The Philosophy Academic Society (PAS) is the undergraduate club at UTM in charge of bringing philosophy students together through various community events and professor lectures. Additionally, PAS has its very own Symposium! In this community we extend our scope to include students who are interested in philosophy that are not in the program! Learn more about PAS and the Symposium by coming to our events and following our socials. Hope to see you there!
Discord: https://discord.gg/8GexaFSSRk
Email: philosophy@utmsu.ca
Instagram: @utm_philosophy
Symposium Instagram: @symposium.pas
Facebook: facebook.com/utmphilosophysociety
UTM PAS 2024
President: Eithar Abdulkareem
My name is Eithar. I’m a philosophy specialist in my 3rd year and I’m very excited to bring the philosophy academic society back to life. I love philosophy and the pursuit of wisdom and I’m really hoping that shines through in what I have planned for this year.
My interests are all over the place, from metaphysics and mysticism to ethics and ecology, it’s just all so interesting. I co-founded The Symposium last year as a dialogical space for philosophers and non-philosophers to come together and become part of the larger conversation, to have the courage to think and speak about those thoughts to each other.
The symposium was, to a large extent, a success. The students needed a space like that, and we are excited to be incorporating the symposium into the philosophy academic society this year so that it can continue to inspire even when we aren’t there to push it. Come find me one day I’d love to chat, I’m usually in the department, but when not I’m probably somewhere near the trees.
If I had one philosopher I would recommend everyone read, it would have to be Jan Zwicky.
Co-Vice President: Taranveer Singh
My name is Taranveer, but I go by Taran. I am currently a third-year student double majoring in Philosophy and Economics; I am also completing a minor in Ethics, Law and Society. I initially planned to major in Political science, but after attending university quickly recognised that what I was really fascinated by was political and legal theory. Hence, my main interest within philosophy lies in the political realm. I am fascinated by discussions pertaining to the role of the state, authority, and the judiciary in an effectively functioning society. I plan to continue on in my philosophical journey by completing a combined JD/PHD to explore the intertwining of law and philosophy at a graduate level.
This year I will also be serving as a teaching assistant for PHL103. So, I hope to continue to engage with political and legal philosophy, as well as ethics, through teaching the content, engaging with students in tutorials and grading papers. I look forward to my involvement with PAS in the coming semesters and hope to support the executive team in their mission to revive the philosophy community here at UTM.
Co-Vice President: Sana Rauf
Hello, fellow travellers and lovers of wisdom– what a pleasure it is to cross paths! My name is Sana A. Rauf, I use she/her pronouns and am studying a double major in Philosophy and History with a minor in Ethics, Law and Society. My primary interests in philosophy include Political Philosophy and Ethics. Together, these fields further my ability to consume and interact with global, political and personal matters I value, rationally and productively.
It is my pleasure, honor and privilege to say that I am joining PAS’ community as VP for the 2024-2025 academic year. As VP, I pledge to incorporate and celebrate diverse voices in philosophy as I believe they are pivotal to collective growth. In full, I identify as a Muslim Canadian-Pakistani first-generation woman with a hidden disability, needless to say, we don’t see a lot of that blend in the field. Learning from roles in Model UN, the Ontario Ethics Bowl and varying federal-government offices, I have prepared myself to thrive in environments, like PAS’, requiring equal parts attention to detail and passion for philosophy.
If you need me, you can often find me in the library, channeling my inner Aristotle—hoping to find some Golden Mean between too much coffee and too little sleep!
Senior Advisor & Head of The Symposium: Mariam Khursheed
My name is Mariam! I am in my fourth-year majoring in history, minoring in philosophy and education studies. I want to go to law school and work within education reform and policy.
I believe in chaotic learning and insight. I believe if you align action with your heart, the path that is distinctly yours will find you. I also believe I am going to change the world. And I think the only thing that would stop YOU from changing the world is the belief that you can’t.
I am very excited to have joined PAS this year as an advisor. Even more, I am supremely excited to have been a part of the process of PAS getting its own Symposium! This space for deep dialogue and connection isn’t meant to be analytical or coherent all the time. We VALUE chaos in opinion and conversation. We believe that this new consistent community space is as Socrates would have wanted – dialogue at the centre of learning, at the centre of philosophy.
Anyways, thank you for getting to know a little bit about me. I really hope you join us – humble and open. With your voice, we come closer to truth.