Matthew Perry

I completed my BA in Philosophy Politics and Economics at The University of Manchester in 2018. I was awarded the Dean's Award, the PPE Final Year Award and the Norman Geras prize for Political Theory. During my undergraduate I was also one of the Chief Editors and Co-Founder of Juncture, The University of Manchester Undergraduate Politics Journal.

In 2018, I accepted an ESRC funded 1+3 studentship in Political Theory at The University of Manchester, through which I subsequently completed my MA in 2019. I have now begun doctoral research towards completion of my PhD.

My supervisors are Dr Liam Shields and Dr Richard Child at the Manchester Centre for Political Theory (MANCEPT). I conduct research into the concept of Dignity and the justification of basic "human" rights.

I am interested in all areas of contemporary political, legal and moral theory, including, for example, contemporary theories of justice, state legitimacy, and democracy.

My research specifically seeks to explain the possession of basic "human" rights through interrogating the idea often established at their foundation: Dignity. I aim to clear the current ambiguity of this notion by, among other things, attending to: the supposed rights of non-human animals, the status of and human differentiation from non-human animals, the problem of equalising status and what the recognition of Dignity amounts to.

I have previously taught on two undergraduate modules in Political Theory:

• 2019-2020 Academic Year: Introduction to Political Theory (1st Year)
• 2020-2021 Academic Year: Ideals of Social Justice (2nd Year)

You can find me on academia.edu at: https://manchester.academia.edu/MatthewWrayPerry