Research interests
Dr Sharpe has an eclectic array of research interests. Increasingly, he works on classical philosophy and modern receptions thereof, and the early modern period, up to and including the French enlightenment. I am interested in the history of Western receptions of its classical past, and the rich ethical legacy left by Stoic and academic schools in particular. Amidst so many 'returns to theology', he is interested in the ways that we might 'return to classical philosophy', and in contesting reactionary versions of this idea and levelling historicising depictions of 'modernity' which don't reflect historical complexity and intellectual debates.
Dr Sharpe has expertise in Lacanian and Freudian psychoanalysis, and the the use of psychoanaytic theory to read comedies, tragedies, and more contemporary cultural forms like 'Reality television'. He has published one single-authroed and one coauthored book on Slavoj Zizek's work, and with Joanne Faulkner, Understanding Psychoanalysis.
In the past, he has published on aesthetics, the theory of ideology, eschatology and political theology, and critical theory. He has written on a host of different thinkers: for instance John Macdowell, Slavoj Zizek, Jacques Lacan, Montaigne, Voltaire, Maimonides, Pierre Hadot, and Epictetus.
Affiliations
Australasian Society of Continental Philosophy
Teaching interests
Knowledge areas
Modern receptions of classical Greek philosophy (I have published extensively on Leo Strauss and his students' and psychoanalytic readings of classical texts, as well as work by Pierre Hadot and those influenced by him).
Hellenistic philosophy
Roman philosophy
Psychoanalysis
20th century European philosophy
Albert Camus
Awards
2010 Deakin Arts Faculty Research Award (B/C Level)
2011 Deakin Arts Faculty Research Award (B/C Level)
2008, 2010: teaching commendations.
2012 member and CI in ARC Discovery team "Religion and Political Thought"
2014 membver and CI in ARC Discovery grant "Reinventing Philosophy as a Way of Life"
Publications
Introduction: European thought, after the deluge
R Jeffs, M Sharpe
(2017), Vol. 25, pp. 1-24, 100 years of European philosophy since the Great War: crisis and reconfigurations, Cham, Switzerland, B1
1750, casualty 1914: lest we forget (the preKantian enlightenment)
M Sharpe
(2017), Vol. 25, pp. 251-276, 100 years of European philosophy since the Great War: crisis and reconfigurations, Cham, Switzerland, B1
Fearless?: Peter Weir, the sage, and the fragility of goodness
M Sharpe
(2017), Vol. 41, pp. 136-157, Philosophy and literature, Baltimore, Md., C1
M Sharpe
(2016), Vol. 8, pp. 375-403, Journal of classical receptions, Oxford, Eng., C1
Lacanian psychoanalysis and critical theory
M Sharpe
(2016), pp. 560-588, Edinburgh companion to critical theory, Edinburgh, Scotland., B1
There is not just a war: recalling the therapeutic metaphor in western metaphilosophy
M Sharpe
(2016), Vol. 55, pp. 31-54, Sophia, Berlin, Germany, C1
On Roland Boer's Marxism and theology
M Sharpe
(2016), Vol. 4, pp. 171-178, Critical research on religion, London, Eng., C1
Socratic ironies: reading Hadot, reading Kierkegaard
M Sharpe
(2016), Vol. 55, pp. 409-435, Sophia, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, C1
M Sharpe
(2016), Vol. 2016, pp. 25-52, Pli: the Warwick journal of philosophy, Warwick ,Eng., C1
M Sharpe
(2016), Vol. 14, pp. 25-38, Philosophy as a literary art: making things up, Abingdon, Eng., B1
Comedy and the agency of the letter in a midsummer night's dream
M Sharpe
(2016), pp. 133-155, Lacan, psychoanalysis, and comedy, Cambridge, Eng., B1
Albert Camus' hellenic heart, between Saint Augustine and Hegel
M Sharpe
(2016), Vol. 9, pp. 242-268, Brill's companion to the reception of the classics in international modernism and the avant garde, Boston, Ma., B1
