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Geoffrey Ashton

Associate professor.

Professor Geoff Ashton joined the Department of Philosophy at USF from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, where he also held an appointment as Assistant Professor of Asian Philosophy. Prof. Ashton has studied Sanskrit, Thai, and Spanish, and conducted research at numerous institutions of higher learning abroad (twice as a Fulbright scholar), including Jawaharlal Nehru University (Delhi, India), Deccan College (Pune, India), the Jñāna-Pravaha Institute (Varanasi, India), Chiang Mai University (Chiang Mai, Thailand), Chulalongkorn University (Bangkok, Thailand), and La Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Madrid, Spain). He has also been invited to present his research in India, Thailand, China, Singapore, Austria, Iceland, Poland, and England. 

He has authored numerous articles, book chapters, and essays on Indian Philosophy, Buddhist Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion, Comparative Ethics, and Comparative Aesthetics. He currently has three main research agendas: Indian Philosophy of Religion, Buddhist Philosophy and Comparative Ethics, and Comparative Aesthetics. 

Geoff is currently revising a pair of books on Samkhya philosophy of nature. The first manuscript is titled "Whose Suffering? Whose Freedom? A Phenomenological Reconstruction of Sāṃkhya Naturalism," and should be completed by the end of this coming summer. Together, these research projects offer a philosophical interpretation of the Sāṃkhya Kārikā as a phenomenology of natural life. It critiques various modern scientific assumptions toward nature that underlie standard readings of the Sāṃkhya Kārikā. In place of this, Geoff’s research turns to the following three philosophies of “life” with a view to reconsidering how the Sāṃkhya Kārikā understands the natural world, human life, and the interrelation between the two: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s theory of organics, José Ortega y Gasset’s existential phenomenology of life, and Karl von Uexkull's biosemiotics. 

A second and on-going research agenda draws upon Geoff’s background in Buddhist philosophy, Thai Studies, and Thai language. Tentatively titled, “From No-Self to Social Agency: A Thai Buddhist Approach to Social Engagement,” this project examines the theoretical underpinnings and practical manifestations of a Thai Buddhist vision of social engagement. Among other funding agencies, this project has been supported by “The Project of Empowering Network for International Thai Studies” (Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand). 

A third research agenda explores cultural and disciplinary variation in thinking through mimesis (Sanskrit: anukṛti). Sponsored by the Fulbright Scholar Program, this project draws upon debates within Indian aesthetics, art history, postcolonial theories of art, and Western mimetic theory, in order to argue that Indian philosophers of art frequently rejected mimesis as an artistic ideal due to its perceived implications for a dualistic metaphysics.

Research Areas

• Indian Philosophy
• Buddhist Philosophy
• East-South Philosophy
• Philosophy of Religion
• PhD, Philosophy (Asian and Comparative Philosophy), University of Hawai’i at Mānoa
• MA, Philosophy (Indian Philosophy), University of Hawai'i at Mānoa
• MA, South Asian Languages and Civilizations (Sanskrit, Indian Aesthetics), University of Chicago

Prior Experience

• Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (2012-2017)
• Visiting Johnston Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, Whitman College (2011-2012)

Awards & Distinctions

• Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Award, 2015-2017

Selected Publications

Ashton, G. (under review) Whose Suffering? Whose Freedom? A Phenomenological Reconstruction of the Philosophy of the Sāṃkhya Kārikā . New York: SUNY.

Ashton, G. (forthcoming). “Misreading Mimesis in the Abhinavabhāratī : The Theological Basis of Abhinavagupta’s Critique of Anukaraṇa - Vāda .” In Comparative Aesthetics in a Contemporary Frame , ed. Parul Dave-Mukherji.

Ashton, G. (forthcoming). “Divine Androgyny and the Play of Self-Recognition: Revisiting Some Issues in Gender Theory through an Un-orthodox Interpretation of Ardhanārīśvara.” In Gender and Indian Philosophy , ed. Veena Howard. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing.

Ashton, G. and Tanner, S. (2016). “From Puzzling Pleasures to Moral Practices: Aristotle and Abhinavagupta on the Aesthetics and Ethics of Tragedy.” Philosophy East and West , 66(1), 1-23.

