Faculty in the News: Bates Bylines and Sources<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Associate Professor of Philosophy Paul Schofield\u2019s research<\/a> focuses on moral and political philosophy as well as the philosophy of film. He teaches classes on ethics and politics, the history of philosophy, and the philosophy of film.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n Bates News<\/em> <\/strong>had a conversation with Schofield about his exploration of homelessness in America \u2014 including his widely distributed <\/strong>Washington Post<\/em> opinion piece \u2014 and the ways he hopes to deepen the progressive response to the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n BN: <\/strong>In April you tweeted out a series of posts on X<\/a>, formerly known as Twitter, about photographer J.M. Simpson\u2019s work in Washington State, humanizing the lives of unhoused people living communally and otherwise. Your first post was shared something like 24,000 times, and it drew the notice of a writer for Seattle Metropolitan<\/em> magazine who contacted Simpson and did an interview with him (and you) <\/a>that ran last month. How did you come to know Simpson\u2019s work?<\/p>\n\n\n Schofield:<\/strong> I\u2019d published an op-ed in The<\/em> Washington Post<\/em><\/a> and when you do that, you get some e-mails! Some were encouraging, some were angry, and some were just attempts to share thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One came from a formerly unhoused individual who linked to something he\u2019d written. After a little back and forth, he told me I should look at the photography of someone he knew. Now, I didn\u2019t really know what to expect\u2014this was a more or less random person telling me to look at his friend\u2019s pictures, and my expectations were low, quite honestly. But I got in contact with the friend and when I opened up the attachments to his e-mail I was absolutely astounded. It was just a wonderful gift that fell right into my lap!<\/p>\n\n\n\n BN:<\/strong> Were you surprised by how widely your posts were shared? Have you been in touch with Simpson since the Seattle Met<\/em> <\/strong>piece appeared? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Schofield:<\/strong> It took off more than I could have hoped. But I was intentionally aiming to get a wider audience for his work and so I thought for a while about when and how to write a thread that might get some attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I asked Simpson ahead of time if he was OK with this, and he said, \u201cSure.\u201d After the post went viral, I told him about it (he\u2019s not on Twitter\/X), and he said that was great, but his main hope was that this would bring more attention to the issue of homelessness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some people say things like that just because that\u2019s what you\u2019re supposed to say. But I feel like he really meant it. How odd! At any rate, I<\/em> was glad his work got so much recognition (in addition to being glad about bringing attention to the issue, of course). And yes, he and I have talked recently. We\u2019ve Zoomed several times in the last few months, and I\u2019m going out to Olympia during fall break to meet with him and to visit the encampments out there. Hopefully some collaboration will come out of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n BN:<\/strong> This issue has seemingly become a key part of your scholarship. In 2022 you were featured in the University of New Hampshire\u2019s Philosophy Colloquium Series, arguing that homelessness should be considered in a different light than other social justice matters because it tests our democratic commitments as a liberal democracy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Associate](\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2024\/02\/schofield_creenshot-2024-02-16-at-12.42.02-PM-657x900.webp\")
![\"unhoused](\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2024\/09\/GLhWtw7XMAAYQmD.webp\")