On a neglected argument in French philosophy: Sceptical humanism in Montaigne, Voltaire and Camus
M Sharpe
(2015), Vol. 16, pp. 1-26, Critical horizons, Leiden, The Netherlands, C1
Killing the father, Parmenides: on Lacan's anti-philosophy
M Sharpe
(2015), Vol. OnlineFirst, pp. 1-24, Continental philosophy review, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, C1
M Sharpe
(2015), Vol. 15, pp. 106-117, Parrhesia: a journal of critical philosophy, Parkville, Vic., C1
M Sharpe
(2015), Vol. 4, pp. 37-68, Journal of early modern studies, Firenze, Italy, C1
Introduction: secularization and its discontents
M Sharpe, D Nickelson
(2014), pp. 3-19, Secularisations and Their Debates, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, B1
A just judgement? Considerations on Ronald Srigley's Camus' Critique of Modernity
M Sharpe
(2014), Vol. 120, pp. 43-58, Thesis Eleven, London, UK, C1
The Black Side of the Sun: Camus, Theology, and the Problem of Evil
M Sharpe
(2014), Vol. 15, pp. 151-174, Political Theology, Leeds, UK, C1
Georgics of the mind and the architecture of fortune: Francis Bacon's therapeutic ethics
M Sharpe
(2014), Vol. 43, pp. 89-121, Philosophical Papers, London, Eng., C1
Between Genet's Bordello and holy communion : Lacan on comedy in seminar V
Matthew Sharpe
(2014), Vol. 6-7, pp. 61-72, Journal of the Jan van Eyck Circle for Lacanian ideology critique, Maastricht, The Netherlands, C1-1
How it's not the Chryssippus you read : on Cooper, Hadot, Epictetus, and stoicism as a way of life
M Sharpe
(2014), Vol. 58, pp. 367-392, Philosophy today, Chicago, IL, C1
Publicizing the Essentially Private : On Leo Strauss' Platonic Aristophanes
Sharpe, Matthew
(2014), Vol. 18, pp. 3-32, Symposium: Canadian Journal of Continental Philosophy, Ottawa, Ont., C1
M Sharpe
(2014), Vol. 2014, pp. 117-144, Journal of Camus Studies, C1
Camus' Askesis: reading Camus in light of the Carnets (and his L'Impromptu des philosophes)
M Sharpe
(2013), Vol. 8, pp. 1149-1164, Philosophical practice, London, Eng., C1
Controlling the philosophical imaginary: reading Pierre Hadot with Luiz Costa Lima
M Sharpe
(2013), Vol. 54, pp. 225-240, Culture, theory & critique, London, Eng., C1
On eschatology and the 'return to religion'
M Sharpe
(2013), pp. 203-228, Arena journal, Melbourne, Vic., C1
Name it and claim it: prosperity gospel and the global pentecostal reformation
M Sharpe
(2013), pp. 164-182, Handbook of research on development and religion, Cheltenham, England, B1
In the beginning was ... the story? On secularisation, narrative, and nominalisms
M Sharpe
(2013), pp. 109-130, Secularisations and their debates, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, B1
The poetic presentation of philosophy:Leo Strauss on Plato's "symposium"
M Sharpe
(2013), Vol. 34, pp. 563-603, Poetics today, Durham, North Carolina, C1
'More things in heaven and earth ...': The theological aufhebung of Roland Boer
M Sharpe
(2013), pp. 28-58, Arena journal, Fitzroy, Vic., C1-1
Revaluing megalopsuchia : reflections on the Alcibiades II
M Sharpe
(2012), pp. 134-146, Alcibiades and the Socratic lover-educator, London, U. K., B1
Sharing the moment : on the Olympic Games as spectacle
M Sharpe
(2012), pp. 273-286, The Olympics and philosophy, Lexington, Mass., B1
Philosophy and the view from above in Alejandro's Amenabar's agora
M Sharpe
(2012), Vol. 6, pp. 31-45, Crossroads : an interdisciplinary journal for the study of history, philosophy, religion and classics, St Lucia, Qld., C1
Changing Aristotle's mind and world : critical notes on McDowell's Aristotle
M Sharpe
(2012), Vol. 2, pp. 804-821, Philosophy study, Libertyville, Ill., C1
Restoring Camus as Philosophe: On Ronald Srigley's Camus' Critique of Modernity
M Sharpe
(2012), Vol. 13, pp. 400-424, Critical horizons, Durham, England, C1
'To be or not ...' Lacan and the meaning of being in Shakepeare's Hamlet
