Vanished Voices Lecture Series 23-24

Vanished Voices Lecture Series

Modern Scholars Give Platform to Historically Marginalized Philosophers

Africana Philosophy with Dr. Dwight K. Lewis, Jr.

Dr. Dwight K. Lewis, Jr. giving a talk at CofC. Photo Credit Priscilla Thomas.

The Department of Philosophy and German hosted the first Vanished Voices Lecture Series talk in October. Thanks to a grant from the German Embassy, we were able to invite Dr. Dwight K. Lewis, Jr. (University of Minnesota—Twin Cities) to give a lecture titled “Black in Germany: Anton Wilhelm Amo.”

The lecture abstract: Anton Wilhelm Amo (c. 1700 – c. 1750), the first West African to obtain an advanced degree at a European university – graduated from the University of Wittenberg (1734) in Germany, then lectured on natural philosophy at three German universities and published three philosophical texts. Because of this lived experience, Amo exists as a provocation to our central reality and the history of philosophy. In this talk, I elaborate on this provocation through Amo’s life, philosophy, and current position in global activism, e.g., the renaming of Mohrenstraße to Anton-Wilhelm-Amo-Straße.

Image of Anton Wilhelm Amo

Professor Dwight K. Lewis, Jr.’s research and teaching focus on the history of early modern philosophy, philosophy of race, and Africana philosophy, with a focus on the philosophy of Anton Wilhelm Amo (c. 1700-c. 1750). You can learn more about Professor Lewis and his research on Amo from this interview with Eidolon, or check out his podcast Larger, Freer, More Loving.

Happiness, Passions, and Character with Dr. Marcy Lascano

Portrait by Maurice Quentin de La Tour

In April, the department hosted Dr. Marcy Lascano (University of Kansas) for the second talk of the 23-24 Vanished Voices Lecture Series.

The lecture abstract: This talk will address these two essential aspects of Du Châtelet’s Discourse on Happiness. First, what is Du Châtelet’s account of happiness? The first pages of the Discourse lead one in different directions concerning her theory of the nature of happiness. I will argue that an analysis of the text provides evidence for ultimately interpreting her account as a version of hedonism rather than a desire-based or a pluralist account of happiness. While her view is hedonistic, it will be shown that her emphasis on passions as uniquely capable of sustaining long-term pleasure is unique. This emphasis makes her version of hedonism more psychologically nuanced than more typical versions of the view.

The second aspect of her account concerns what Du Châtelet calls the “great machines of happiness.” Du Châtelet lists five things related to happiness: freedom from prejudice, health, virtue, having tastes and passions, and being susceptible to illusions. Here, it will be argued that Du Châtelet’s great machines of happiness are best understood as the features of a person’s physical or psychological constitution or orientation toward the world that enable her to achieve happiness.

Thanks to the Vanished Voices Lecture Series Fund, the department can support these guest speakers presenting for the benefit of students and the community. Please reach out if you would like to learn more about how you can help support the Vanished Voices Lecture Series’s mission.

Aesthetics WorkGroup 23-24

Stoic Musical Impressions the Aliens with Ears May Hear

The Aesthetics WorkGroup (AWG) is an interdisciplinary group of professors and students who meet periodically to discuss theoretical works about and in the arts. The work is often works in progress by members of AWG, but we also read current articles and books that are relevant to the interests of the group. AWG also co-sponsors visits by distinguished scholars from other institutions. Topics in the past have included participatory art (visiting faculty), aesthetic disobedience (faculty), the politics of form in Tibetan poetry (student), the “suburban sublime” in the art of Lisa Sanditz (faculty), cover records as social commentary (visiting faculty), metaphor and metaphysics in Zhuangzi (student), ethical and emotional expression in music (faculty), social ontology and art (student), affects and interpretation in performance (faculty), environmental aesthetics (visiting faculty), and the transgender gaze in film (faculty). AWG is led by the Department of Philosophy chair, Jonathan Neufeld, and is regularly attended by students and faculty from German, English, Religious Studies, Music, Art, Art History, Political Science, and Psychology.

Stoic and Neostoic Musical Impressions with Dr. Melinda Latour

Dr. Melinda Latour giving a talk at CofC. Photo credit Priscilla Thomas.

