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Lawson Wins Fulbright
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Bill Lawson, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, is the recipient of a Fulbright Scholar Award for 2011-12. Each year, one award is offered to an American citizen in support of
research to be conducted at the University of Liverpool. Lawson was selected for his
project entitled "John Locke, Forced Labor, and the Two Treatises of Government." Lawson's research will concern Locke's writings on forced labor and colonization,
as well as the social and cultural history of 16th century Britain. He will also be
in discussion with a colleague at the University of Nottingham reagarding Frederick
Douglass's writings on photography.
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| 5th Annual Ida B. Wells Conference |
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The 5th annual Ida B. Wells Conference will take place this year on October 28-29, 2011. The Ida B. Wells Conference is
organized by the Ida B. Wells Association, founded by University of Memphis graduate
students to promote discussion of philosophical issues arising from the African American
experience and to provide a context in which to mentor undergraduates. Kris Sealey (Fairfield University) and Yolonda Wilson (Duke University) will be this year's keynote speakers. Poster:  . Program: .
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| Mader's Sleights of Reason Hits the Shelves |
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Prof. Mary Beth Mader's book, Sleights of Reason: Norm, Bisexuality, Development, has now appeared from SUNY Press. A brilliant and original reimagining of sexuality,
Mader's book examines how concepts lend themselves to power/knowledge formations.
"In addition to creating her own philosophical concept, Mary Beth Mader pulls off
something no one else has even attempted, to my knowledge — namely, to bring Gilles Deleuze’s rigorous analyses of the nature of the concepts
in What Is Philosophy? to bear on the concept of sexuality. The result is an injection of conceptual rigor
into debates that hitherto have been more focused on historical considerations. This
is a superb book.” (Daniel Smith, Purdue University)
A colloquium dedicated Mader's book was recently held at the Université de Toulouse-Le
Mirail (details here ), and a book session will be held at the annual Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy (SPEP) conference in October 2011 (details here ).
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| 2011 Spindel Conference: Derrida and the Theologico-political |
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Under the direction of Kas Saghafi, the 30th Annual Spindel Conference will take place on September 29-October 1, 2011. The topic is "Derrida and the Theologico-political:
From Sovereignty to the Death Penalty." Keynote speakers include Peggy Kamuf (University of Southern California) and Geoffrey Bennington (Emory University). Further conference information is available here.
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| Shaun Gallagher Joins the Faculty |
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The Department of Philosophy is very pleased to announce that Shaun Gallagher will join the faculty as the Lillian and Morrie Moss Professor of Philosophy. With
research interests that include phenomenology, philosophy of mind, philosophical psychology,
embodiment, intersubjectivity, hermeneutics, and the philosophy of time, Prof. Gallagher
is the author and editor of scores of books and articles. Recent books include How the Body Shapes the Mind (Oxford University Press, 2006), The Phenomenological Mind (Routledge, 2008, with Dan Zahavi), Brainstorming: Views and Interviews on the Mind (Imprint Academic, 2008), and The Inordinance of Time (Northwestern University Press, 1998). In addition, he is the editor of The Oxford Handbook to the Self (Oxford University Press, forthcoming) and serves as the co-editor of the journal
Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences. His work has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Australian Research
Council, the Arts and Humanities Research Council (UK), and a CNRS Research Grant
(France), among others. Prof. Gallagher will join our faculty in the Fall of 2011.
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| Blatti Named Animals & Society Institute Fellow |
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Prof. Stephan Blatti is the recipient of one of this year's Human-Animal Studies Fellowships. Sponsored by the Animals & Society Institute and the Wesleyan University College of the Environment, this six-week interdisciplinary program enables a group of eight fellows to pursue
their research while in residence at Wesleyan University. This year's program will
be hosted by Wesleyan faculty Lori Gruen (Chair and Associate Professor of Philosophy) and Kari Weil (Visiting Professor of Letters).
