Dr Kurt Borg

Dr Kurt Borg

Dr Kurt Borg

  B.A.(Hons.)(Melit.),M.A.(Melit.),Ph.D.(Staffs.)

Lecturer

Room 206B
FEMA (Humanities B)
University of Malta
Msida
  +356 2340 3203
I am a Lecturer in the Department of Public Policy at the University of Malta. I completed a PhD at Staffordshire University, with a thesis that draws on the philosophical works of Michel Foucault and Judith Butler to analyse the ethics and politics of narrating trauma in institutional contexts. I graduated with a BA (Hons) and an MA in Philosophy at the University of Malta, the latter with a dissertation on the relation between Foucault's ideas on power and ethics.

My research interests revolve around the interface between political philosophy, social theory and public ethics. My thinking is inspired by Foucault's and Butler's work, particularly their understanding of discourse, power, critique and resistance. I have a great interest in the history of political thought, in itself and in how this can help us understand and navigate contemporary political issues. Theoretically, I draw especially from continental philosophy, especially with regard to topics such as subjectivity, ideology and resistance. I am greatly interested in how power functions in contemporary societies, both in institutional politics as well as social movements.

In my work I adopt an interdisciplinary outlook that brings philosophy in dialogue with the social sciences. Apart from theoretical work, I am also interested in conceptually-rich studies in politics, especially those with a discourse analysis approach. I have utilised this approach in my work on the ethics and politics of narratives of trauma, illness and disability.

I have published articles and book chapters on various political and ethical aspects of the work of Foucault and Butler, as well as on the politics of trauma, narratives of illness and disability, and the essay.

Between 2020-2023, I was a Lecturer in Philosophy of Education at the UM's Faculty of Education. Prior to that, in 2019-2020, I was a Research Support Officer at the UM's Faculty for Social Wellbeing.
  • Social & Political Theory
  • Continental Philosophy
  • Poststructuralism
  • Ethics
  • Politics & Power
  • Discourse Analysis
  • Subjectivity & Identity
  • EMA1311 - Introduction to Law and Ethics
  • GRS2004 - Queering Knowledge
  • LAS2071 - Literature, Arts, Music and Films: Political Implications
  • PHI1018 - Ethics for Social Wellbeing
  • PHI2053 - Women in Philosophy
  • PHI3053 - Structuralism and Post-Structuralism
  • PPL1011 - Policy for Business
  • PPL1084 - Comparative Public Management
  • PPL1926 - Maltese Constitutional Development
  • PPL1941 - Corporate, Financial and Public Governance
  • PPL1944 - Political Thought
  • PPL2219 - Professional Practitioners' Seminar
  • PPL5003 - Politics and Public Policy
  • PPL5111 - Managing EU Policy
  • SOC5005 - Health Medicine and Society: An Introduction to Medical Sociology
  • SOC5011 - Exploring the Lived Experience of Illness
▪ Network Member, 'Philosophy as a Way of Life' (University of Notre Dame; funded by the Andrew
W. Mellon Foundation)
▪ Occasional Editorial Board Member, 'Disability & Society'
▪ Member, ERASMUS+ Programme: KA201 Strategic Partnerships for School Education, 'Learning
Diversity: A Case Study of Refugee Students in Primary School'

https://www.um.edu.mt/_templates/staffprofiles/