In September 2023, AWG welcomed Dr. Melinda Latour (Tufts University) for her guest lecture, “Musical Impressions: The Uses of Beauty in Stoic & Neostoic Therapy.” The lecture’s abstract: The use of musical sound as a remedy for physical and mental suffering was a through-line in the European cultural tradition–––offering miraculous and mundane treatments for everything from lovesickness to widespread civil discord. The most influential source of these views was the Pythagorean/Platonic lineage. However, a related therapy tradition with clear musical applications gained traction with the revival of Stoicism between the 1580s and the 1630s in French lands fractured by the Wars of Religion. The composer Paschal de L’Estocart offered early musico-poetic examples of this fascinating Stoic resurgence, for his music collections published in 1582 feature richly illustrated musical and visual settings of Stoic and Neostoic texts. The laudatory poetry and other liminal materials prefacing these prints offer insights into how these musical settings modeled an aesthetically-driven mode of therapy for moderating destructive emotions and restoring harmony in the individual soul and the state.

The Discovery of Voyager with Dr. Dan Sharp

In the spring, AWG hosted Dr. Dan Sharp (Tulane University) to discuss a work in progress entitled “Playfully Imagining Alien Ears in The Discovery of Voyager: A Performance in a New Orleans Sonic Sculpture Garden.”

The abstract read: Over the course of an evening in 2017, a group of over thirty musicians interpreted the tracks that NASA engraved onto the Golden Record, an interstellar mixtape launched into space on two NASA Voyager probes forty years earlier in 1977. The performance, titled The Discovery of Voyager, was more than just a straightforward concert of the music on the record. Instead, it was an ingenious, speculative performance imagining a scenario in which the record crash landed on another planet, and its inhabitants listened to it for the first time.

Alongside the musicians, dancers exuberantly portrayed the inhabitants hearing earth’s music for the first time, revealing the hubris (or, from another angle, the poignant optimism) of imagining direct communication with another world. The disc had been flung out into space in a gesture of intergalactic goodwill that blithely assumed that its extraterrestrial listeners would have ears. Not only would they have ears, but they would also hear the same frequencies most humans can. The Discovery of Voyager considers questions like those that cultural theorist of science Donna Haraway asked while walking her dogs and wondering how beings with different structured senses take in their worlds so differently.

Thanks to the Aesthetics WorkGroup Fund, the department can support these guest speakers presenting for the benefit of students and the community. Please reach out if you’re a philosophy student interested in the Aesthetics WorkGroup or would like to learn more about how you, can help support AWG’s mission.

Philosophy Student Opportunities Fund

Biomedical Ethics Students Present at SC Medical Association’s Ethics Retreat

This spring, Virginia Donaghy ‘24 and Molly Dickerson ‘24, students in Professor Jennifer Baker’s Biomedical Ethics class, received grants from the Philosophy Student Opportunities Fund to present their research at the annual South Carolina Medical Association’s Ethics Retreat held in February.

Donaghy’s project, “Mercy vs. Murder,” focused on the ethics behind Dr. Anna Pou’s decisions at Memorial Hospital in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina that led her to euthanize patients in September 2005. After presenting, Donaghy and committee members exchanged a spectrum of views on whether Dr. Pou’s actions were ethical. Donaghy’s takeaway from the ethics retreat is, “It was an interesting experience that enlightened me to how different generations view different things in the past. For example, I view what happened at Memorial as the lesser of two evils, whereas several people at the committee meeting viewed it as something that should not have happened, even considering the circumstances that all of the employees of Memorial were under.”

Molly Dickerson ’24. Photo credit Reese Moore.

Dickerson’s project, “Guilty of Being Sick, Consult or Interrogation: a Bioethics Argument for Trauma-Informed Care and Commitment to Being a Lifelong Medical Learner,” argues that “…chronic illness should be recognized as a form of trauma, advocating for the implementation of trauma-informed care and the need for [health care providers] to commit to being a lifelong medical learner.” Reflecting on her experience, Dickerson says, “Professionals in the field seemed interested in considering chronic illness as a trauma and also provided insightful suggestions. They encouraged me to continue with my research interests.” She said, “Meeting individuals passionate about bioethics and healthcare from South Carolina or just living here now, was inspiring to me and my sense that some of these public health issues can be addressed.”