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| Debes Wins Grant for Philosophy of Law Course |
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The Charles C. Koch Charitable Foundation has awarded a grant in the amount of nearly $6,000 to Prof. Remy Debes for the Philosophy of Law course (Philosophy 3516) that he will teach in the spring of 2012. The grant will supplement the course curriculum
through a public speaker series and a reading group for philosophy majors enrolled
in the course. Watch this space for further details!
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| Placement News |
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The Philosophy Department congratulates Tim Golden and Tina Fernandes Botts on their recent placement success. Starting Fall 2011, Dr. Tim Golden will be Associate
Professor of Philosophy at West Chester University. Dr. Tina Botts will be Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte.
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| Lexow Wins University's Meritorious Teaching Award |
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PhD student Matthew Lexow was chosen by a university-wide committee as one of two recipients of the Graduate Assistant Meritorious Teaching Award for the 2010-11 academic year. He was selected from among the more than 250 graduate
students who teach courses at the university. His selection is a fitting tribute to
the dedication and expertise he has shown as a teacher. Matthew will receive a $500
dollar award and a plaque during the Honors Assembly on Sunday, April 17, 2011.
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| Dodds Participates in NEH Summer Seminar |
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PhD student Jon Dodds will participate in a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Seminar on "Walter Benjamin’s Later Writings: The Arcades Project, Commodity Culture, Historiography." Directed by Alexander Gelley, the seminar will take place in June and July at the University of California, Irvine.
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| Miller to Rock Ethics Institute |
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Prof. Sarah Clark Miller will serve as the Assistant Director of the Rock Ethics Institute at Pennsylvania State University during the fall semester of 2011. The Rock Ethics
Institute is a vibrant center for deeply interdisciplinary and engaged research and
curricular enhancement. The Institute has four core initiatives: climate ethics, bioethics,
ethics education, and ethical leadership. It supports collaborations across all of
the university’s colleges. Dr. Miller’s extensive work in moral theory and applied
ethics will make an outstanding contribution to the Rock Ethics Institute.
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| Muller to Present at Undergraduate Research Conference |
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The National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) is dedicated to promoting undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative
activity in all fields of study by sponsoring an annual conference for students. This
year's conference will be held on March 31 - April 2 at Ithaca College. Congratulations to philosophy major Chad Muller, who will present his paper, "Defending
Nicodemus: The Problem of Being ‘Born Again’ in the Early Church," at this year's
conference. Chad is completing his senior thesis under the supervision of Prof. Stephan Blatti.
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| 2011 Philosophy Graduate Student Conference |
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The 7th annual Philosophy Graduate Student Conference was held on February 11-12, 2011. The topic for this year's conference was "The Social
Ontology of Race in a 'Post-Racial' Era." Prof. Jennifer Vest (University of Central Florida) served as the keynote speaker. Prof. Lewis Gordon (Temple University) provided introductory remarks. Call for Papers: . Poster: .
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| Cognitive Science Seminar: "Others' Minds"
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Hosted by the Institute for Intelligent Systems, sponsored by the Department of Philosophy, and directed by Remy Debes, this fall's Cognitive Science Seminar is entitled "Others' Minds." Under this heading,
the seminar will explore such questions as how we understand, know, or "share" mental
states of others, and the difference between "understanding" "knowing" or "sharing"
these mental states. Speakers include Stephan Blatti (University of Memphis), Remy Debes (University of Memphis), Shaun Gallagher (University of Central Florida), Ken Aizawa (Centenary College of Louisiana), Karsten Stueber (Holy Cross), John Tienson (University of Memphis), John Bickle (Mississippi State University), Deborah Tollefsen (University of Memphis), David Morris (Concordia University), and Daniel Dennett (Tufts University). Schedule: . Poster: .
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| Smyth Receives Junior Scholar Prize |
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Congratulations to Dr. Bryan Smyth, this year's recipient of the Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy (SPEP) Junior Scholar Prize. Dr. Smyth will present his paper, "Foucault and Binswanger:
Beyond the Dream," at the annual SPEP meeting in Montreal, Canada on November 5, 2010.