M Sharpe
(2012), pp. 89-116, The literary Lacan : from literature to lituraterre and beyond, Calcutta, India, B1
In the name of the father : understanding monotheism and fundamentalism
R Grigg, M Sharpe
(2011), pp. 81-87, The Antipodean philosopher ; volume 1 : public lectures on philosophy in Australia and New Zealand, Lanham, Md., B1
Reading Camus with, or after, Levinas : rebellion and the primacy of ethics
M Sharpe
(2011), Vol. 55, pp. 82-95, Philosophy today, Chicago, Ill., C1
M Sharpe
(2011), Vol. 50, pp. 413-427, Sophia, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, C1
M Sharpe, D Townsend
(2011), pp. 131-148, Interpreting Nietzsche : reception and influence, New York, N.Y., B1
G Boucher, M Sharpe
(2011), Vol. 72, pp. 64-79, New formations : a journal of culture / theory / politics, London, England, C1
M Sharpe
(2011), pp. 1-14, Internet encyclopedia of philosophy, [unknown], C1
The invincible summer : on Albert Camus' philosophical neoclassicism
M Sharpe
(2011), Vol. 50, pp. 577-592, Sophia, Dordrecht, Netherlands, C1
'Only the present is our happiness' : on affects in ancient thought, in memorium Pierre Hadot
M Sharpe
(2011), pp. 144-156, Parrhesia : a journal of critical philosophy, Parkville, Vic., C1
On getting real : Stoicism and psychoanalysis
M Sharpe
(2011), pp. 201-204, Anthology of philosophical studies; Volume 6, Athens, Greece, E1-1
M Sharpe
(2011), Vol. 50, pp. 141-158, Sophia, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, C1-1
When the logics of the world collapse - ?i?ek with and against Arendt on 'totalitarianism'
M Sharpe
(2010), Vol. 3, pp. 53-75, Subjectivity : International journal of critical psychology, London, England, C1
Who stole the cheese? or : How postmodernism can grow your business
M Sharpe
(2010), Vol. 89, pp. 525-541, Man in India, New Delhi, India, C1
Zizek's communism and in defence of lost causes
M Sharpe, G Boucher
(2010), Vol. 4, pp. np-, International journal of Zizek studies, Leeds, England, C1
Then we will fight them in the shadows! : seven parataxic views, on Zizek's style
M Sharpe
(2010), Vol. 4, pp. 1-35, International journal of Zizek studies, Leeds, England, C1
On Plato as origin and periagoge in Strauss and Arendt
M Sharpe
(2010), pp. 119-141, Legacy of Leo Strauss, Exeter, England, B1
M Sharpe
(2010), pp. 243-258, From Agamben to ?i?ek : contemporary critical theorists, Edinburgh, Scotland, B1
Uncovering Euthyphro's treasure reading Plato's Euthyphro with Lacan
M Sharpe
(2010), Vol. 37, pp. 23-48, Helios, Lubbock, Texas, C1-1
"Critchley is ?i?ek" : in defence of critical political philosophy
M Sharpe
(2009), Vol. 10, pp. 180-196, Critical horizons, Sheffield, U. K., C1
Of diabolical evil, and related matters : on Slavoj ?i?ek's reading of Kant's practical philosophy
M Sharpe
(2009), Vol. 3, pp. 1-23, International journal of Zizek studies, Leeds, England, C1
M Sharpe
(2009), Vol. 14, pp. 535-547, European legacy, toward new paradigms, Oxford, England, C1
Is neoliberalism a Liberalism, or a strange kind of bird? On Hayek and our discontents
M Sharpe
(2009), Vol. 10, pp. 76-98, Critical horizons, Stocksfield, England, C1
Only Agamben can save us? Against the messianic turn recently adopted in critical theory
M Sharpe
(2009), Vol. 5, Bible and critical theory, Melbourne, Vic., C1
The times will suit them : postmodern conservatism in Australia
G Boucher, M Sharpe
(2008), Crows Nest, N. S. W., A1
Resurrecting (meta-) political theology, or the abstract passion of Alain Badiou
M Sharpe
(2008), Vol. No.29/30, pp. 273-304, Arena journal, Australia, C1
Kant, or the crack in the universal : Slavoj Zizek's politicising the transcendental turn
M Sharpe
(2008), Vol. 2, pp. 1-20, International journal of Zizek studies, Leeds, United Kingdom, C1
In the name of the Father : God in Lacan, Judaic or Christian?