Dickerson’s dedication to this topic continues in The Sick Gaze, a newly launched podcast she co-produces and hosts. Part of the podcast’s mission states, “In a world where stories are often filtered through able-bodied perspectives, our podcast strives to bring visibility to invisible conditions.”

Thanks to the Philosophy Student Opportunities Fund, the department can support students who are doing great work. Please reach out if you’re a philosophy student interested in applying or would like to learn more about how you, too, can help support students needing financial support for research, projects, or experiential learning opportunities.

Teacher Apprenticeships

A Unique Experiential Learning Opportunity for Majors

Oliver Wlasiuk ‘24 (he/him).

The Department of Philosophy is proud to offer our students various experiential learning opportunities (ELOs). In the fall, three students participated in our teaching apprenticeships (TAs) ELO option. This ELO allows students to participate in college teaching by working closely with professors as they develop and teach their classes. The TAs’s experiences vary depending on the class. They might be able to help build syllabi, mentor students in and out of the classroom, lead review sessions, review drafts of papers, and more.

Students Anna Albright ‘24, Isabella Pack ‘24, and Oliver Wlasiuk ‘24 pursued TA positions with Professor Jennifer Baker. The TA position is customizable for students. Wlasiuk summaries his TA experience, “My TA duties included holding occasional review sessions throughout the semester that Dr. Baker and I scheduled, showing up to class, (re)reading all the material, making sure I understand everything at a sufficient level, and weekly meetings with Dr. Baker and the other TAs; Anna and Bella. My favorite part about being a TA was the review sessions because I like helping people understand philosophy, and, maybe more importantly, I gained a deeper understanding of all the material and the language of philosophy as a whole.” This unique immersive learning provided Wlasiuk with a deeper level of comprehension and allowed him to tutor students taking the philosophy course. Albright comes away from the TA position with a similar feeling, saying, “While understanding philosophical principles is a feat on its own, I find it more challenging and rewarding to explain these principles to other students. While deepening my understanding, I learned how to effectively communicate abstract ideas to others.” This is why the TA position offers a well-rounded experience for participants. It enriches a student’s understanding of philosophy, provides one-on-one mentorship with faculty, cultivates community building with other TAs, and allows the TA to give back by engaging with peers who are just beginning their philosophy studies.

Anna Albright ‘24 (she/her).

Albright’s TA position was with Professor Baker’s Biomedical Ethics course. For Albright, this ELO appealed to her because she hopes “to eventually continue my studies in medical ethics by attending graduate school. I thought that working as a TA would be great practice for future teaching endeavors. Another big reason I decided to become a TA was the opportunity to work with Dr. Baker, as she is just the best!” Albright’s experience highlights another benefit of the TA position. This ELO is an excellent opportunity to gain insight into a future profession the student is considering pursuing.

Albright’s interest in pursuing a TA position is due to the impact studying philosophy has had on her. She notes, “Philosophy courses have given me an invaluable insight into the foundations of humanity and morality. The ethical framework I’ve learned throughout my academic career in philosophy has given me the knowledge to navigate ethical dilemmas.”

Isabella Pack ‘24 (she/her).

Isabella Pack shares a similar sentiment, “Philosophy was like a beacon in the night. I came to college initially thinking I wanted to be pre-med, but this allowed me to fall in love with school and law all over again.” Pack continues, “The first class I ever took was with Dr. Neufeld, Philosophy, Law, and the Arts, and I have been hooked on philosophy ever since. It allowed me to, one, fall in love with reading all over again and, two, read things that are thought-provoking and make me question the ways they impact me, the people around me, or even society.” She attributes how studying philosophy results in skill building, “Through philosophy, I have seen my critical thinking, writing, and logical reasoning skills increase through the various years of classes here at CofC.” These are skills beneficial in most professions as well as in life and will serve these students well in their future pursuits.

Tomo Cook Scholarship 23-24 Recipients

Reflections with Vero Salib (they/them) and Annika Wible (she/her)

The Tomo Cook Scholarship Fund was created in memory of Tomo Cook, class of 2007. Tomo was a senior philosophy major at the College of Charleston when he passed away. He was an avid enthusiast of all things that engaged and challenged the human spirit. This scholarship is awarded annually to philosophy majors who embody the same enthusiasm and curiosity as Tomo.

