Christopher John Stocking

I joined the University of Roehampton Humanities department in 2020 as a PhD student in Philosophy. I also hold an Associate Tutor post at the University of Sussex where I teach on MSc modules in Business Communication and Intercultural Communication. I obtained my MA in Applied Linguistics and English Language Teaching from Sussex University in 2015.   

My research focuses on post-war Continental philosophy and its application to contemporary pedagogical practice. My doctoral thesis looks specifically at how Deleuze and Guattari's concept of nomadism can be used to rethink the relationship between civic education, democratic inclusivity, and our increasingly globalised world. 

My thesis engages with the following research questions:

1. What is it that nomadism allows us to think in relation to civic practice and how does this traverse the restrictions neoliberalism places on democratic inclusivity? 
2. Under what conditions does nomadic thinking transition into a becoming-democratic and how could this transform civic space into a creative space for a radically inclusive ‘people to come’?
3. What pedagogical practices can be developed that will facilitate a more creative, inclusive process of civic education and democratic becoming? 

To date, I have successfully completed all milestones for doctoral continuation and am presently writing two conference papers. The first, ‘Nurturing openness within education: Meditations on escaping the program’, corresponds with my third research question. It utilises Deleuze’s ontological category of repetition to re-envision educational programs as open encounters that actively resist the formation of disciplinary knowledge. The second paper, ‘Developing a nomadic field theory of education’, also corresponds with my third research question, and seeks to map identity theory, sociocultural theory, and complexity theory models of learning onto Deleuzian concepts. This is done in order to reimagine learning environments as dynamic spaces that engender nomadic enquiry through communal interaction.

The University of Roehampton

2021 to present

I am a co-designer and lecturer on a new module 'Beyond Profit' which looks to introduce ethical business practices and questions to MSc Business students

I am a lecturer on a BA module entitled 'Ethical Dilemmas, Rights and Responsibilities in Education'

The University of Sussex

2017 to present

I teach Business Communication (MSc) during the Autum term and Intercultural Communication (MSc) during the Winter term. I also tutor in English for Acadmic Purposes (Undergraduate and Postgraduate) during the Summer.

ELC Educational Charity, Hove

2017-2020

I have taught on English for Academic Purposes courses and on English for Global Citizenship courses. I have also run teacher training courses which examine Second Language Acquisition processes from the perspectives of sociocultural theory, identity theory, and dynamic systems theory.

I have a BSc in Geology (Hons) from the University of Bristol (2001-2004) and an MA in Applied Linguistics and English Language Teaching (Distinction) from the University of Sussex (2013-2015).

I am a member of the Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain as well as the Royal Institute of Philosophy.