William Watkin is Professor of Contemporary Philosophy and Literature at Brunel University where he teaches courses on violence, technology, digital literacy and contemporary culture. He is one of the world’s leading experts on contemporary European philosophy.
Prof. Watkin is the author of seven books. His most recent book, Bioviolence: How the powers that be make us do what they want (Routledge 2020), looks at innovations in the way our lives are controlled, coerced but also enhanced by digitisation and social media. He is currently working on a book-length study of the cultural, political and social implications of our new digital age called Anti-Social Media. And a short polemic on populism’s use of social media called Trolling Democracy: How the internet broke politics.
William is a published journalist specialising in issues around social media, digital literacy and politics. He is an expert on fake news in particular, and has appeared on various media platforms talking about post-truth culture, trolling and populism. He is also a keen film-maker with his own Vlog on YouTube dealing with challenges and opportunities presented by the rise of Web 2.0.
Prof. Watkin doesn’t hate the internet, he just thinks it is important that we improve our digital literacy and keep our eyes and minds open every time we click ‘like’ or ‘share’. He wants his own kids to be inspired to become digital creators, not just unthinking curators.