Staff Profile

Adam Potts is an interdisciplinary researcher and lecturer who specialises in the philosophy of Maurice Blanchot, Georges Bataille, and the areas of aesthetics, sound studies and the philosophy of music. He achieved his BA, MA and PhD at Newcastle University. 

He joined the Philosophy department full time in 2015 and has taught modules on existentialism, phenomenology and contemporary aesthetics. He has also taught a faculty-wide postgraduate module called An Introduction to the Nature of Explanation and Enquiry. This module addresses epistemological issues in the natural and social sciences through the use of technology enhanced learning and blended delivery. 

Roles and Responsibilities

Lecturer

co-Director of Education for School X

Qualifications

PhD, MA, BA Hons (Newcastle)

Adam Potts' major research interests are the philosophy of Maurice Blanchot, Georges Bataille, aesthetics, sound studies and the philosophy of music. He has published on a range of topics including noise, listening, issues related to the practice of writing about sound and Blanchot's philosophy in relation to sound and music. He is the sole editor of 'Sounds of Disaster: Sonic Encounters with Blanchot’ (published as a book called Sonic Encounters with Blanchot); this is an edited collection of essays that explores the latent and explicit sonic content of Blanchot’s writing, his treatment of music and the possibilities of thinking about contemporary music and sound art through his work. Currently, Adam is working on broader issues related to creative practice, modernism and philosophies of hope. 

PHI1005 - Existentialism and the Self (Module Leader)

PHI2005 - Consciousness, Art and Technology (Module Leader)

PHI1004; PHI2004; PHI3004 - Project Modules (Project Tutor)

• Potts A. Review of Annihilating Noise, by Paul Hegarty. Popular Music 2022, 41(2), 271-272.
• Potts A. Acéphale and The Step Not Beyond. In: Edia Connole and Gary J. Shipley, ed. Acéphale and Autobiographical Philosophy in the 21st Century. London: Schism Press, 2021, pp.331-354.
• Potts A. Review of Maurice Blanchot: A Critical Biography, by Christophe Bident. H-France Review 2021, 21(2).
• Potts A. The Apocalyptic Tone of Scott Walker, Sunn O))) and Soused. Journal for Cultural Research 2020, 24(3), 185-202.
• Potts A. Review of Singed: Muted Voice Transmissions, After the Fire. Journal of Sonic Studies 2019.
• Potts A, ed. Sonic Encounters with Blanchot. London: Routledge, 2019.
• Potts A. Blanchot and Sound. Angelaki 2018, 23(3), 3-9.
• Potts A. Maurice Blanchot. In: Eugene O'Brien, ed. Oxford Bibliographies in Literary and Critical Theory. New York: Oxford University Press, 2018.
• Potts A. Passive Noise. Angelaki 2018, 23(3), 42-57.
• Potts A, ed. Sounds of Disaster: Sonic Encounters with Blanchot. Taylor & Francis Online, 2018.
• Potts A. Writing Sound and Radical Fiction: the Abyssal Space of Writing, Reading and Listening. New Writing: The International Journal for the Practice and Theory of Creative Writing 2017, 14(1), 117-126.
• Potts A. Phenomenology of Listening and the Challenge of Writing Sound. The Philosopher 2015, CIII(2), 3-9.
• Potts A. The Internal Death of Japanoise. Journal for Cultural Research 2015, 19(4), 379-392.
• Potts A. Alone in Sachiko’s Salon. 2014. Bergen: Lydgalleriet, 2.
• Potts A. Come On Feel the Noise: Sound and Images of Uncertainity in Japanese Cinema. Midnight Eye: Visions of Japanese Cinema, 2013. Available at: http://www.midnighteye.com/features/come-on-feel-the-noise-sounds-and-images-of-uncertainty-in-japanese-cinema/.
• Potts A. Noise, Nausea and the Night: Distinguishing Between Active and Passive Noise. In: The Noise Non-ference Reader. 2013, New York, NY, USA: Qubit.