M Sharpe
(2008), Vol. 26, pp. 267-285, Psychoanalytische perspectieven, Ghent, Belgium, C1-1
Postmodern conservatism and reactionary recognition
A Vandenberg, M Sharpe, G Boucher
(2007), pp. 116-134, Recognition in politics: theory, policy and practice, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, B1
Supposing history were a woman, what then? Some timely meditations on tyranny
M Sharpe
(2007), pp. 186-209, Trauma, History, Philosophy, Newcastle, England, B1
Neuropsychoanalysis and the future of psychoanalysis
M Sharpe
(2007), pp. 313-323, Trauma, history, philosophy, Newcastle, England, B1
Maistre avec de Sade: Zizek contra de maistre
M Sharpe
(2007), Vol. 1, pp. 1-24, International journal of Zizek studies, Leeds, England, C1
A question of two truths? Remarks on Parrhesia and the 'political-philosophical' difference
M Sharpe
(2007), pp. 89-108, Parrhesia: a journal of critical philosophy, Parkville, Vic, C1
Che Vuoi? Politico-philosophical remarks on Leo Strauss' Spinoza
M Sharpe
(2007), Vol. 3, pp. 1-14, Bible and critical theory, Melbourne, Vic, C1
Even better than the real thing: sadism and real(ity) t.v.
M Sharpe
(2007), Vol. 4, pp. 1-9, Scan : journal of media arts culture, Sydney, N.S.W, C1
M Sharpe
(2006), Vol. 24, pp. 95-123, Australian feminist law journal, Parkville, Vic, C1
The aesthetics of ideology, or 'the critique of ideological judgment' in Eagleton and Zizek
M Sharpe
(2006), Vol. 34, pp. 95-120, Political theory : an international journal of political philosophy, Thousand Oaks, Calif., C1
A coincidentia oppositorium? On Carl Schmitt and new Australian conservatism
M Sharpe
(2006), Vol. 5, pp. 1-14, Borderlands, Adelaide, S. Aust., C1
The philosopher's courtly love? Leo Strauss, Eros, and the law
M Sharpe
(2006), Vol. 17, pp. 357-388, Law critique, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, C1
M Sharpe
(2006), Vol. 27, pp. 123-158, Arena journal, North Carlton, Vic, C1
Of words : on sartre and the unconscious - in good faith
M Sharpe
(2006), pp. 1-20, Journal of european psychoanalysis, Rome, Italy, C1-1
'In the name of the Father...' descartes, psychosis, God and 'reality'
M Sharpe
(2006), Vol. 4, pp. 214-232, Journal for Lacanian studies, London, England, C1-1
What's left in Zizek? The antinomies of Zizek's sociopolitical reason
M Sharpe
(2005), pp. 147-168, Traversing the fantasy: critical responses to Slavoj Zizek, Aldershot, England, B1
Introduction: traversing the fantasy
G Boucher, M Sharpe
(2005), pp. 1-, Traversing the fantasy: critical responses to Slavoj Zizek, Aldershot, England, B1
Aesthet(h)ics: on Levinas' shadow
M Sharpe
(2005), Vol. 9, pp. 29-47, Colloquy text theory critique, Melbourne, Vic, C1
Is there a minority report?, or: what is subjectivity?
