Richardson, Brian W. 1966–

(Brian William Richardson)

PERSONAL:

Born 1966. Education: University of Victoria, B.A. (political science) and B.A. (philosophy), both (with first-class honors), 1989, M.A. (political science), 1992; University of Hawaii, M.A. (philosophy), 1996, Ph.D. (political science), 2001, M.LIS., 2002, Ph.D. (philosophy), 2005.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Honolulu, HI. Office—Library, Windward Community College, 45-720 Keaahala Rd., Kaneohe, HI 96744. E-mail—richards@hawaii.edu.

CAREER:

Bolen Books, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, bookstore clerk, 1980-91; Windward Community College, Kaneohe, HI, instructor. Conference presenter; guest on radio programs; public speaker.

MEMBER:

Hawaii Library Association (member of executive board, 2006—), Beta Phi Mu.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Grants from Hawaii Council for Humanities, 2005, 2006.

WRITINGS:

Longitude and Empire: How Captain Cook's Voyages Changed the World, University of British Columbia Press (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada), 2006.

Contributor to Canadian Review of Comparative Literature; also reviewer for other periodicals.

SIDELIGHTS:

When asked who or what influences his work, Brian W. Richardson told CA: "The struggle with understanding and writing about the works of some key philosophers, including Thomas Hobbes, G.W.F. Hegel, and Ludwig Wittgenstein.

"[My writing process] is really a rewriting process: printing out a draft, marking it up, entering the corrections, and then printing out another draft."

Richardson identified A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole and Animal Farm by George Orwell as two of his favorite books, "because they show how foolish people (or animals) can be.

"I hope Longitude and Empire: How Captain Cook's Voyages Changed the World, replaces the reverence that is paid to Captain Cook with a greater understanding of how the voyages connect to the intellectual history of Europe and the world."