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| 2010 Spindel Conference: Empathy and Ethics |
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Under the direction of Remy Debes, the 29th Annual Spindel Conference will place on October 7-9, 2010. The topic is "Empathy and Ethics." Keynote speakers
include Stephen Darwall (Yale University), John Deigh (University of Texas at Austin), and Peter Goldie (University of Manchester). Further conference information is available here.
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| Ida B. Wells Philosophy Conference |
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The 4th annual Ida B. Wells Conference will take place this year on October 29-30,
2010. The Ida B. Wells Conference is organized by the Ida B. Wells Association, founded
by University of Memphis graduate students to promote discussion of philosophical
issues arising from the African American experience and to provide a context in which
to mentor undergraduates. Quayshawn Spencer (University of San Francisco) and Kathryn Gines (Penn State University) will be this year's keynote speakers. Poster: . Program: .
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| Philosophical Horizons Teaching Workshop |
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The Philosophical Horizons Teaching Workshop will be held on September 10-11, 2010. Hosted by the University of Memphis Department
of Philosophy, the workshop will be led by Jana Mohr-Lone, Director and Founder of
the Northwest Center for Philosophy for Children and Chair of the American Philosophical Association Committee on Pre-College Instruction in Philosophy. Workshop sessions will cover both general approaches to philosophical pedagogy with
children and focused discussions on teaching philosophy and philosophical themes (ethical,
epistemological, metaphysical, etc.) to children in Memphis City Schools. The workshop
will be held in the Senate Chamber of the University Center at the University of Memphis. Workshop schedule: .
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| Memphis Philosophy Cleans Up! |
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Congratulations to all those in the University of Memphis philosophy family who received
awards and recognition for their good work during the 2009-10 academic year.
FACULTY
- Prof. Pleshette DeArmitt - Postdoctoral Research Leave Fellowship (American Association of University Women American)
- Prof. Mary Beth Mader - Faculty Research Grant (College of Arts and Sciences)
- Prof. Sarah Clark Miller - “See Me Award” (Student Disability Services Outstanding Faculty Award); March of Dimes Young Scholar Award in Perinatal Bioethics (American Society for Bioethics and Humanities); Early Career Research Award (College of Arts and Sciences)
GRADUATE STUDENTS
- Traci Adkisson - Part-Time Masters Graduate Fellowship (Graduate School)
- Gabriella Beckles - Morton Dissertation Award (Graduate School)
- Kristin Gissberg - Hillary Johnson Memorial Graduate Student Teaching Award
- Tim Golden - Graduate Assistant Meritorious Teaching Award (College of Arts and Sciences); Phi Kappa Phi Scholarship Award (University of Memphis Chapter)
- Heidi Samuelson - Departmental Service Award
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
- Sean McEvoy - Carroll Bowman Award
- Mollie Owens - Outstanding Student in Philosophy; 2nd place, Undergraduate Student Research Forum
- Undergraduate Philosophy Circle - 2nd Place, Best Table Display, Discover Your Major Day
- 29 Philosophy Majors on the Spring 2010 Dean's List!
STAFF
- Cathy Wilhelm - Dean’s Award for Outstanding Full-Time Clerical Employee (College of Arts and Sciences)
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| SJP Published by Wiley-Blackwell |
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The department is pleased to announce that The Southern Journal of Philosophy is now published by Wiley-Blackwell. The SJP is edited by Prof. Stephan Blatti and assisted by a distinguished editorial board. The March 2010 issue serves to re-launch the journal. Read all about SJP news and initiatives in the inaugural newsletter: .
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| Department Wins Two APA Grants |
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The Department of Philosophy is the proud recipient of two American Philosophical Association grants aimed at "benefiting the profession." The first grant ($7000) will support
the 2010 Ida B. Wells Conference, and the second grant ($4500) will support the Philosophical Horizons program.
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| Plato's The Apology of Socrates |
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Emmy Award winner Yannis Simonides gave two unforgettable performances of Plato's
The Apology of Socrates at the University of Memphis on April 15 and 16, 2010. Presented by the Greek Theatre of New York, The Apology premiered in New York in 2003 and has since been performed to great acclaim at the
United Nations, the Athens Agora, the NBC Today Show, and in theatres, festivals,
schools, universities, and libraries across the US, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, and United
Kingdom. The playbill from the recent University of Memphis performance is available
here: .