Ashton, G. (2016). “Renewed Optimism in Persons through South-East Comparative Philosophy: Review of Douglas L. Berger’s, Encounters of Mind: Luminosity and Personhood in Indian and Chinese Thought .” Journal of World Philosophies 1, 1-2.

Ashton, G. (2015). “Losing my Mind and Loving Mosquitoes, Crickets, and other Jungle Inhabitants: Reflections on Field Research and its Frustrations at a Buddhist Meditation Retreat in Southern Thailand.” In At Home and In the Field: Ethnographic Encounters in Asia and the Pacific Islands , eds. Suzanne S. Finney, Mary Mostafanezhad, Guido Carlo Pigliasco, Forrest Wade Young, Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 345-355.

Ashton, G. (2015). “ Amor Fati and the Path of Devotion - Love Of Fate. ” Europa and Middle East News , Institute for Science and Art, University of Vienna.

Ashton, G. (2014). “Imagining Oneself as the Avatāra : An Elaboration on Antonio de Nicolás’s Interpretation of the Bhagavad Gītā .” In Antonio de Nicolás: Poet of Eternal Return , ed. Christopher Key Chapple, Ahmedabad, India: Sriyogi Publications, 91-132.

Ashton, G. (2014). “Role-Ethics or Ethics of Role-Play? A Comparative Critical Analysis of the Ethics of Confucianism and the Bhagavad Gītā .” Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy , 13, 1-21.

Ashton, G. (2014). “Christopher G. Framarin, Hinduism and Environmental Ethics: Law, Literature, and Philosophy .” Environmental Ethics , 36(3), 369-372.

Ashton, G. (2013). “The Role of Mindfulness Meditation and Aesthetic Virtue in the Transition from the Emptiness of Self to Social Engagement: Buddhadāsa’s Appropriation of D. T. Suzuki’s Theory of Buddhist Enlightenment.” Rian Thai , 6, 41-61.

Ashton, G. (2013). “The Soteriology of Role-Play in the Bhagavad Gītā .” Asian Philosophy: An International Journal of the Philosophical Traditions of the East , 23, 1-23.

Sarah A. Mattice, Geoffrey Ashton, and Joshua P. Kimber, eds. (2009). Cross-Currents 2007: Comparative Philosophy Today and Tomorrow , Newcastle, United Kingdom: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

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The trains and stations of the Moscow Metro

2 Comments · Posted by Alex Smirnov in Cities , Travel , Video

The Moscow Metro is the third most intensive subway system in the world after Tokyo and Seoul subways. The first line was opened on May 15, 1935. Since 1955, the metro has the name of V.I. Lenin.

The system consists of 12 lines with a total length of 305.7 km. Forty four stations are recognized cultural heritage. The largest passenger traffic is in rush hours from 8:00 to 9:00 and from 18:00 to 19:00.

Cellular communication is available on most of the stations of the Moscow Metro. In March 2012, a free Wi-Fi appeared in the Circle Line train. The Moscow Metro is open to passengers from 5:20 to 01:00. The average interval between trains is 2.5 minutes.

The fare is paid by using contactless tickets and contactless smart cards, the passes to the stations are controlled by automatic turnstiles. Ticket offices and ticket vending machines can be found in station vestibules.

Tags:  Moscow city

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Tomás · August 27, 2012 at 11:34 pm

The Moscow metro stations are the best That I know, cars do not.

Alberto Calvo · September 25, 2016 at 8:57 pm

Great videos! Moscow Metro is just spectacular. I actually visited Moscow myself quite recently and wrote a post about my top 7 stations, please check it out and let me know what you think! :)

http://www.arwtravels.com/blog/moscow-metro-top-7-stations-you-cant-miss

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Claudia Looi

Touring the Top 10 Moscow Metro Stations

By Claudia Looi 2 Comments

Komsomolskaya metro station looks like a museum. It has vaulted ceilings and baroque decor.

Hidden underground, in the heart of Moscow, are historical and architectural treasures of Russia. These are Soviet-era creations – the metro stations of Moscow.

