Teaching

I join the Rhodes Philosophy Department as a 2011-12 sabbatical replacement for Dr. Pat Shade. I teach humanities courses in the Search for Values program as well as ethics courses in the Philosophy Department. Before joining Rhodes, I served as Lecturer in Philosophy at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. During my time at Vanderbilt, I taught General Logic, Introduction to Ethics, The Meaning of Life, Frankfurt School Critical Theory and Introduction to Philosophy. My classes emphasize the relation between philosophy and everyday life because, on my view, students learn best when they are connected to and changed by philosophical questioning. Examples of previous syllabi are available on my website.

Research

My research focuses on bodies and their relation to questions of power, knowledge and identity. I am especially interested in how some bodies earn protection and support, while other bodies face greater risk and insecurity. To explore ethical and bioethical questions in this area, I draw on resources in feminism, post-structuralism, psychoanalysis, critical race theory and the Frankfurt School of critical theory. I am currently drafting a book manuscript on theories of biopower, understood as a form of power that regulates the biological life of bodies and populations. I am also co-founder and co-director of The Kristeva Circle, an academic organization that supports research on philosopher, psychoanalyst and novelist Julia Kristeva. Information about the 2012 inaugural conference of The Kristeva Circle is available on our website.

Beyond

I was raised in the Chicago area, but I come to Memphis via Nashville where I’ve lived for the past seven years. When I’m not philosophizing, I enjoy gardening, riding bicycles, baking bread and listening to music. I feel lucky to have landed in a musical town with great weather for gardening and cycling. I’m looking forward to exploring Memphis and getting to know the great folks at Rhodes.