about me
I am currently Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. I work with Drs. Nicholas Evans and Neil Shortland on a project funded by the Department of Defense's Minerva Research Initiative on the topic, "Warfighter Participation in the Development and Testing of Artificial Intelligence." You can read a write-up about our project over at FutureHuman.
Prior to UMass, I was Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Arkansas. I completed my dissertation at the University of Washington in Seattle under the direction of my chair Michael Blake, Stephen M. Gardiner, Colin Marshall, and Carina Fourie.
My research is in ethics, feminist philosophy, and philosophy of religion. In particular, I work on questions such as the following:
My research on self-defense was recently recognized by the American Philosophical Association, which awarded me the 2019 Frank Chapman Sharp Memorial Prize for the best essay on the ethics of war and peace.
For my efforts in teaching, I was awarded the 2019 Graduate Teaching Award by the University of Washington and the 2014 Vernon Teaching Award by the University of Arkansas.
Near the end of my graduate program, I was interviewed by the American Philosophical Association.
As of July 2020, I began my three-year appointment on the APA's LGBTQ People in the Profession committee. From 2017-2019, I served as an inaugural member of the APA's Graduate Student Council, including as Chair during my second and final year. While there, I co-wrote (with Savannah Pearlman) a proposal that requires the APA to hold divisional meetings exclusively in cities with good LGBTQ+ records, which was approved by the Board of Trustees in 2019. Additionally, as Chair, I wrote a proposal that secured full voting rights within the APA for graduate students, an amended version of which was passed by the Board in 2020.
I am proudly bisexual, nonbinary trans, and disabled. My pronouns are ze/zir or they/them.
I am currently Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. I work with Drs. Nicholas Evans and Neil Shortland on a project funded by the Department of Defense's Minerva Research Initiative on the topic, "Warfighter Participation in the Development and Testing of Artificial Intelligence." You can read a write-up about our project over at FutureHuman.
Prior to UMass, I was Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Arkansas. I completed my dissertation at the University of Washington in Seattle under the direction of my chair Michael Blake, Stephen M. Gardiner, Colin Marshall, and Carina Fourie.
My research is in ethics, feminist philosophy, and philosophy of religion. In particular, I work on questions such as the following:
- Are paradigm cases of self-defense justified or merely excused? Can an 'Excuse View' adequately account for our moral intuitions?
- What are the ethical implications of enhancing combatants with forms of artificial intelligence? What do actual flesh-and-blood military personnel think about it?
- When, if ever, is procreation morally permissible?
- How should the afterlife be structured to achieve total justice for queer persons, nonhuman animals, and other vulnerable groups?
My research on self-defense was recently recognized by the American Philosophical Association, which awarded me the 2019 Frank Chapman Sharp Memorial Prize for the best essay on the ethics of war and peace.
For my efforts in teaching, I was awarded the 2019 Graduate Teaching Award by the University of Washington and the 2014 Vernon Teaching Award by the University of Arkansas.
Near the end of my graduate program, I was interviewed by the American Philosophical Association.
As of July 2020, I began my three-year appointment on the APA's LGBTQ People in the Profession committee. From 2017-2019, I served as an inaugural member of the APA's Graduate Student Council, including as Chair during my second and final year. While there, I co-wrote (with Savannah Pearlman) a proposal that requires the APA to hold divisional meetings exclusively in cities with good LGBTQ+ records, which was approved by the Board of Trustees in 2019. Additionally, as Chair, I wrote a proposal that secured full voting rights within the APA for graduate students, an amended version of which was passed by the Board in 2020.
I am proudly bisexual, nonbinary trans, and disabled. My pronouns are ze/zir or they/them.
upcoming & recent talks
If you're a nice person who likes philosophy, then we're already friends. Here's your invitation to some friendly philosophy chatter at some upcoming talks!
If you're a nice person who likes philosophy, then we're already friends. Here's your invitation to some friendly philosophy chatter at some upcoming talks!
- Date & Time TBD: APA Central Division, Chicago, IL (Poster Session TBD)
"Honorable Survivors: A Feminist Reply to Statman" - Date & Time TBD: Reproductive Ethics Conference, via Zoom (Session TBD)
"On a Duty to Procreate if Pro-Natalism is True" - Date & Time TBD: APA Eastern Division, Baltimore, MD (Session TBD)
"Comments on Zoe Cunliffe's [super awesome] 'In Defense of the Moral Significance of Non-Narrative Stories'"
- Friday, October 23rd: Colloquium, Murray State University, Murray, KY (via Zoom)
"Queering Philosophy of Religion" - Wednesday, October 14th: Colloquium, oSTEM (Out in STEM), Fayetteville, AR (via Zoom)
"Healthcare Justice for Enemy Soldiers" - Thursday, February 27th: APA Central Division, Chicago, IL (Session 3R: 2:00-3:00pm CST)
"Real Kids First: An Adoption Argument for Anti-Natalism" (with Anthony Ferrucci) - February 6th: 2020 Symposium on Religion, Culture & Diversity, Utah Valley University, Orem, UT (11:00-11:50am MST, CB-511)
"Mary, Did You Consent?”
