Nathanology

Nathanology

Reimagine Education - Member Profile

I am a songwriter, performer and video artist, who uses my artistic apparatus to present philosophical ideas.


What does Nathanology do?

My music videos explore topics drawn from ancient philosophy, economics, pedagogy and other areas, attempting to synthesize, or rather reintegrate, the categories of Education and Entertainment. Need a song made about Stoicism? Critical Theory? Epic Poetry? I can make that for you – generating something that is at once a viable introduction to such a topic, and an authentic artwork.

Who might be interested?

Academics seeking to publicize or encapsulate their courses and publications; companies with particular ideological goals; patrons of the arts with some certain spiritual axe to grind or idea to songify; students who think school lacks soul; souls who think most songs lack substance.

See me in action

'Old School School' - redefining education rap co-conceived with Grokkist (5 min)
'Strange Humankind - an ecological history of humanity' (4.5 min)


What makes me grokkist-friendly?

Among my core beliefs is the notion that Desire is the key ingredient in learning. The word 'study' comes from the Latin studium, meaning zeal, or enthusiasm – if we can recover the truth implicit in that etymology, we go a long way toward recovering what's missing in modern education. You can't effectively learn what you don't authentically care about – and this sense of care, be it organic and freewheeling, is what needs to run the show, rather than institutional expectations. I think that this reintegration, this organic sense of care, is precisely what Grokkist is after, and by virtue of this I'm a grokkist indeed!


Let's learn together through poetic pyrotechnics and symposiastic discussions! Let's integrate education and entertainment!

Let's do some experimental courses, coursing with art, activism and authentic engagement with the topic for its own sake.

🎙 Conversation with Nathan Dufour Oglesby (aka Nathanology)

Danu (founder of Grokkist) spoke with Nathan on the Still Curious podcast to explore the idea of teaching as performance and what's involved in being an artist, academic and activist on YouTube and TikTok.

Listen below or click through to the full episode guide.

🌱 Eco-philosophy course

Ever wanted to take an Intro to Philosophy class, but instead of writing a paper at the end, you help create an ecological revolution? Join my online course!

A journey through the history of environmental thought, drawing on Plato, Spinoza, Deep Ecology and other traditions through lecture, rap and group learning.

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Explore Grokkist's Reimagine Education hub - we're connecting teachers, learners, reformers and radicals from all walks of life to creatively reimagine what grokkist-friendly education looks like.

Nathan Dufour Oglesby

Nathan is a poet, producer and professor who has built a distinctively didactic approach to hip-hop, using the form to explore concepts drawn from philosophy, history and the physical sciences.

Danu Poyner

Danu is the founder of Grokkist and host of the Still Curious Podcast. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand and has a career that has become more squiggly than a Norwegian fjord.