Photo credit Priscilla Thomas.

The Department of Philosophy awarded Vero Salib ‘24 and Annika Wible ‘24 the Tomo Cook Scholarship for the 23-24 school year.

Talking about what it means to be a Tomo Cook Scholar, Salib says, “To me, it’s being a dedicated student of philosophy who works hard to expand their learning to benefit themselves and the world around them.” As the department’s HSS Ambassador for the 23-24 school year, Salib’s excitement about discussing philosophy with peers exemplifies this viewpoint.

When asked what areas of philosophical inquiry their favorite is, Salib said, “Political philosophy and aesthetics are the two areas that I find the most engaging. I am incredibly interested in the relationship between art, emotion, and politics.” They explored this unique intersection of topics in their bachelor’s essay, “Arts Necessity in Political Deliberation.” Salib did a deep dive into such questions as: Does art have a place in political deliberation? Or should we strive to keep deliberation in democracies strictly discursive? In their bachelor’s essay presentation, Salib argued that art and aesthetic expression can play an essential role in facilitating the inclusion of marginalized voices in the political sphere.

Salib also acknowledges the influence of philosophy outside academia. “Philosophy courses have had a tremendous impact on me. They have taught me how to effectively articulate my opinions and theories and argue for their legitimacy. Every CofC student should take a philosophy course before graduating because it facilitates a fuller understanding of oneself and the world around us.” Cultivating critical thinking and debate skills will serve them well in their future endeavors. Salib plans to take a gap year to prep for the LSAT before heading off to law school so they can one day serve as a criminal defense attorney.

Wible’s dedication to expanding peers’ knowledge and experiences with philosophy began with her helping to relaunch the Philosophy Club at the college. Get-togethers are more than eating pizza; they create a casual space for philosophical engagement. From the ethics of Santa Claus to Barbie’s thematic twist on feminist theory, these low-key game and movie nights have served as the catalysts for intriguing discussions.

Regarding her studies, Wible’s favorite areas are aesthetics and political philosophy. Of these, she says, “I have a particular passion for the philosophy of aesthetics due to my involvement in art, but I am particularly interested in the way the fields of aesthetics and political philosophy can come together.” In her bachelor’s essay, “Empathy and Emotions in Legal Interpretation, ” Wible explores this inconspicuous convergence, “There is a common ideal in jurisprudence to separate legal interpretation from emotion, attempting to achieve a neutral and unbiased understanding of the law. But can a perfectly unbiased interpretation exist? Even if it could, might it blunt the nuances of particular cases before the law and result in unjust outcomes?” She examines Martha Nussbaum’s account of the literary imagination to address these questions. Wible argues, “It could be usefully expanded by considering the concept of ‘immoralism’ developed in recent writings on Ethics and Aesthetics.”

Wible attributes successfully parsing these philosophical complexities to developing and refining analytical skills nurtured in the philosophy program: “When I explain philosophy to people, I always go to that critical thinking aspect. You are learning how other people think and explain things, yes, but more importantly, you are learning whether you agree with it and how to explain and lay out your thoughts. Any involvement with philosophy, I think, allows students to become more well-rounded and better arguers.”

Being a better arguer will be useful for Wible as she begins her studies at The Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University this fall. As a future lawyer, she plans to pursue her passion for civil rights and environmental protection.

No matter where the study of philosophy takes a student, at the heart of the pursuit is applying a discerning eye while maintaining a curiosity for life, just like Tomo Cook did.

SAW IV

Southern Aesthetics Workshop Comes to Charleston

The Aesthetics WorkGroup, along with the Department of Philosophy, hosted the Fourth Annual Southern Aesthetics Workshop, affectionately known as “SAW IV!!!” (this is to be said in a mock-menacing horror movie announcer voice) the weekend of October 14-15 in 2022.