Our guide Maria introduced these elaborate metro stations as “the palaces for the people.” Built between 1937 and 1955, each station holds its own history and stories. Stalin had the idea of building beautiful underground spaces that the masses could enjoy. They would look like museums, art centers, concert halls, palaces and churches. Each would have a different theme. None would be alike.

The two-hour private tour was with a former Intourist tour guide named Maria. Maria lived in Moscow all her life and through the communist era of 60s to 90s. She has been a tour guide for more than 30 years. Being in her 60s, she moved rather quickly for her age. We traveled and crammed with Maria and other Muscovites on the metro to visit 10 different metro stations.

Arrow showing the direction of metro line 1 and 2

Moscow subways are very clean

To Maria, every street, metro and building told a story. I couldn’t keep up with her stories. I don’t remember most of what she said because I was just thrilled being in Moscow.   Added to that, she spilled out so many Russian words and names, which to one who can’t read Cyrillic, sounded so foreign and could be easily forgotten.

The metro tour was the first part of our all day tour of Moscow with Maria. Here are the stations we visited:

1. Komsomolskaya Metro Station  is the most beautiful of them all. Painted yellow and decorated with chandeliers, gold leaves and semi precious stones, the station looks like a stately museum. And possibly decorated like a palace. I saw Komsomolskaya first, before the rest of the stations upon arrival in Moscow by train from St. Petersburg.

2. Revolution Square Metro Station (Ploshchad Revolyutsii) has marble arches and 72 bronze sculptures designed by Alexey Dushkin. The marble arches are flanked by the bronze sculptures. If you look closely you will see passersby touching the bronze dog's nose. Legend has it that good luck comes to those who touch the dog's nose.

Touch the dog's nose for good luck. At the Revolution Square station

Revolution Square Metro Station

3. Arbatskaya Metro Station served as a shelter during the Soviet-era. It is one of the largest and the deepest metro stations in Moscow.

Arbatskaya Metro Station

4. Biblioteka Imeni Lenina Metro Station was built in 1935 and named after the Russian State Library. It is located near the library and has a big mosaic portrait of Lenin and yellow ceramic tiles on the track walls.

Lenin's portrait at the Biblioteka Imeni Lenina Metro Station

5. Kievskaya Metro Station was one of the first to be completed in Moscow. Named after the capital city of Ukraine by Kiev-born, Nikita Khruschev, Stalin's successor.

Kievskaya Metro Station

6. Novoslobodskaya Metro Station  was built in 1952. It has 32 stained glass murals with brass borders.

Novoslobodskaya metro station

7. Kurskaya Metro Station was one of the first few to be built in Moscow in 1938. It has ceiling panels and artwork showing Soviet leadership, Soviet lifestyle and political power. It has a dome with patriotic slogans decorated with red stars representing the Soviet's World War II Hall of Fame. Kurskaya Metro Station is a must-visit station in Moscow.

Ceiling panel and artworks at Kurskaya Metro Station

8. Mayakovskaya Metro Station built in 1938. It was named after Russian poet Vladmir Mayakovsky. This is one of the most beautiful metro stations in the world with 34 mosaics painted by Alexander Deyneka.

Mayakovskaya station

One of the over 30 ceiling mosaics in Mayakovskaya metro station

9. Belorusskaya Metro Station is named after the people of Belarus. In the picture below, there are statues of 3 members of the Partisan Resistance in Belarus during World War II. The statues were sculpted by Sergei Orlov, S. Rabinovich and I. Slonim.

10. Teatralnaya Metro Station (Theatre Metro Station) is located near the Bolshoi Theatre.

Teatralnaya Metro Station decorated with porcelain figures .

Taking the metro's escalator at the end of the tour with Maria the tour guide.

Have you visited the Moscow Metro? Leave your comment below.

January 15, 2017 at 8:17 am

An excellent read! Thanks for much for sharing the Russian metro system with us. We're heading to Moscow in April and exploring the metro stations were on our list and after reading your post, I'm even more excited to go visit them. Thanks again 🙂

December 6, 2017 at 10:45 pm

Hi, do you remember which tour company you contacted for this tour?

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American Ballet Theater Names Dance Veteran as Executive Director

Barry Hughson, a leader at the National Ballet of Canada, will join the company as it tries to get beyond financial woes.