M Sharpe
(2005), Vol. 2, pp. 4-14, Other voices, Philadelphia, PA, C1
Critique as technology of the self
M Sharpe
(2005), pp. 97-116, Foucault studies, Kelvin Grove, Qld, C1
A few good men: psychoanalysis, Abu ghraib and (the) American right
M Sharpe
(2005), Vol. 10, pp. 168-185, Psychoanalysis, culture & society, Basingstoke, England, C1
Irony and finitude: Zizek, Kundera and modernity
M Sharpe
(2004), Vol. 14, pp. 9-24, Antithesis, Parkville, Vic, C1
Grants
Australian Competitive Grants
Reinventing Philosophy as a Way of Life - Monash University
Dr Michael Ure, Prof Keith Ansell-Pearson, A/Prof Matthew Sharpe
ARC - Discovery Projects
- 2016: $9,600
- 2015: $4,814
- 2014: $4,814
Supervisions
Adrienne Margarian
Thesis entitled: A Cross Cultural Study of Somatic Countertransference
Doctor of Philosophy, School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Daniel Jeffrey Edward Townsend
Thesis entitled: Leo Strauss and Islam
Doctor of Philosophy, School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Christopher Pollard
Thesis entitled: Merleau-Ponty, Naturalism and Phenomenological Ontology
Doctor of Philosophy, School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Russell Manning
Thesis entitled: Is this Revolution being Televised? Televisual Screens and Adolescent Subjectivity
Master of Arts, School of International and Political Studies
Mitchell David Cunningham
Thesis entitled: Performing the ¿Fiction-Writer¿s Reader¿: David Foster Wallace and Critical Rhetoric
Doctor of Philosophy, School of Communication & Creative Arts
Salvatore Guido
Thesis entitled: After Freud: The Fateful History of Psychoanalysis in Exile
Doctor of Philosophy, School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Andrew Sims
Thesis entitled: Anosognosia and the very idea of psychodynamic neuroscience
Doctor of Philosophy, School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Tim Themi
Thesis entitled: Lacan's Ethics and Nietzsche's Critique of Platonism
Doctor of Philosophy, School of International and Political Studies
Helen Isobel Besemeres
Thesis entitled: Radical Epistemological Skepticism about Justified Belief
Master of Arts, School of International and Political Studies
Una Murphy
Thesis entitled: Bhakti, Sankirtana and Gaudiya Vaisnavism: India to Australia Foucaultian Analysis
Doctor of Philosophy, School of International and Political Studies
Henry Meghaizel
Thesis entitled: Aristotle on Wisdom: Knowledge of Wisdom and How to Acquire It
Doctor of Philosophy, School of International and Political Studies
Patricia Gherovici
Thesis entitled: From Hysteria to Transgenderism: A Psychoanalytic Reconsideration of Sexual Difference
Doctor of Philosophy, School of International and Political Studies
Peter Robert Hotchin
Thesis entitled: Harmony in and between Aesthetic Experiences and Moral Experience
Master of Arts, School of International and Political Studies
Henk John van Leeuwen
Thesis entitled: Becoming at Home in the Natural World
Doctor of Philosophy, School of International and Political Studies
Lindsay Reginald Dawson
Thesis entitled: Philosophy, Business and Ethics: Balancing the Rational with the Thymotic
Doctor of Philosophy, School of History, Heritage and Society
Jon Kenneth Newton
Thesis entitled: Postmodernism, Christianity and the Book of Revelation
Doctor of Philosophy, School of Communication & Creative Arts