SAW IV brought an extraordinary group of 35 scholars together to talk about a variety of topics in aesthetics. Twelve scholars—from graduate students to full professors—presented their works in progress on wide range of topics, including reimagining beauty through fat vanity projects, atmosphere in painting, lingering aesthetic effects, interpretation, marriage in film, cringe, aesthetic motivations, the aesthetics of food, the Rothko Chapel, aesthetic reactive attitudes, and Buddhist approaches to experiencing horror films. Marcus Amaker, the first Poet Laureate of Charleston, was the keynote speaker.

Each presentation had two commentators, so discussion was lively. Participants came from Auburn; CofC; Florida International University; Furman; Georgetown; the Universities of Georgia, Louisville, South Carolina, South Florida and Texas; and Warren Wilson College. Students in Jonathan Neufeld’s Aesthetics class read three papers in advance and came to the conference to meet the authors. As a perfect end to a weekend of aesthetics, visitors enjoyed the opening of Charleston oyster season at Bowens Island!

Student Opportunities Fund Launch

As you can see from Verina’s, Curtis’s, Javi’s and Kat’s incredibly diverse philosophical stories, students at the collegiate level are experiencing formative years that will influence important decisions about their future careers and personal endeavors. It is crucial that students have access to opportunities that can help guide their scholarly and professional focus as well as expand their horizons on what is possible for their future. Experiential learning opportunities (ELOs) are one of those tools. This can include participation in research, an internship, a study abroad program, or a community-based project.

ELOs should not be limited to individuals with disposable funds who are able to pay for expenses related to such pursuits. Scholarship funding can create a way for less financially secure students to access previously unattainable endeavors. This is why the Department of Philosophy has launched a new scholarship resource, the Philosophy Student Opportunities Fund (PSOF), to assist its majors and minors in pursuing ELOs. The department is actively fundraising to endow the PSOF. Any gift to the fund will contribute to students’ promising futures.

SURF Grant Recipient: Katherine Highfill

With a rising ocean, and changes in rainfall on the horizon, what will best protect communities from natural disasters? Built infrastructure like seawalls, or living features like oyster reefs, or some combination of the two? Furthermore, how do diverse communities go about deciding this question?

Last year, Biology major, Katherine Highfill, in mentorship with Philosophy professor and environmental ethicist Ewan Kingston, pursued these questions with funding from a SURF grant. This richly interdisciplinary research demonstrates the reach and relevance of contemporary philosophy.

Their joint project, “Seawalls or Salt Marshes?: The Political Epistemology of Nature-Based Solutions,” examined local expert perspectives on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) proposals to build a seawall around part of the Charleston Peninsula, and researched the extent of debates about green vs gray infrastructure for climate adaptation have made their way into U.S. courts.

The idea for this project came about from the debate between green and grey infrastructure that also happened to be playing out within the City of Charleston as the city was in process of creating climate change adaptation plans. Katherine elaborates on the personal significance of this, “This topic is important to me because it doesn’t only impact the people of Charleston, but also people all around the world. It has changed the way I look at resiliency and how I approach environmental/social issues.” This intrigue paired with a mentorship with Prof. Kingston led to the creation of their research project.

Highfill interviewed 9 experts and began initial coding of the data using thematic analysis. In addition, they conducted document analysis, primarily on the USACE Feasibility Study of April 2022. For researching the extent of these arguments in the U.S. courts, they analyzed 57 of the most relevant cases about climate change adaptation in the Sabin Center Climate Change Case Chart and found that none contained explicit disputes about green vs gray infrastructure.

Though the project is ongoing, it has already helped cultivate new contacts for the pair for potential future research, or the aesthetic assessment tools of the USACE since this project provided them with significant insight into USACE’s planning and to green infrastructure in particular. USACE is a major player in environmental and resilience policy and exploring a case study of this depth gave them a better appreciation for the internal structure of this organization. Thanks to this project, Highfill now has firsthand experience in qualitative research. They learned about different approaches to coding, and the potential dynamic interaction between document analysis, quantitative survey data, and in-depth interviews. Reflecting on how far this project has come, Highfill notes, “I hope people look at our project and realize the sheer amount of planning and coordination that goes into climate adaptation projects. There are so many different considerations that range from policy constraints, public input, environmental concerns, etc. Climate adaptation requires an interdisciplinary approach that stretches across multiple organizations and levels of government. There will be agreement and disagreement, but I hope that people can see past that and recognize how Charleston has created a great network of individuals to grow with the project.”