By Javier C. Hernández

American Ballet Theater, one of the largest dance companies in the United States, has faced a series of challenges in recent months. Relations with the dancers have been tense, finances have been strained and the organization has lacked a permanent executive director.

On Thursday, Ballet Theater announced it was bringing in a dance veteran as it tries to move beyond its woes: Barry Hughson , executive director of the National Ballet of Canada, will join the company in that role in July. He succeeds Janet Rollé, who resigned suddenly last summer after 17 months on the job.

Hughson, 56, a former dancer, said in an interview that he was undaunted by Ballet Theater’s troubles.

“A.B.T. has been a company that I’ve loved since I was a 10-year-old ballet student watching Baryshnikov,” he said, referring to the star dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov. “It’s such an important institution in American dance, and it’s a challenging time for the arts community right now.”

Ballet Theater’s leaders said they chose Hughson, executive director at the National Ballet of Canada since 2014, because of his extensive experience in the field. He has held top positions at Boston Ballet and Atlanta Ballet, among other organizations. They said he also showed an eagerness to work with Susan Jaffe , Ballet Theater's artistic director, who has served as interim executive director since Rollé’s departure.

“I expect and I hope it’ll be a wonderful, cooperative leadership team,” Andrew F. Barth, chairman of Ballet Theater’s board, said in an interview. “We’re going to have the opportunity to examine how to bring our art, how to bring this beautiful cultural aspect, to more people in more ways that are financially sound.”

Like most performing arts organizations, Ballet Theater, founded in 1939, suffered during the pandemic, which resulted in the cancellation of two seasons and cost the company millions of dollars in anticipated ticket revenue and touring fees.

But while audiences have returned — attendance is averaging about 69 percent of capacity, compared with 63 percent before the pandemic — Ballet Theater has been grappling with other financial challenges.

A major source of revenue for the company — its summer season at the Metropolitan Opera House — has been curtailed since 2022, when the Met extended its performances into June. That decision forced Ballet Theater, with a budget of $51 million, to reduce its season at the Met to five weeks from eight. Overall, the number of performances by Ballet Theater, which tours extensively, has fallen to 83 this season, compared with 114 in 2018-19.

And Ballet Theater’s subscriber base, which has traditionally provided an important source of revenue, has eroded, falling to 2,516 in the most recent season from 6,251 in 2018-19. The company has also seen philanthropic donations decline, though it declined to provide specifics. Laura Miller, a spokeswoman for Ballet Theater, did not give a reason, saying only that detailed fund-raising data was not available.

Relations between Ballet Theater’s administration and dancers have been tense recently because of heated negotiations over a new labor contract. The company reached a deal with dancers last month, agreeing to raises and other benefits.

Hughson said he would work to stabilize Ballet Theater’s finances and to help the company find new audiences. He said he wanted to expand the company’s presence in the New York market, which New York City Ballet has traditionally dominated. And he hopes to re-examine the company’s touring model, long Ballet Theater’s lifeblood, so that tours can be “artistically vibrant but also economically viable.”

“We know the glorious past of A.B.T.,” he said, “but it’s really about what stories are we going to tell, how are we going to support our artists and how are we going to create a sustainable model so that A.B.T. is here in another 80 years?”

The resignation of Rollé, just a week before the start of Ballet Theater’s 2023 summer season, came as a shock to the dance industry. Rollé, who had previously served as general manager of Beyoncé’s entertainment firm, did not offer an explanation, saying only that she would turn her focus to service on corporate and nonprofit boards.

Barth, the board chair, said that the job “wasn’t quite what she was expecting,” but that she had departed on good terms.

“I’m sure she’ll be coming to watch us at the ballet,” he said, “and I’ll greet her with a hug.”

Barth said the company had considered keeping Jaffe, a former star ballerina with the company, in place as both artistic and executive leader, but decided “it’s just too much work” for one person.

Hughson, whose career as a performer began at the Washington Ballet, said he hoped to have a long tenure. “It feels like the right place for me to spend the last 10 years of my career,” he said, “and see if I can make a difference.”

