Sophia/Astrology

1
In the article "Astrology, Science and Culture" ...

http://www.rudolfhsmit.nl/b-cult2.htm

... the author of the article states:
Early in 2006 Bath Spa University College announced that it is discontinuing the study of astrology at the Sophia Centre. Dr Curry's position there ceased at the end of June 2006.
I was one of the astrologers who was interviewed for a research project conducted by one of their graduate students. Does anyone know if there were any provision made for students who started their research before the decision to discontinue the study of astrology was reached? Will these students receive academic credit for their work?

The site for the Sophia Centre seems to be down.

2
Hi Andrew, as I understand it the university allowed the academic year '06-7 for people who had already started to finish their MAs. Two of us were taking PhDs and had the option to complete our studies at Bath Spa. For various reasons I chose not to take that option and transferred to the University of Kent. Last I heard, the other PhD was planning to stay on.

4
As "Sophia" doesn't seem to be as valuable as it once was, it is all the more important for people who study astrology to make sure we are becoming WISE people as well as "technically proficient" in our work. Philosophy has always been deemed valuable.... I believe this world is in big trouble if this trend toward "love of machines" continues.....and love of wisdom fades away......
Lainie
Lainie

5
Yes, I agree with this. However, I think one of the difficulties (and I realise I am generalising here) is that most people who study astrology do so in their spare time and try to fit it in around families, other careers etc. So they are flat out just trying to learn the techniques let alone anything else. But many of these people already have degrees in philosophy or languages or history, etc. So applying that sort of knowledge to astrology can only enhance the future direction of astrology. I think (again generalising) that there is a failure to realise just how important things such as philosophy are to astrology. Same goes for history. How can you understand the cycles of astrology without looking at how they operate historically?

I agree with Lainie that there seems to be a significant decrease in the love of wisdom or the desire to learn for the sake of learning. I know from my own experiences with the university system that most undergrads simply want to pick a course that will earn them lots of money and do it as quickly as possible. However, I have always been lucky that I have been able to do much of my academic work, including all of my post graduate work, specifically on astrology. I have the luxury of this because I am not a young 20 year old trying to have a career. But there are plenty of ways of combining astrology with an academic degree, at least in most western universities. Most universities will accommodate this and if you go on to write a thesis then you can choose your own research area. It would be great to see more astrological research coming out of universities. There is a surprising amount now but we have many, many years of neglect to make up for.

6
I was more or less referring to astrology students who give advice to others. Once you put yourself in the position to give advice, there needs to be some care taken that first you do no harm, as in medicine.

Wisdom comes from experience and humility.....and time. And there's no such thing as instant wisdom. Astrology is a Powerful Tool, and should never be taken lightly.
Lainie
Lainie

9
I believe the reason why Sophia dropped astrology is that claims were made that Liz Greene, the primary force behind the program, was not the Ph.D. she has long claimed to be. As it happens, I am the person who made those charges (summer, 2005), and to date, I have had no answer, so I cannot say defintively that that is the case.

It was quite nasty.

Snow is melting rapidly. Am hoping the groundhog saw something.

10
Hi Dave,

In terms of the timing, I can understand your wondering about this, but...

Couldn't this have been pure coincidence, and an innocent explanation such as cuts in funding in higher tiers of Bath Spa's management, insufficient student numbers applying for the course, or the retirement to other involvements of one of the main course managers such as Patrick Curry, be more likely?

I'd rather not speculate too much about something I know so little about, but maybe some of the former and continuing students from the course such as Garry Phillipson, Kim Farnell and Maurice McCann know the official explanation....

But I always thought that Patrick Curry and Nicholas Campion were the main driving forces behind the course in any case, and would have thought that the loss of one occasional lecturer would not have been fatal to its continuation.

Philip

Sophia Astrology

12
Regarding the closure of the course at Bath Spa University. The University arranged the finances so that, once Sophia Trust funds were exhausted, the course would have to be self-funding from student fee income - which would therefore have to cover staff salaries of up to ?80k per annum. The University set the target for recruitment to meet such a sum as the same as the University's Creative Writing MA - about 40 full time students or equivalent. In the academic year 2005-6 the course had 14 full-time equivalent students (equating to about 30 individuals). The University therefore decided to close the course. However, in response to Andrew's question, all students are completing their work. The last is due to complete by May 2008. Also, as Garry says, Patrick Curry, my co-lecturer, moved to the University of Kent. I currently remain at Bath Spa.