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| MidSouth Philosophy Conference |
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The 34th annual MidSouth Philosophy Conference will be held March 5-6, 2010 at the University of Memphis. Prof. Alastair Norcross (University of Colorado) will be the keynote speaker. Further information (including
the program) may be found here. Information about the undergraduate portion of the program may be found here: .
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| László Tengelyi Visit |
Prof. László Tengelyi (University of Wuppertal) spent part of the Fall 2009 semester as a Visiting Professor.
Click on the image to the right for a brief video about his visit. (This video is
also available on the University of Memphis Youtube site here.)
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| Philosophy Graduate Student Association Conference |
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The 6th annual Philosophy Graduate Student Conference will be held at the University of Memphis on February 12-13, 2010. This year's theme
is "Contemporary Philosophers Reading the Moderns." The keynote speaker will be Prof. Daniel Smith (Purdue University). Conference poster: . Conference program: .
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| Moss Chair of Excellence in Philosophy |
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The Department of Philosophy invites applications and nominations for the endowed
Lillian and Morrie Moss Chair of Excellence in Philosophy. Further details available
here: .
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| Miller Nets Another Award |
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Congratulations to Prof. Sarah Clark Miller, recipient of the 2009 March of Dimes Young Scholar Award in Perinatal Bioethics from the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities. Prof. Miller will present her award-winning paper, "Visual Intimacies: Ultrasound,
Reproductive Autonomy and the Pregnancy Relationship," at a plenary session at the
upcoming ASBH meeting in Washington, D.C.
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| Saghafi's New Book |
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Prof. Kas Saghafi's Apparitions—Of Derrida's Other will soon be published by Fordham University Press (November 2009). Prof. Saghafi's
book examines exemplary instances of the relation to the other—the relation of Moses
to God, Derrida's friendship with Jean-Luc Nancy, Derrida's relation to a recently
departed actress caught on video—to demonstrate how Derrida forces us to reconceive
who or what the other may be. Further information is available here.
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| Read All About It ... in Sophia |
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The first edition of the University of Memphis Department of Philosophy newsletter,
Sophia, is now available here: . Keep up with departmental happenings throughout the year on our News page.
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| "Discover Your Major Day" Award |
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Congratulations to the Undergraduate Philosophy Circle whose table at this year's "Discover Your Major Day" won 2nd place in the Table Decorating Contest! Special thanks to Mollie Owens, Cathy
Wilhelm, and Connie Diffee for all their hard work. More photos are available here.
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| Spindel Conference 2009: The Sexes of Evolution |
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Under the direction of Prof. Mary Beth Mader, this year's Spindel Conference took place on September 24-26, 2009. The topic was The Sexes of Evolution: Continental Philosophy, Feminist Philosophy, and Evolutionary
Theory. Main program speakers included Claire Colebrook (Penn State University), Penelope Deutscher (Northwestern University), Ladelle McWhorter (University of Richmond), Kelly Oliver (Vanderbilt University), and Luciana Parisi (Goldsmith's, University of London). Further conference information is available
here. A Daily Helmsman article about the conference is available here |
| Adkisson Named Master's Fellow in Philosophy |
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Congratulations to Traci Adkisson, recipient of one of this year's Part-Time Masters Scholarship Awards. Traci's title for 2009-10 will be Master's Fellow in Philosophy.
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| Philosophical Horizons Conference: Keeping the Child in Mind |
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Sponsored by the Department of Philosophy and made possible through support from the Tennessee Board of Regents, the Squire Family Foundation, and the Marcus Orr Center for the Humanities, Keeping the Child in Mind: A Conference About Philosophy for Children was held on September 11-12, 2009. Gareth Matthews, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Massachusetts and author of Philosophy and the Young Child (1980), Dialogues with Children (1984), and The Philosophy of Childhood (1994), will be the keynote speaker. Local teachers and administrators, as well as
the general public, are invited to attend. More information about the Philosophical
Horizons program is available here. Further conference information is available here. A Daily Helmsman article about the conference is available here.
