about me
I am a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Arkansas.
I am proudly bisexual, nonbinary transgender, and disabled. Pronouns: ze/zir or they/them.
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/bioethics/political philosophy, philosophy of religion, and feminist philosophy. Broadly, I care about the ethics of self-defense and all its theoretical tendrils, the ethics of procreation, defending the place and importance of nonhuman animals and queer folks in philosophy of religion, showing how uniquely queer interests should shape both our understanding of self-defense and our view of the afterlife, and competing views about consent. 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 a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Arkansas.
I am proudly bisexual, nonbinary transgender, and disabled. Pronouns: ze/zir or they/them.
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/bioethics/political philosophy, philosophy of religion, and feminist philosophy. Broadly, I care about the ethics of self-defense and all its theoretical tendrils, the ethics of procreation, defending the place and importance of nonhuman animals and queer folks in philosophy of religion, showing how uniquely queer interests should shape both our understanding of self-defense and our view of the afterlife, and competing views about consent. In particular, I work on questions such as the following:
- Can pacifists adequately explain our ethical intuitions? Are there powerful arguments for a pacifist view of defensive permissions?
- Do members of vulnerable groups (e.g., queer folks) have special immunity from liability to defensive harm?
- Is procreation always morally wrong?
- What are the best reasons to believe that all sentient, nonhuman animals will exist in the afterlife?
- How should injustices against LGBTQ+ persons be rectified in the afterlife?
- Should our conception of God be influenced by normative claims about equality, shared power, and direct representation?
- What's the right view of consent, and how is it impacted by social considerations like race, class, gender, and gender identity?
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.
upcoming & recent talks
Here are some upcoming Zoom talks I'm giving. Please come!
Below are some recent talks I gave. Thanks to all who came!
Here are some upcoming Zoom talks I'm giving. Please come!
- April 9th-11th: Great Lakes Philosophy Conference (time TBD)
"Health Justice for Unjust Combatants" - Wednesday, February 24th: APA Central Division, New Orleans, LA (Session 1M: 8:00-9:00am CST)
"Self-Defense for Theists"
Below are some recent talks I gave. Thanks to all who came!
- 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?” - Wednesday, January 8th: APA Eastern Division, Philadelphia, PA (Session 2L: 2:00-3:00pm EST) "Higher-Order Evidence in Groups: A Defense of a Summative Account of Group Justification"
- Wednesday, January 27th: Diversity Dialogues with Faculty in Residence, University of Arkansas (7:00pm CST)
"Public Health and Compulsory Vaccinations" (with Adam Blehm) - Friday, January 29th: Concerned Philosophers for Peace, Fresno, CA (9:00-10:15am CST)
"Health Justice for Unjust Combatants"
