The department generally has several reading groups active during the academic year with both faculty and graduate student attendees. Current groups include:
Ancient Philosophy Reading Group
Coordinator: Salvador Escalante
This is an interdisciplinary reading group for students in History, Classics, Politics and Philosophy.
The Greek reading group is starting on Fridays at 2:15 pm from Week 1, in the department library.
We will be reading parts of Plato’s Theaetetus.
All are welcome. Some knowledge of Ancient Greek is required. But we move slowly!
For questions, reach out to Salvador Escalante salvad@ucsb.edu
Feminist Philosophy Reading Group
Join us every other Friday, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., for an engaging discussion of feminist philosophy texts. Our group is open to anyone interested in exploring feminist thought through readings that examine key ideas and theories. Our first meeting of the fall quarter will be held on October 9, 2026, where we’ll dive into our latest text, Stereotypes and Scripts: How Language Shapes and Resists Expectations by Samia Hesni. The book is available online through the library. Samia Hesni will also join us to talk about the book.
If you’d like to join the email list, please contact the organizers. For easier communication, we recommend using your institutional email address when reaching out:
Elinor Mason, Organizer: elinormason [at] ucsb [dot] edu, elinormason@ucsb.edu
Surraiya Baloch, Co-Organizer: sbaloch [at] ucsb [dot] edu, sbaloch@ucsb.edu
Political Philosophy Reading Group
In Fall 2026, The political philosophy reading group meets at 11 a.m. on Wednesdays in the conference room (SH 5617). All are welcome.
For questions, please reach out to Yuchen Li at yuchenli@ucsb.edu
