Dr Sunny Dhillon
Prior to joining the Education Studies team in November 2021, Dr Sunny Dhillon spent five years as a learning developer at the University of Leeds, as well as at BGU, where he also worked as a Visiting Tutor in the Theology, Ethics and Society department. Sunny conducted his doctoral research through the Philosophy department at Cardiff University, focussing upon the concept of utopia. Owing to his background in Philosophy, combined with Academic Literacies, he is well placed to help students critically investigate the ostensibly virtuous practice(s) of formal education. Sunny’s research interests include Critical Theory (The Frankfurt School), Nietzsche, Jiddu Krishnamurti, Utopia, Philosophy of Education and Academic Literacies. His current research projects examine the role of satirical humour, and the archetype of the Trickster, within Higher Education.
Office number: Skinner 119
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6632-701X
Blog: https://dsdhillon.medium.com/
Related Courses
- Education Studies
- Education Studies with Foundation Year
- Education Studies and English
- Education Studies and History
- Education Studies and Mathematics
- Psychology and Education Studies
- Education Studies and Sociology
- Education Studies and Sport
- Education Studies and English with Foundation Year
- Education Studies and History with Foundation Year
- Psychology and Education Studies with Foundation Year
- Education Studies and Sociology with Foundation Year
- Education Studies and Sport with Foundation Year
- Education Studies and Theology, Philosophy & Ethics
- Education Studies and TESOL
- Education Studies and Theology, Philosophy & Ethics with Foundation Year
- Education Studies and Special Educational Needs, Disability & Inclusion
- Education Studies and TESOL with Foundation Year
- Education Studies and Special Educational Needs, Disability & Inclusion with Foundation Year
PhD Philosophy – Cardiff University (2020)
Fellowship of Advance HE (2019)
Association for Learning Development in Higher Education Certified Practitioner (2017)
Trinity Cert-TESOL – TEFL Lab, London (2014)
MA Ethics and Social Philosophy – Cardiff University (2010)
BA Spanish – Cardiff University (2009)
Member of the Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain
Member of the Friedrich W. Nietzsche Society
Member of the Association for Learning Development in Higher Education
Peer-reviewed journal articles
‘You must be having a laugh: humour to transgress’, Other Education, TBC (2022).
‘An Immanent Critique of Decolonisation Projects’, Philosophical Inquiry in Education, 28:3 (2021), pp.251-258.
‘The Dionysian Free Jazz of John W. Coltrane’, Telos, Spring (2020), pp.139-156.
‘Whose wellbeing is it anyway’, Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education (October, 2018).
‘Dave Chappelle’s Block Party’, Postgraduate Journal of Aesthetics, 10:1 (2013), pp.41 – 52.
Book chapters
‘Don Quixote contra Faust: Ernst Bloch’s Abstract or Concrete Utopia?’, in Yesterday’s Tomorrows: On Utopia and Dystopia, eds. Pere Gallardo and Elizabeth Russell (Newcastle, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2014), pp. 293 – 306.
Non-peer-reviewed articles
‘Revolver and Nietzschean Self-War’, Philosophy Now, Issue 119, April/May 2017
‘Dave Chappelle’s Block Party’, Philosophy Now, Issue 99, November/December 2013
‘Black Swan: Dionysus dances with Apollo’, Philosophy Now, Issue 86, September/October 2011
Online articles/blogs
‘Our desk-based higher education is not good for our health and our diversity’, WONKHE (22 June, 2022)
‘An Immanent Critique of Decolonisation Projects’, Convivial thinking (25 September, 2021)
‘Mind the gap: a platforms problem’, Copyright Licensing Agency (5 July, 2021)
‘Why neoliberal universities can’t expect their libraries to facilitate decolonisation’, Copyright Licensing Agency (14 April, 2020)
‘Decolonisation isn’t as simple as many people think’, WONKHE (21 February, 2020)
Book reviews
‘Xenofeminism‘, Philosophy Now, Issue 141, Dec 2020/Jan 2021
‘To Be Born’, Philosophy Now, Issue 128, Oct/Nov 2018
‘The Dionysian Free Jazz of John W. Coltrane’, The 44th Implicit Religion Conference, May 2022, Bishop Grosseteste University.
‘Embedding academic literacies at postgraduate level within the School of Environment’, Staff training session, July 2021, University of Leeds.
‘Bridging the feedback gap’, Student Education Conference, University of Leeds, January 2020.
‘Student engagement through a Virtual Learning Environment’, Researching, Advancing and Inspiring Student Engagement, Newcastle University, September 2019.
‘Thinking critically in Learning Development’, Association for Learning Development in Higher Education, University of Exeter, April 2019.
‘The Wellbeing Agenda’, Association for Learning Development in Higher Education, University of Leicester, March 2018.
‘John Coltrane and Utopia’, Research on the Rise Conference, Bishop Grosseteste University, September 2017.
‘Marcuse and Hip Hop’, The Frankfurt School and Music International Conference, University College Dublin, July 2014.
‘Coltrane: Free-Jazz and Utopia’, Paths to Utopia Symposium, Cardiff University, June 2013.
‘Dave Chappelle’s Block Party and Marcuse’, Philosophy and Film Society, Cardiff University, November 2012.
‘Ernst Bloch and Utopia’, Utopian Studies Society International Conference, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Spain, July 2012.
‘Ernst Bloch: Abstract or Concrete Utopia?’, South Wales Philosophy Conference, Gregynog, Wales, March 2012.
‘Nietzsche, Music and Language’, South Wales Philosophy Conference, Gregynog, Wales, March 2011.