Teaching
I teach a variety of courses in moral and political philosophy as well as feminist philosophy. In all of my courses, I strive to connect the practice of philosophy with the aspects of our ordinary lives that can be newly understood, and newly appreciated, through philosophical analysis. Please see below for my latest offerings.
Student evaluations available upon request.
- The Aftermath of Wrongdoing
What does it mean to say that some action was wrong? And what are we supposed to do about it? This course takes a closer look at wrongdoing and what comes next, whether it’s morally permissible or abhorrent. We will explore topics in theories of punishment, moral repair, restorative justice, forgiveness, and revenge in order to map out the normative terrain we face as moral agents living in a world with wrongdoing. Emphasis will be placed on first-personal accounts of these phenomena, including memoirs written after the Holocaust, accounts of colonialism, and testimony from within the U.S. prison industrial complex. We will explore these phenomena using theoretical frameworks from philosophers including Kant, Mill, Margaret Walker, Angela Davis, Jean Hampton, Martha Nussbaum, and Simone de Beauvoir. - Race, Gender, and the Production of Knowledge
This course explores the field of “social epistemology” with a special emphasis on gender and race. We will examine classical models of knowledge in contrast to contemporary models of epistemic interdependence, focusing on how the production of knowledge is impacted by group social structures and what social practices must be in place to ensure that voices of the marginalized are heard and believed. Looking at examples from literature and film, we will investigate how race and gender intersect with these issues, especially on the topics of testimony, White ignorance, and epistemic injustice. Finally we will explore the possibility of an ethical epistemic future, asking how we can redress wrongdoing and construct communities of epistemic resistance and epistemic justice. - Introduction to Philosophy
What is philosophy? And how can it help us understand – and occasionally answer – questions as wide-ranging as those in ethics, politics, moral psychology, language, feminism, and metaphysics? In this course, we will explore ideas in the history of philosophy in order to acquaint ourselves with the range of topics that can be the proper object of philosophical attention. Using the distinctive features of the discipline, including slow, reflective engagement with ideas, critical attention to argument, and precise analysis of the concepts underlying ordinary thought, we will ask ordinary questions about the world and discover that philosophy is the practice of answering them with a level of rigor and depth that gives us a greater grasp on the world and ourselves. Some of the questions we will explore during the quarter are: Can my goodness be a matter of luck? Why are some bodies declared “normal,” some “broken,” and some food? What is gender? And is there anything philosophical we can say about the pandemic?
- Feminist Political Philosophy
Feminist political philosophy has a two-fold history: both as a persistent critique of canonical political philosophy, as well as generative of new models of justice altogether. This course will be an exploration of the two sides of the history of feminist political philosophy. We will begin with a survey of feminist critiques of the canon, including from liberal feminism, Black feminist philosophy, and Marxist feminist philosophy. We will then move on to the positive accounts that have come out of this tradition, asking whether new models of the state, of the person, and of gender are required in order to construct theories that adequately represent what justice requires in a world with gender-based oppression. We will read philosophers such as Rousseau, Marx, Engels, John Rawls, Susan Okin, Mary Wollstonecraft, Catherine Mackinnon, and Christine Delphy. - Philosophy of Gender
What exactly are we talking about when we talk about gender? This course is an in-depth look at this question from the perspective of feminist philosophizing about gender and sexuality. Topics include the sex-gender distinction and its critics, the metaphysics of the social category of gender, trans-feminist philosophy and critiques of the gender binary, xenofeminism, and the relationship between sexuality, race, and gender. We will also explore political questions surrounding the persistence of gender categories into the future and whether they are compatible with various philosophical accounts of moral personhood and justice. Readings in this course include those by Sojourner Truth, Simone de Beauvoir, Judith Butler, Talia Mae Betcher, Sally Haslanger, Monique Wittig, and Audre Lorde. - Introduction to Philosophy of Law
This course follows the structure of the traditional first-year law school curriculum – the “1L courses” – while exploring the philosophical issues that arise in each area, typically underexplored in a law school setting. Legal topics include property, contracts, torts, criminal law, civil procedure, evidence, and constitutional law. Our philosophical analysis will include questions such as: What are the various theories of private property implicit in U.S. property law? Is the “criminal” a byproduct of legal systems? Do contracts have the same moral status as promises? What concept of the person is at play in legal requirements such as “the reasonable man,” “making a victim whole,” and the constitutional guarantee of “due process”? Throughout, we will bring in canonical philosophical analyses of the legal terrain as well as critical perspectives from feminist philosophy and critical race theory.
Student evaluations available upon request.
Pedagogy
In addition to teaching, I am also a dedicated student and teacher of pedagogical practices that can transform the classroom into a space of ease, philosophical insight, and liberation. I have co-designed workshops on accessibility, race and gender in the classroom, and practices for new course assistants in philosophy.