Kate Soper (born 1943) is a British

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

. She is currently Visiting Professor at the University of Brighton.http://arts.brighton.ac.uk/staff/kate-soper

Background

Soper was educated at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

(BA) and worked as a translator and journalist. Her PhD was from

Sussex University , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

titled ''Marxism and the Theory of Needs''. She taught at Sussex university before moving to the

University of North London The University of North London (UNL) was a university in London, England, formed from the Polytechnic of North London (PNL) in 1992 when that institution was granted university status. PNL, in turn, had been formed by the amalgamation of the No ...

in 1987 (which became part of

London Metropolitan University London Metropolitan University, commonly known as London Met, is a public research university in London, England. The University of North London (formerly the Polytechnic of North London) and London Guildhall University (formerly the City o ...

in 2002). She taught a range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses in European Studies and Literature and Modernity. She retired c.2009, becoming Emeritus Professor.

Contributions

Soper is the author of and contributor to over a dozen books on

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

and

Continental Philosophy Continental philosophy is a term used to describe some philosophers and philosophical traditions that do not fall under the umbrella of analytic philosophy. However, there is no academic consensus on the definition of continental philosophy. Prio ...

, addressing the works of

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and litera ...

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

and

Simone de Beauvoir Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir (, ; ; 9 January 1908 – 14 April 1986) was a French existentialist philosopher, writer, social theorist, and feminist activist. Though she did not consider herself a philosopher, and even th ...

, among others. Her other contributions have been to consumption theory and environmental philosophy. She is a critic of post-structuralist feminism. She has also translated several texts into English, including includes Chiodi's ''Sartre And Marxism'',

Sebastiano Timpanaro Sebastiano Timpanaro (September 5, 1923 in Parma – November 26, 2000 in Florence) was an Italian classical philologist, essayist, and literary critic. He was also a long-time Marxist who made important contributions to left-wing political ...

's ''The Freudian Slip'', Bobbio's ''Liberalism And Democracy'' (with Martin Ryle), and (with Martin Ryle) Ginzburg's ''Wooden Eyes''. She has been involved in several

environmentalist An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that s ...

and peace movements in both the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Nor ...

and the rest of Europe and her writing addresses radical

ecological Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps w ...

issues. Her contributions have appeared in the journals ''

Radical Philosophy ''Radical Philosophy'' is a triannual peer-reviewed academic journal of critical theory and philosophy. It was established in 1972 with the purpose of providing a forum for the theoretical work which was emerging in the wake of the radical movement ...

'', ''

New Left Review The ''New Left Review'' is a British bimonthly journal covering world politics, economy, and culture, which was established in 1960. History Background As part of the British "New Left" a number of new journals emerged to carry commentary on m ...

'' and ''

Capitalism, Nature, Socialism ''Capitalism Nature Socialism'' is an academic journal founded by James O'Connor and Barbara Laurence in 1988. It is published by Taylor and Francis. It publishes articles on political ecology, with an ecosocialist Eco-socialism (also known ...

''. In 1998 Soper interviewed

Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American public intellectual: a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky i ...

. Her study of the role that new thinking about pleasure and the 'good life' can play in promoting sustainable consumption (''Alternative hedonism and the theory and politics of consumption'') was funded in the ESRC/AHRC 'Cultures of Consumption' Programme in the mid 2000s. Her other work includes radio and television appearances (Dinner with Portillo, Channel Five, December 2005: Radio 3, Nightwaves, April 2004), and a number of exhibitions.

Selected works

* Soper K. 2020. ''Post-Growth Living: For an Alternative Hedonism.'' Verso. *Soper K., L. Thomas and M. Ryle (eds.). 2009. ''The Politics and Pleasures of Consuming Differently''. Palgrave. * Soper K. and F Trentmann (eds.). 2008. ''Citizenship and Consumption''. Palgrave. * Soper K. and M. Ryle. 2001. ''To Relish the Sublime: Culture and Self-realisation in Postmodern Times''. Verso. * Soper K. 1995. ''What Is Nature?: Culture, Politics and the Non-Human.'' Blackwell. * Soper K. 1990. ''Troubled Pleasures: Writings on Politics, Gender and Hedonism''. Verso. * Soper K. 1986. ''Humanism and Anti-Humanism'' (Problems of Modern European Thought). Hutchinson. * Soper K. 1981. ''On Human Needs''. Harvester.

References

External links

A list of contributions to ''Radical Philosophy''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soper, Kate 1943 births Living people 20th-century British philosophers 21st-century British philosophers Academics of London Metropolitan University Continental philosophers Feminist studies scholars Feminist philosophers British feminists Postmodern feminists British women philosophers