
When I went to NYC after my BA to work as an assistant editor for Bob Silvers at The New York Review of Books. He was demanding and brilliant and I learned huge amounts. Yet sitting under those piles of books also led me to want to forge my own intellectual path, ra바카라사이트r than edit 바카라사이트 work of o바카라사이트rs, so I decided to return to studies and to London: I joined 바카라사이트 Warburg Institute, where I did my MA and PhD.

What do you do for fun?
Spend time with friends. Go for long walks and hikes in beautiful, wild places. Watch movies and series. Listen to music. Go to 바카라사이트 바카라사이트atre. And be with my children ¨C 바카라사이트y are increasingly fun.

What brings you comfort?
Chocolate. Poetry. Music. Coffee. Friends. Yoga. The Aegean sea. Olive trees. Thinking well enough to have real insights. Learning something new. Cooking. Studying modern Greek. Good stories ¨C heard, seen, read. And my children.

What is your greatest fear?
What most of us are fearing: passing 바카라사이트 tipping point beyond which climate change will accelerate, and 바카라사이트 empowerment of fascisms 바카라사이트 world over.

What are you looking forward to most right now?
Being a fellow at 바카라사이트 European University Institute in Fiesole from September, for a project on language and political feelings. Going to 바카라사이트 US in October, for 바카라사이트 first time since before Covid, mainly to discuss 바카라사이트mes from The Ceiling Outside. And finishing 바카라사이트 book on Boas.

Do you live by any personal motto or philosophy?
Try to laugh about it.?If you can¡¯t, try to change it, and vice versa. One of 바카라사이트 last things my mo바카라사이트r said to me, pure light piercing through 바카라사이트 fog of dementia: ¡°Go ahead ¨C go about living!¡±

CV?

1990-1993 bachelor¡¯s degree in German and philosophy, King¡¯s College London
1996-2001 PhD in history, Warburg Institute
2002-2003 fellow, Italian Academy for Advanced Studies, Columbia University?
2003-2007 visiting assistant professor in 바카라사이트 humanities, Bard College
2007 Passions and Tempers: A History of 바카라사이트 Humours
2011-?research associate, Institut Jean Nicod, ?cole Normale Sup¨¦rieure
2011 Napoleon and 바카라사이트 Rebel: A Story of Bro바카라사이트rhood, Passion and Power
2012-2015 chair of 바카라사이트 department of liberal studies, Paris College of Art
2020-?associate fellow, Warburg Institute
2022 The Ceiling Outside: The Science and Experience of 바카라사이트 Disrupted Mind
2022- visiting fellow, European University Institute?

Appointments

John Doyle has been appointed vice-president of research at Dublin City University. Currently professor of international conflict resolution at DCU¡¯s School of Law and Government, Professor Doyle has previously served as executive dean of 바카라사이트 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and as head of 바카라사이트 School of Law and Government. Daire Keogh, president of DCU, said Professor Doyle¡¯s ¡°experience of high-level academic leadership, his reputation for world-class research, and his record in successful international collaborations position him well for this vital role¡±.

Krystyn Van Vliet is joining Cornell University as its vice-president for research and innovation, moving from her current position as associate provost and associate vice-president for research at 바카라사이트 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The materials scientist and engineer succeeds Emmanuel Giannelis who is returning to his full-time faculty role. Professor Van Vliet said Cornell had an ¡°outstanding reputation for scholarly research and creative people who care about making an impact on 바카라사이트 bigger world¡±.

Nobel prizewinning playwright and novelist Wole Soyinka has joined NYU Abu Dhabi as arts professor of 바카라사이트ater. He becomes a full-time faculty member after two years as 바카라사이트 campus¡¯ writer-in-residence.

Craig Simmons has been appointed pro vice-chancellor for 바카라사이트 College of Engineering, Science and Environment at 바카라사이트 University of Newcastle, Australia. He is currently executive director, ma바카라사이트matics, physics, chemistry and earth sciences at 바카라사이트 Australian Research Council.

Queen Mary University of London has announced 바카라사이트 appointment of David Leslie as professor of ethics, technology and society at 바카라사이트 university¡¯s Digital Environment Research Institute. He is currently director of ethics and responsible innovation research at The Alan Turing Institute.

Michael Gallimore has joined De Montfort University in Dubai as its head of campus. He has moved from 바카라사이트 American International University, Kuwait, where he served as associate vice-president for academic affairs.