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| Arenson Joins the Faculty |
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We are very pleased to announce that Kelly Arenson (PhD, Emory University) joined the department this fall as an assistant professor.
Before coming to Memphis, Prof. Arenson, who specializes in ancient philosophy, previously
held an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation/ACLS Dissertation Completion Fellowship.
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| Granby Receives Meritorious Teaching Award |
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Congratulations to Clifton Granby who was recently awarded the College of Arts and Sciences Graduate Assistant Meritorious Teaching Award. Clifton was selected from among 250 graduate teaching assistants to receive this
award.
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| Philosophy Major Named Outstanding Undergraduate Student |
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Matthew Ludlow, an Economics and Philosophy double major, has received this year's
College of Arts & Science Dean's Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Student. Matthew is an active duty Marine Staff Sergeant. After graduating in May with a
4.0 GPA, he will be commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Marine Corps and will
return to the operating Marine forces. Matthew will pursue postgraduate studies in
philosophy while serving as a Marine officer and plans to teach philosophy at the
university level following his military career.
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| Philosophical Horizons Program Wins Two Grants |
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The Department's Philosophical Horizons program has been awarded a $93,500 Access and Diversity Initiative Grant from the Tennessee Board of Regents. The second grant, from the Squire Family Foundation, will fund a conference dedicated to the topic of teaching philosophy to children.
This conference will be held at the University of Memphis this autumn. Philosophical
Horizons is a grassroots program developed by the Department of Philosophy and dedicated
to introducing the practice of philosophy into Memphis area schools. Recent articles
about this program have appeared in The Commercial Appeal and The Daily Helmsman. |
| Debes Wins University's Highest Teaching Honor |
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Congratulations to Prof. Remy Debes who was recently awarded the university's highest teaching honor, The Alumni Association Distinguished Teaching Award. Prof. Debes will receive this award at the university's convocation ceremony on April 29th. Congratulations also to Prof. Sarah Clark Miller for being named a finalist for this award.
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| Miller Wins Research Award |
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Congratulations to Prof. Sarah Clark Miller whose paper, "Global Responsibility and Relational Normativity," was recently awarded
the Untenured Faculty Paper Prize at the annual meeting of the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics.
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| Golden Named Research Fellow at Kierkegaard Library |
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Congratulations to PhD student, Timothy Golden, who has been named a Summer Research Fellow at the Howard V. and Edna H. Hong Kierkegaard Library at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota
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| Mader Delivers Singer Lecture |
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Prof. Mary Beth Mader recently gave the Linda Singer Memorial Lecture at Miami University of Ohio. Her lecture was entitled "Ontology of Genealogy: Sexual Difference in Recent French
Thought." |
| Bernasconi to Deliver Hurst Lecture |
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Prof. Robert Bernasconi will deliver the 49th Annual Hurst Lecture, entitled "The Policing of Race Mixing and the Birth of Biopower," at American University
in April. |
| Tollefsen and Colleagues Win NSF Grant |
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Prof. Deb Tollefsen and colleagues Rick Dale, Roger Kreuz, and Andrew Olney have received a three-year, $670,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to
study the dynamics of human interaction in small task groups. |
| Erasmus Mundus EuroPhilosophie Program |
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The Department of Philosophy was invited by the European Union to participate in the
Erasmus Mundus EuroPhilosophie Program. This is a Master's program comprised of a consortium of seven European Union universities
(including those in Germany, Belgium, France, and the Czech Republic) and three "third-country"
partners from non-EU countries. The Department of Philosophy was the only department
in the United States invited to participate. The program provides students and scholars
from EU participating universities the opportunity to study philosophy at the University
of Memphis. The program also provides our graduate students and faculty the opportunity
to travel as visiting scholars to Departments of Philosophy within the consortium.
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