Mark Gerald Kingwell (born March 1, 1963) is a Canadian

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

and associate chair at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

's Department of Philosophy. Kingwell is a fellow of

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

. He specialises in theories of

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

and

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

. Kingwell has published twenty books, most notably, ''A Civil Tongue: Justice, Dialogue, and the Politics of Pluralism,'' which was awarded the

Spitz Prize The David and Elaine Spitz Prize is an award for a book in liberal and/or democratic theory. The Spitz Prize is awarded annually for the best book in the field published two years earlier. To be eligible, the book must be primarily theoretical rath ...

for political theory in 1997. In 2000 Kingwell received an honorary

Doctor of Fine Arts Doctor of Fine Arts (D.F.A.) is a doctoral degree in fine arts, may be given as an honorary degree (a degree ''honoris causa'') or an earned professional degree (in the UK). Description Doctoral programmes leading to DFAs are of equivalent level ...

from the

Nova Scotia College of Art and Design NSCAD University, also known as the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design or NSCAD, is a public art university in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The university is a co-educational institution that offers bachelor's and master's degrees. The uni ...

, for contributions to theory and criticism. He has held visiting posts at institutions including:

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant univ ...

, and

City University of New York The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven Upper divis ...

where he held the title of Weissman Distinguished Professor of Humanities. He studied at the University of Toronto, editing '' The Varsity'' through 1983 to 1984 and the ''University of Toronto Review'' from 84-85. He received his BA degree from St. Michael's College with High Distinction in 1985, his

MLitt The Master of Letters degree (MLitt or LittM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. Ireland Trinity College Dublin and Maynooth University offer MLitt degrees. Trinity has offered them the longest, owing largely to its tradition as Ireland ...

degree from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

in 1987, and both his M.Phil and

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

degrees from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in 1989 and 1991 respectively. He was married to Gail Donaldson in 1988. The marriage ended in divorce in 2004. In 2018 he was named a fellow of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...

. Kingwell is a contributing editor to ''

Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. (''Scientific American'' is older, b ...

'', the literary quarterly ''

Descant A descant, discant, or is any of several different things in music, depending on the period in question; etymologically, the word means a voice (''cantus'') above or removed from others. The Harvard Dictionary of Music states: A descant is a ...

'', the political monthly ''

This Magazine ''This Magazine'' is an independent alternative Canadian political magazine. History and profile The magazine was launched "by a gang of school activists" in April 1966 as ''This Magazine Is About Schools'', a journal covering political issues ...

'' and ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

''s books section. He was also a drinks columnist for the men's magazine '' Toro''. He was formerly a columnist for the ''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...

'', and a contributing editor of '' Saturday Night''. He frequently appears on

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and

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

, often on the CBC, and is well known for his appearance in the documentary film The Corporation. He has delivered the George Grant, Harold Innis, Marx Wartofsky and Larkin-Stuart memorial lectures. Kingwell’s work has been translated into ten languages, and he lectures to academic and popular audiences around the world. From 2001 to 2004, he was chair of the Institute for Contemporary Culture at the

Royal Ontario Museum The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a museum of art, world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the largest museums in North America and the largest in Canada. It attracts more than one million visitors every year ...

. His work on philosophy, art, and architecture has appeared in many leading academic journals and magazines, including ''

The Journal of Philosophy ''The Journal of Philosophy'' is a monthly peer-reviewed academic journal on philosophy, founded in 1904 at Columbia University. Its stated purpose is "To publish philosophical articles of current interest and encourage the interchange of ideas, es ...

'', ''

The Philosophical Forum ''The Philosophical Forum'' is a philosophy journal published by Wiley-Blackwell. It is currently edited by Alexus McLeod. History ''The Philosophical Forum'' was founded in 1943 as an annual philosophy journal, published by the Boston University ...

'', ''

Ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns m ...

'', ''

Political Theory Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them. Its topics include politics, l ...

'', ''Yale Journal of Law and the Humanities'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' and ''

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'', ''

Utne Reader ''Utne Reader'' (also known as ''Utne'') ( ) is a digital digest that collects and reprints articles on politics, culture, and the environment, generally from alternative media sources including journals, newsletters, weeklies, zines, music, and ...