Javier C. Hernández is a culture reporter, covering the world of classical music and dance in New York City and beyond. He joined The Times in 2008 and previously worked as a correspondent in Beijing and New York. More about Javier C. Hernández

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The Moscow Metro Museum of Art: 10 Must-See Stations

There are few times one can claim having been on the subway all afternoon and loving it, but the Moscow Metro provides just that opportunity.  While many cities boast famous public transport systems—New York’s subway, London’s underground, San Salvador’s chicken buses—few warrant hours of exploration.  Moscow is different: Take one ride on the Metro, and you’ll find out that this network of railways can be so much more than point A to B drudgery.

The Metro began operating in 1935 with just thirteen stations, covering less than seven miles, but it has since grown into the world’s third busiest transit system ( Tokyo is first ), spanning about 200 miles and offering over 180 stops along the way.  The construction of the Metro began under Joseph Stalin’s command, and being one of the USSR’s most ambitious building projects, the iron-fisted leader instructed designers to create a place full of svet (radiance) and svetloe budushchee (a radiant future), a palace for the people and a tribute to the Mother nation.

Consequently, the Metro is among the most memorable attractions in Moscow.  The stations provide a unique collection of public art, comparable to anything the city’s galleries have to offer and providing a sense of the Soviet era, which is absent from the State National History Museum.  Even better, touring the Metro delivers palpable, experiential moments, which many of us don’t get standing in front of painting or a case of coins.

Though tours are available , discovering the Moscow Metro on your own provides a much more comprehensive, truer experience, something much less sterile than following a guide.  What better place is there to see the “real” Moscow than on mass transit: A few hours will expose you to characters and caricatures you’ll be hard-pressed to find dining near the Bolshoi Theater.  You become part of the attraction, hear it in the screech of the train, feel it as hurried commuters brush by: The Metro sucks you beneath the city and churns you into the mix.

With the recommendations of our born-and-bred Muscovite students, my wife Emma and I have just taken a self-guided tour of what some locals consider the top ten stations of the Moscow Metro. What most satisfied me about our Metro tour was the sense of adventure .  I loved following our route on the maps of the wagon walls as we circled the city, plotting out the course to the subsequent stops; having the weird sensation of being underground for nearly four hours; and discovering the next cavern of treasures, playing Indiana Jones for the afternoon, piecing together fragments of Russia’s mysterious history.  It’s the ultimate interactive museum.

Top Ten Stations (In order of appearance)

Kievskaya station.

Kievskaya Station went public in March of 1937, the rails between it and Park Kultury Station being the first to cross the Moscow River.  Kievskaya is full of mosaics depicting aristocratic scenes of Russian life, with great cameo appearances by Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin.  Each work has a Cyrillic title/explanation etched in the marble beneath it; however, if your Russian is rusty, you can just appreciate seeing familiar revolutionary dates like 1905 ( the Russian Revolution ) and 1917 ( the October Revolution ).

Mayakovskaya Station

Mayakovskaya Station ranks in my top three most notable Metro stations. Mayakovskaya just feels right, done Art Deco but no sense of gaudiness or pretention.  The arches are adorned with rounded chrome piping and create feeling of being in a jukebox, but the roof’s expansive mosaics of the sky are the real showstopper.  Subjects cleverly range from looking up at a high jumper, workers atop a building, spires of Orthodox cathedrals, to nimble aircraft humming by, a fleet of prop planes spelling out CCCP in the bluest of skies.

Novoslobodskaya Station

Novoslobodskaya is the Metro’s unique stained glass station.  Each column has its own distinctive panels of colorful glass, most of them with a floral theme, some of them capturing the odd sailor, musician, artist, gardener, or stenographer in action.  The glass is framed in Art Deco metalwork, and there is the lovely aspect of discovering panels in the less frequented haunches of the hall (on the trackside, between the incoming staircases).  Novosblod is, I’ve been told, the favorite amongst out-of-town visitors.

Komsomolskaya Station

Komsomolskaya Station is one of palatial grandeur.  It seems both magnificent and obligatory, like the presidential palace of a colonial city.  The yellow ceiling has leafy, white concrete garland and a series of golden military mosaics accenting the tile mosaics of glorified Russian life.  Switching lines here, the hallway has an Alice-in-Wonderland feel, impossibly long with decorative tile walls, culminating in a very old station left in a remarkable state of disrepair, offering a really tangible glimpse behind the palace walls.

