2024 BIAPT Early-Career Prize Winner: Dr Josh Milburn
We are very happy to announce that Dr Josh Milburn has been awarded the 2024 BIAPT Early-Career Prize. Dr Milburn is currently a Lecturer in Political Philosophy at Loughborough University, having previously held posts at the University of Sheffield, University of York, and Queen’s University (Canada) following the completion of his PhD at Queen’s University Belfast.
The majority of Dr Milburn’s work has been within the field of animal rights and animal politics. Through a remarkable publication record for someone at such an early stage of their career, including two monographs, nearly twenty journal articles, and some dozen or so book chapters, Dr Milburn has already made a significant impact not only in these fields but played a leading role in connecting them to broader debates within political theory such as hate speech, the ethics of war and peace, the history of political thought, and more. His forthcoming (and third) book is telling in this regard, connecting as it does an intellectual biography of Nozick with a new and innovative theory of animal rights. And Dr Milburn’s work on hate speech (co-authored with Professor Alasdair Cochrane) – which argues that certain species ought to be safeguarded from harmful speech – has had the (dubious) honour, which few political theorists can boast of, of being cited in parliamentary debates and in The Sun newspaper.
Dr Milburn’s contribution to the teaching of every institution that he has been part of has been exemplary, and his dedication to and impact on students clear. He brings an energy and enthusiasm to the classroom which has regularly been cited by staff and students as enabling a unique and positive learning environment, whether he be covering (as he has) the history of political thought, introduction to philosophy, the ethics of public policy, contemporary issues in political theory, or more besides. The seriousness with which Dr Milburn approaches his teaching commitments is reflected in the fact that he has won accolades from students at each and every one of the institutions he has taught at. He is, in short, a superb teacher of political theory.
The BIAPT judges were also much impressed by Dr Milburn’s commitment both to contributing to the wider discipline of political theory and promoting that discipline more broadly through his public engagement efforts. He co-chairs the MANCEPT panel on animals and political theory, one of the longest standing and popular panels run at the conference and hosts the extremely popular ‘Knowing Animals’ podcast which engages with animal scholars from a number of disciplines, disseminating their work to a broad audience. His enthusiasm for taking part in public lectures, workshops, and media discussions on issues as diverse as cellular agriculture, war and animals, companion animals, legal personhood, the ethics of diet and more, was also judged to be remarkable.
In response to this award, Dr Milburn said: “I am very happy to accept this award, and very flattered that the judging panel selected me. I thank my many mentors and collaborators, including Alasdair Cochrane, for their support. This award is a testament to how political theorists increasingly recognize the importance of questions about animals. I believe that paying attention to these questions is one way that we, as a discipline, can do our part to make the world a better place.”