'', ''

Adbusters The Adbusters Media Foundation is a Canadian-based Nonprofit organization, not-for-profit, Environmentalism, pro-environment organization founded in 1989 by Kalle Lasn and Bill Schmalz in Vancouver, British Columbia. Adbusters describes itself ...

'', ''

The Walrus ''The Walrus'' is an independent, non-profit Canadian media organization. It is multi-platform and produces an 8-issue-per-year magazine and online editorial content that includes current affairs, fiction, poetry, and podcasts, a national s ...

'', ''

Harvard Design Magazine ''Harvard Design Magazine'' (ISSN 1093-4421) is a biannual publication of the Harvard Graduate School of Design. It is indexed by the standard subject bibliographies, including Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals, Bibliography of the History ...

'', ''

Canadian Art Canadian art refers to the visual (including painting, photography, and printmaking) as well as plastic arts (such as sculpture) originating from the geographical area of contemporary Canada. Art in Canada is marked by thousands of years of hab ...

'', '' Azure'', ''

Toronto Life ''Toronto Life'' is a monthly magazine about entertainment, politics and life in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ''Toronto Life'' also publishes a number of annual special interest guides about the city, including ''Real Estate'', ''Stylebook'', ''Eatin ...

'', ''

'', and ''

''. He describes himself as a

social democrat Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...

and a " recovering Catholic." According to the ''Canadian Who's Who 2006'', he also enjoys running, baseball, basketball, jazz, films and pop music. He has two brothers: Sean and Steven.

Publications

*''A Civil Tongue: Justice, Dialogue, and the Politics of Pluralism'', Pennsylvania State University Press, 1995, (hardcover), (paperback). *''Dreams of Millennium: Report from a Culture on the Brink'', Faber & Faber, 1997, *''In Pursuit of Happiness: Better Living from Plato to Prozac'', Crown Publishing Group (NY), 2000, *''The World We Want: Restoring Citizenship in a Fractured Age'', Rowman & Littlefield, 2001, , . *''Practical Judgments: Essays in Culture, Politics, and Interpretation'',

University of Toronto Press The University of Toronto Press is a Canadian university press founded in 1901. Although it was founded in 1901, the press did not actually publish any books until 1911. The press originally printed only examination books and the university calen ...

, 2002, (hardcover), (paperback) *''Catch and Release: Trout Fishing and the Meaning of Life'', Penguin Canada, 2003, *''Nothing for Granted: Tales of War, Philosophy, and Why the Right Was Mostly Wrong: Selected Writings 2000-2003'', Penguin Canada, 2005, *''Nearest Thing to Heaven: The Empire State Building and American Dreams'', Yale University Press, 2006, *''Marginalia: A Cultural Reader'', Penguin Canada, 1999, *''Classic Cocktails: A Modern Shake'', McClelland & Stewart, 2006, , *''Concrete Reveries: Consciousness and the City'', Penguin Group Canada, 2008, , *''The Idler's Glossary'', (co-authored with Joshua Glenn; illustrated by

Seth Seth,; el, Σήθ ''Sḗth''; ; "placed", "appointed") in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Mandaeism, and Sethianism, was the third son of Adam and Eve and brother of Cain and Abel, their only other child mentioned by name in the Hebrew Bible. A ...

), Biblioasis, 2008, *''Opening Gambits: Essays on Art and Philosophy'', Key Porter Books, 2008, *''Glenn Gould'', Viking, 2009, *''Rites of Way: The Politics and Poetics of Public Space'', (co-edited with Patrick Turmel), Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2009, *''Unruly Voices: Essays on Democracy, Civility and the Human Imagination'', Biblioasis, 2012, *''Fail Better: Why Baseball Matters'', Biblioasis, 2017, *''Wish I Were Here: Boredom and the Interface'', McGill-Queen's University Press, 2019, *''On Risk'', Biblioasis, 2020, *''The Ethics of Architecture (Ethics in Context)'', Oxford University Press, 2021,

References

External links

University of Toronto: Department of Philosophy bio

The Lance, Nov. 12, 2008
An interview with Mark Kingwell
on ''Notebook on Cities and Culture'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Kingwell, Mark 1963 births Living people 20th-century Canadian philosophers 21st-century Canadian philosophers Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Harper's Magazine people University of St. Michael's College alumni University of Toronto alumni Academic staff of the University of Toronto Yale University alumni