Dostoevskaya Station

Dostoevskaya is a tribute to the late, great hero of Russian literature .  The station at first glance seems bare and unimpressive, a stark marble platform without a whiff of reassembled chips of tile.  However, two columns have eerie stone inlay collages of scenes from Dostoevsky’s work, including The Idiot , The Brothers Karamazov , and Crime and Punishment.   Then, standing at the center of the platform, the marble creates a kaleidoscope of reflections.  At the entrance, there is a large, inlay portrait of the author.

Chkalovskaya Station

Chkalovskaya does space Art Deco style (yet again).  Chrome borders all.  Passageways with curvy overhangs create the illusion of walking through the belly of a chic, new-age spacecraft.  There are two (kos)mosaics, one at each end, with planetary subjects.  Transferring here brings you above ground, where some rather elaborate metalwork is on display.  By name similarity only, I’d expected Komsolskaya Station to deliver some kosmonaut décor; instead, it was Chkalovskaya that took us up to the space station.

Elektrozavodskaya Station

Elektrozavodskaya is full of marble reliefs of workers, men and women, laboring through the different stages of industry.  The superhuman figures are round with muscles, Hollywood fit, and seemingly undeterred by each Herculean task they respectively perform.  The station is chocked with brass, from hammer and sickle light fixtures to beautiful, angular framework up the innards of the columns.  The station’s art pieces are less clever or extravagant than others, but identifying the different stages of industry is entertaining.

Baumanskaya Statio

Baumanskaya Station is the only stop that wasn’t suggested by the students.  Pulling in, the network of statues was just too enticing: Out of half-circle depressions in the platform’s columns, the USSR’s proud and powerful labor force again flaunts its success.  Pilots, blacksmiths, politicians, and artists have all congregated, posing amongst more Art Deco framing.  At the far end, a massive Soviet flag dons the face of Lenin and banners for ’05, ’17, and ‘45.  Standing in front of the flag, you can play with the echoing roof.

Ploshchad Revolutsii Station

Novokuznetskaya Station

Novokuznetskaya Station finishes off this tour, more or less, where it started: beautiful mosaics.  This station recalls the skyward-facing pieces from Mayakovskaya (Station #2), only with a little larger pictures in a more cramped, very trafficked area.  Due to a line of street lamps in the center of the platform, it has the atmosphere of a bustling market.  The more inventive sky scenes include a man on a ladder, women picking fruit, and a tank-dozer being craned in.  The station’s also has a handsome black-and-white stone mural.

Here is a map and a brief description of our route:

Start at (1)Kievskaya on the “ring line” (look for the squares at the bottom of the platform signs to help you navigate—the ring line is #5, brown line) and go north to Belorusskaya, make a quick switch to the Dark Green/#2 line, and go south one stop to (2)Mayakovskaya.  Backtrack to the ring line—Brown/#5—and continue north, getting off at (3)Novosblodskaya and (4)Komsolskaya.  At Komsolskaya Station, transfer to the Red/#1 line, go south for two stops to Chistye Prudy, and get on the Light Green/#10 line going north.  Take a look at (5)Dostoevskaya Station on the northern segment of Light Green/#10 line then change directions and head south to (6)Chkalovskaya, which offers a transfer to the Dark Blue/#3 line, going west, away from the city center.  Have a look (7)Elektroskaya Station before backtracking into the center of Moscow, stopping off at (8)Baumskaya, getting off the Dark Blue/#3 line at (9)Ploschad Revolyutsii.  Change to the Dark Green/#2 line and go south one stop to see (10)Novokuznetskaya Station.

Check out our new Moscow Indie Travel Guide , book a flight to Moscow and read 10 Bars with Views Worth Blowing the Budget For

Jonathon Engels, formerly a patron saint of misadventure, has been stumbling his way across cultural borders since 2005 and is currently volunteering in the mountains outside of Antigua, Guatemala.  For more of his work, visit his website and blog .

Photo credits:   SergeyRod , all others courtesy of the author and may not be used without permission