Events

The Notre Dame Centre for the History of Philosophy (CHOP) hosts a vibrant calendar of public events, conferences, seminars, masterclasses, and reading groups, bringing together leading scholars and curious minds to explore the deepest and oldest questions.

Join us in person or online to engage with philosophy from across many eras and traditions.

Upcoming events

Wisdom and Light: An Introduction to the Philosophy of the Greek Church Fathers 17, 24 August & 21 September 2026, 6:00pm–8:00pm, at the Cathedral of the Annunciation of Our Lady, Redfern A three-part evening short course exploring how early Christian thinkers engaged with Greek philosophy, taught by Professor Vrasidas Karalis (University of Sydney), Professor Bronwen Neil (Macquarie University) and Dr Samuel Kaldas (Notre Dame). $30 \| students free. Find out more
History or Genealogy? Approaches to the History of Ideas — Masterclass with Peter Harrison Thursday 20 August 2026, 1:00pm–3:30pm, NDS23, UNDA Broadway Campus A masterclass with Professor Peter Harrison (Professorial Research Fellow in Science and Religion, UNDA) on approaches to the history of philosophical and religious ideas, including the role of normative considerations in historical inquiry. Find out more
CHOP Research Seminar – Jennifer Mensch (Western Sydney) 27 August 2026, in-person and online What is Enlightenment? 18th-century Reflections on a 21st-century Problem
CHOP Research Seminar – Karyn Lai (UNSW) 1 October 2026, in-person and online
The 2026 John and Anna Belfer Oration in the History of Jewish Philosophy The Great Synagogue, Sydney

Past events

The Jewish Search for Wisdom: A History of Jewish Philosophy Semester 1 2026, online Journey through 3,000 years of Jewish intellectual tradition, from ancient biblical wisdom through medieval giants like Maimonides to revolutionary modern thought that helped shape Western philosophy. A semester-long undergraduate and postgraduate course, open to students from all universities for credit, and to the general public for audit.
CHOP Research Seminar – Stephen Muecke (Notre Dame Australia) 18 June 2026, in-person and online Australian Totemism as a Philosophical System
CHOP Research Seminar – Vassilios Adrahtas (Western Sydney) 16 April 2026, in-person and online A Bridge between East and West: John Damascene
The State of Nature Symposium 9 April 2026, in-person and online An author-meets-critics workshop with Christopher Watkin (Monash). Speakers: Sandra Field (Monash), Peter Harrison (Notre Dame Australia), Jessica Whyte (UNSW), Christopher Watkin (Monash) The State of Nature and the Shaping of Modernity: Tracing the Roots of Colonialism, Secularity, and Ecology, Cambridge University Press, 2025 Register now
Faith Meets Reason: A Journey in Jewish Philosophy from Maimonides to Rabbi Jonathan Sacks March to May 2026, at The Great Synagogue Sydney. Explore how Judaism's greatest minds wrestled with the eternal tension between faith and reason, from medieval giants to modern Orthodox thinkers. A short course for Jewish and non-Jewish learners alike, presented by the Notre Dame Centre for the History of Philosophy and The Great Synagogue Sydney.
CHOP Research Seminar – Julia Kindt (Sydney) 12 March 2026, in-person and online The Authority of the Prophetic Voice and the Discovery of Truth in Classical Greece
David Hume on Human Nature and Dark Emotions 12 December 2025, in-person and online Masterclass on Hume’s Treatise of Human Nature, with Peter Kail (Oxford) Seminar on Dark Emotions in Hume, with Anik Waldow (Sydney) & Peter Kail (Oxford). Register now
Women in the History of Philosophy: On Nature – Conference 26–27 November 2025, in-person and online Speakers: Jacqueline Broad (Monash), Andrew Cooper (Warwick), Emily Hulme (Sydney), Renée Köhler-Ryan (Notre Dame), Constant Mews (Monash), Dalia Nassar (Sydney), Caterina Pellò (Geneva), Anik Waldow (Sydney). Reflect on profound (yet often-overlooked) contributions to philosophical history, including papers on Hildegard of Bingen, Pythagorean women, Romantic women, early modern women, and Edith Stein. Register now
Diotima’s Daughters: A Masterclass on Women Philosophers 25 November 2025, in partnership with the University of Sydney Led by Dalia Nassar (Sydney) and Emily Hulme (Sydney). Explore how women philosophers across history received and reimagined the figure of Diotima. Learn more
CHOP Research Seminar Series 2025 The CHOP Research Seminar showcases work-in-progress from leading Australian and international historians of philosophy. In-person and online. Learn more
Greek Philosophy Reading Group 2025 – Aristotle’s Politics The CHOP Greek Philosophy Reading Group is meeting one Thursday per month, in person and online, to read Aristotle’s Politics. Meetings involve close study and discussion of the text in English translation. No prior knowledge of Aristotle or Ancient Greek philosophy is required. Learn more
CHOP Research Seminar - Milad Milani (Western Sydney University) 18 Sept 2025 Mystical Knowledge and the Limits of Reason: Al-Ghazālī and Gregory Palamas
CHOP Research Seminar - Raphael Dascalu (Notre Dame Australia) 21 August 2025 Philosophical Culture among Arabic-Speaking Jews in the Late Medieval Period: Reconstructing a Lost World
CHOP Research Seminar - Melissa Merritt (UNSW) 22 May 2025 Kant and Group Agency
CHOP Research Seminar - Timothy Clarke (Yale) 14 May 2025 Aristotle on Nature as Demiurge
The 2025 John and Anna Belfer Oration in the History of Jewish Philosophy 30 June 2025 Rabbi Dr Benjamin Elton: The First Rabbinic Philosopher: Saadia Gaon (882–942)
CHOP Research Seminar - Tony Street (Cambridge) 17 April 2025 Avicenna's two definitions of differentia: 13th century worries about the predicables
Plato: Ancient and Modern 18-19 November 2024 Gerd van Riel (Leuven), Samuel Kaldas (UNDA), Peter Anstey (ACU)
Aristotle and Aquinas on Mind Masterclass 23 October 2024 Sean Kelsey (Notre Dame USA) and Therese Cory (Notre Dame USA)
Nature in the History of Philosophy Conference 21-22 October 2024 Co-hosted with Notre Dame USA’s History of Philosophy Forum
Centre for the History of Philosophy Launch 21 October 2024 Inaugural lecture: Therese Cory (Notre Dame USA)
Notre Dame Winter School on Aristotle’s Ethics 5-7 August 2024 Co-hosted with UNDA’s Institute for Ethics and Society
Becoming Good: Virtue and Moral Development in Ancient Ethics Conference 1-2 August 2024 Co-hosted with UNDA’s Institute for Ethics and Society
Book Launch: Some New World: Myths of Supernatural Belief in a Secular Age 30 May 2024 Peter Harrison (UNDA), Sarah Irving-Stonebraker (ACU)
Reading Group on Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics February-November 2024 Co-hosted with UNDA’s Institute for Ethics and Society
The Natural and the Supernatural: A New Genealogy of Modernity Seminar 23 November 2023 Peter Harrison (UNDA)