From Academia to Online Teaching:
In May 2020, I left my academic job at the American University of Beirut (Lebanon) due to the economic crisis that hit the country in October 2019.
Through a series of fortunate events including serendipity, being in the right place at the right time, and the support of many individuals, I began teaching philosophy online in June 2020. The courses were synchronous and attracted participants from all over the world who were intrigued by philosophy and seeking a virtual space to connect with others during pandemic lockdowns and curfews. I have written more about this topic, which can be found here.
It was a learning experience for me for many reasons. I had to figure out a way to make the lectures Zoom-friendly and learn how to adapt the lectures to an audience that I had never addressed before. The majority of the people who signed up were professionals and executives who have been in the workforce for many years. They were not your typical university undergrads who signed up in pursuit of academic credit. Reflecting on this learning curve, and how my method and approach evolved during the past 3 years was the reason why I wrote about the importance of the process and iteration in education. You can find the article here.
From Lebanon to Canada, But Wait:
Another reason why I felt confident in leaving my job was that I had been approved for skilled immigration permanent residency in Canada in March 2020. Although the global lockdowns were implemented two days later, I remained positive that I would be able to travel eventually and find new opportunities in Canada.
As a result, I did not anticipate that my online teaching gig would last more than a few months until travel restrictions were lifted, and I could finally land in Canada to start a new chapter.
That was my plan. But my previous seven years in academia, coupled with many lectures on Stoicism, had taught me to have more than one plan lined up and be prepared.
The August 2020 explosion that rocked the city of Beirut made me reconsider my plans. While the damage incurred was limited to a few broken glasses at home, this somehow made me explore other avenues.
I don’t know why, but the Canada idea seemed less appealing. Maybe I became more superstitious, or I was forced to reexamine the situation from different perspectives, which got me to conclude that Canada was not an ideal destination for me.
So I decided to continue teaching online, save some money on the side, and explore new venues.
Month in and month out, what started as a temporary teaching gig seemed to be dragging. I was offering one online course per month, and people kept signing up. So I thought to myself I could be doing this from anywhere in the world.
Why not stay in Lebanon? You might be asking. And in case you are, here’s why.
Well, because it would be difficult for me to find something other than teaching, and the economy is experiencing a mixture of high inflation, currency devaluation, fuel shortages, electricity cuts, and occasional internet outages.
In other words, it was becoming extremely stressful to run an online gig that depended on me being present there and required electricity, and decent internet.
Spain, MA in Cultural Heritage Management, and Co-teaching:
This is when I looked into the Spain option. I lived in Salamanca, Spain, between 2010 and 2015 to study Spanish and do my MA and Ph.D. in philosophy.
I thought that my online teaching business would enable me to consider the Salamanca option once again. The cost of living is lower than in Beirut, and I could sustain myself by earning less than what I would need if I were to relocate to Canada.
So for the academic year 2021-2022, I applied for an MA in Cultural Heritage Management at the University of Salamanca, where I had lived and done my graduate studies before, which seemed like a good option to complement my experience teaching philosophy, and which would, later on, allow me to pivot into something else eventually.
During my MA, I continued to teach philosophy courses. However, due to the workload, I chose to co-teach with other instructors such as Philippe, Anne Albert, Hani, Mark, Jordan, Urtats, Madonna, and Colin. This allowed us to make the classes more interesting, and diverse and reduced the amount of time I spent preparing lectures. Gradually, a community began to take shape.
Change in Mindset:
In the meantime, diverse opportunities, and paid gigs, started arising. I was invited by Daniel Vassallo to give a talk on Stoicism for the Small bets community, and since then I’ve given the talk four times now. I was also contacted by various people and institutions to design new courses, and to deliver workshops on a variety of subjects.
If you’ve been following my journey, you might probably know how difficult it was for me to make the transition away from academia.
A change in my mindset made me adopt a different approach to how I sought new prospects. Instead of being frustrated about the market, my lack of opportunities, and the fact that I’m not getting any interviews, I decided to put my work out there. And somehow every now and then a new venture arises, and my network keeps growing.
While my situation remains to be precarious because, at any point in time, I might lose my income streams, and while my income itself is not that significant, the experience and change in mindset made me get out of my comfort zone, challenge myself, and seek new ventures without the sense of entitlement I had when I was a university professor.
I used to think that because I had the credentials, I should be offered a full-time position. Now, I have no expectations about how things should be. Instead, I strive to add value in whichever way I can and know that there’s a higher chance of generating a new lead or having a new gig arise because of that.
As of January 2023, I decided to take a break from teaching in order to think about what I wanted to do next. It was the first break I took since June 2020. I was exhausted. Extremely exhausted. And needed to take some distance from everything I was doing in order to clear my mind.
Rebranding:
It was at this point that I decided to approach Lama, the founder of Brand& and a brand strategist. I expressed my interest in using my MA in cultural heritage management and my experience as an archives manager at AUB to transition from full-time philosophy teaching to a career in the culture and creative industries sector. Lama agreed to help me strategize and develop a new brand identity, as well as a nice and slick website design.
The Brand& team, led by Lama, did an exceptional job of capturing the essence of my work and transforming my rough ideas into a polished and inviting design. This was the end result. And this is my new personal website, now live.
Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Philosophy in the Marketplace:
Initially, I made a joke about "Philo-tourism," but it evolved into a concrete project that became my MA thesis. The project involved exploring the concept and nature of philosophical heritage, with a focus on the Spanish philosopher Miguel de Unamuno. I proposed the creation of a walking tour, exhibition, and interactive website to showcase Unamuno's philosophical heritage.
This journey is ongoing, and in the coming months, my plan is to continue merging philosophy, entertainment, tourism, and cultural projects to create fresh prospects, secure new gigs, and develop new products and experiences in my effort to bring philosophy to the marketplace.
You can find me on Twitter @decafquest.
New personal website.