Jonathan Floyd

So now I wonder: Do you have a support act? Maybe some kind of warm-up comedy, riffing on what thought experiments were like back when they were a kid? Or an up-and-coming post-punk 3-piece, doing their best to 'engage' the audience whilst still being a bit too cool to really 'apply' themselves...?

My youngest was told at school that you can't get a job as a liar. She then replied with examples of influencer/singer/advertiser/actor/lawyer/novelist/religious leader/politician. It got her in trouble, though not sure if that was tone/content. She's adamant though that fiction/lies rule the world.

p.s. you could choose up to 2 options for the 1st question on labels; up to 3 options for the 'tasks' question; and only 1 for the one about how many methods you have. Thanks to @tariqmodood.bsky.social and @sunelaegaard.bsky.social on a previous post for reminding me to note this!

Of interest maybe to @ecpr-nptmethods.bsky.social @adrianblau.bsky.social @tmbejan.bsky.social @danieljamesbutt.bsky.social @jleadermaynard.bsky.social @matthewblongo.bsky.social @jowolff.bsky.social @enzoreds.bsky.social @psapolthought.bsky.social @biapt.bsky.social @rebeccabuxton.bsky.social

...With this in mind it was interesting to survey people at the Oxford Pol-Theory seminar on Monday. Yes, it's just a snapshot of 1 group on 1 day, but even so, you couldn't have got these results in any day/room when I was there. Less emphasis now on justification & more methodological diversity...

Those of you know who know my work know that I like to organise Pol-Phi around a question (How should we live?), then divide it into 3 tasks (analysis/critique/justification), and then judge methods (e.g. thought experiments) according to helpfulness with those tasks...

The Carlyle Lectures The Shape of Democracy - Jill Frank (President White Professor of History & Political Science, Cornell University)

Lovely hosting by @tmbejan.bsky.social @danieljamesbutt.bsky.social & others yesterday in Oxford, + great turnout/engagement at my 'methodology' talk. Extra thanks though 2 Jill Frank for coming along the day before starting her Carlyle Lectures: www.history.ox.ac.uk/carlyle-lect... (5pm today!)

Christ Church meadow at dawn today. Misty and muddy but still lovely. As always looking for reflective equilibrium @tmbejan.bsky.social @danieljamesbutt.bsky.social @jowolff.bsky.social @edmundhandby.bsky.social @ecpr-nptmethods.bsky.social

On the theme of thinking about borders/civilisations via maps & games, this might resonate with @matthewblongo.bsky.social & @enzoreds.bsky.social but maybe also @jowolff.bsky.social who like me is interested in the (Sid Meier's) Civilization view of the world.

A lot of chat lately about where certain leaders get their view of the world. After playing a quick game of Risk with my son yesterday I have my own theory. Note the unity of N America in the 1st pic... whilst in the 2nd Ukraine exists but Russia doesn't. Maybe 1 triggers aspiration & 2 anger?

Jonathan Floyd (University of Bristol): What’s the Point of Methodology in Political Theory?

intellectualhistory.web.ox.ac.uk/event/jonath...

Yes they could pick as many as they wanted.

So I think we're still at around 60% female (or higher) & 40% male (or lower) on current figures. Not far off 2:1 female/male ratio. We're also about 85% UK & 15% 'international'. Age-wise I'd say median of 19, with most now state-educated. Crucially I can also ask the question again in 10 wks time!

Hah! Would have been tempted to ask, though I fear scuppered by them not knowing (that they would want to be!) such things at this early stage of their education...

Another update on our current 1st year students here at Bristol. Anarchism down and feminism up for those wanting to stay on trend. @rebeccabuxton.bsky.social @alixdietzel.bsky.social @profcathyelliott.bsky.social @psapolthought.bsky.social @psurridge.bsky.social @georgeboss.bsky.social

Will be in Oxford on Monday (& a bit of Tuesday), giving a talk on 'What's the Point of Methodology in Political Theory?'. DM me if keen to come along but not sure on logistics. Also happy to meet early-career folk if they want to talk about methods in their own work. @ecpr-nptmethods.bsky.social

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

Thanks JIPT, for a forum on my @universitypress.cambridge.org The Duty to Secure: ft. @jamespattison.bsky.social; @corneliab.bsky.social, C. Brown, K. Stullerova and D. Brunstetter. Thx for comments to @jonathanfloyd.bsky.social; J. Parry, M. Webber, P. Porter journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Thinking then of Steven Lukes on 'Power' (parallel to US Steel in Gary, Indiana), if this didn't come to pass, what could explain it besides corporate lobbying, given range/scale of support? Watch out maybe for big-tech airing stories about reconsidering big research facilities or HQs in the UK...

If the Tories want an Oz-style social media ban, with Lab likely 2 agree, u might be interested 2 know that my 1st-yr pol-phi students here in Bristol are also on board. @rebeccabuxton.bsky.social @jowolff.bsky.social @chrisbrooke.bsky.social @crookedfootball.bsky.social @danieljamesbutt.bsky.social

Publication day for an excellent colleague!

This is great 2 see. Might also try and get my Mum to go. She spent most of her working life at the Open University & likes to talk about open/distance/lifelong learning above all else. In some ways nothing is more full of 'barriers' than an overly narrow focus on trad UG education 4 18-22 yr olds.

24 hours left to sign up! Don't miss out on beautiful Krakow, or indeed our beautiful methods community! Please also share/re-post if you're finding returning to the desk, after the Xmas break, a little hard given the combination of (a) following daily politics and (b) trying to catch up on marking.

Be there or be square.

Although to be fair, as a lover of many things German (beer, bread, bike lanes, & indeed my wife), I have at times been given only 2 choices at the other end of this story: pork with potatoes or, if you really want to mix it up, potatoes with pork. Plus a little parsley 4 special guests like you Jo.

Thinking lots about baking lately. Wittgenstein apparently once wrote that ‘Raisins may be the best part of a cake; but a bag of raisins is not better than a cake.’ @nigelwarburton.bsky.social calls this Wittgenstein's 'critique of pure raisin', which rather made my day. @wiglet1981.bsky.social

Link also not working for me, but keen to read. Have a PhD student writing a chapter on this, but also a teenager & pre-teen at home. Screens % what's on them = a hot topic at home, as well as in every similar home we know. Sympathetic to bans here but curious about whether 2 target devices or apps.

Back from a carol service where as always my mind started to wander. This year the line 'begotten not created' in Oh Come All ye Faithful set me off. Seems an apt line for much of what goes on under the rubric of AI.

ECPR General Conference 2026, Jagiellonian University, 8 – 11 September 2026 European Consortium for Political Research

For those of you planning a (well earned) long break over the next 2 weeks, bear in mind that the deadline for submitting a paper for the 2026 ECPR General Conference (Krakow in September) is Jan 9th. Please share with anyone you think might miss this! ecpr.eu/GeneralConfe...

Very happy/honoured to be giving a keynote at this excellent conference along with similarly excellent Chiara Cordelli. Do consider submitting a paper or sharing with your grad students. @ecpr-nptmethods.bsky.social @ipsa-rc31.bsky.social @biapt.bsky.social @psapolthought.bsky.social

Read all about it: Methods newsletter out. @sunelaegaard.bsky.social @lisamherzog.bsky.social @edmundhandby.bsky.social @jleadermaynard.bsky.social @ecpr.bsky.social