Highfill and Prof. Kingston’s research was presented in a poster at CofC’s Expo 23 on the 13th of April. Following that, they plan to co-author a case study for a climate or environmental policy journal that looks at USACE Seawall proposals in three cities: Norfolk, Charleston, and Miami. Each city has taken a different approach, informed by its particular politics and biogeography. The case study will then zoom in and discuss in depth the case of Charleston, with a focus on how the green vs gray infrastructure debate has played out here. Previously, they presented the negative findings about green and gray infrastructure in climate change adaptation litigation in a brainstorming session for the workshop “The Political and Legal Philosophy of Climate Change Litigation” held as an online workshop hosted by the University of Louvain.

Scholarships like the SURF grant are crucial to student research endeavors. Highfill points out that, “Having scholarship money has allowed me to focus my time and effort on researching sea level rise and climate adaptation. Without the constraints of semester deadlines and off-campus work schedules, I gained the confidence to explore new questions and utilize my own creativity in ways I could not have imagined.”

For students considering pursuing a SURF grant for their research in the future, Katherine advises, “For anyone looking to do research with a philosophy faculty member, the biggest thing I recommend is going to office hours. Having a one-on-one conversation about topics you’re interested in and asking questions about their research will help immensely. Looking at their past research projects and publications is a great way to spark conversation and talk about potential research questions. Don’t be afraid to directly email a faculty member or speak to them in person about your interest in research.”

Alumni Spotlight: Dr. Javier Gomez-Lavin

Photo Credit: Priscilla Thomas

Alumni Spotlight

Dr. Javier Gomez-Lavin

It was as a philosophy major at CofC that I began to foster and develop an interdisciplinary set of skills: from a careful attention to the structure of the arguments that frame pressing issues in today’s world, to learning how to bring cutting-edge neuroscientific research to bear on thorny puzzles at the heart of our understanding of our own minds.

Philosophy is a discipline that encourages and teaches students to think well, broadly, and creatively, helping students forge new paths when tackling the kinds of problems posed by our changing technological and social landscapes. It’s a focus on those skills and questions that we’ve brought into the ground floor as we’ve developed our inaugural BA in AI program, housed within the Philosophy Department here at Purdue where I am now an Assistant Professor.

We hope to prepare students to solve the unique challenges posed by the proliferation of artificial intelligence in our day to day lives by equipping students with the critical thinking skills central to a good philosophical education and allowing them to develop a mastery of these technologies by featuring them across all of our courses, such as our Introduction to Philosophy through Videogames course that I launched this past Fall semester.

Vanished Voices

New Lecture Series Launch by the Department

The Department of Philosophy has launched an exciting new lecture series this academic year: Vanished Voices. The inspiration for this new series is described by Dr. Deborah Boyle, a trailblazer in the field of women and philosophy, “I want students to know that if you look beyond the traditional philosophical genres and include novels, plays and poetry, you’ll see that there were many more people doing philosophy than the men that are usually taught about. And many of them were innovative women who were making history in philosophy in their time.”

Dr. Boyle’s professional work has sought to illuminate the marginalized voices in the field of philosophy. From her 2018 book The Well-Ordered Universe: The Philosophy of Margaret Cavendish to her recently released Mary Shepherd: A Guide, Dr. Boyle has been recontextualizing philosophical history that has often silenced important thinkers.

This academic year, the Vanished Voices Lecture Series held two talks. The first took place in the fall, entitled “‘The Complicate Being Self’: Mary Shepherd and the Difference Between Self and Mind,” and was presented by the department’s visiting assistant professor, Dr. Manuel Fasko, . Reflecting on his guest lecture and the importance of this series, he says, “It was a pleasure and honor to open the ‘Vanished Voices Lecture Series’ at College of Charleston, which was well attended by faculty and students alike. It is great to see that College of Charleston is participating and promoting the effort to right this wrong. Female thinkers have been part of philosophy since its inception. Their contributions were systematically neglected and ignored from the 19th century onwards, when philosophy became the university subject it is today. It has only been relatively recently that scholars have started to recover these vanished voices and incorporate them in their research and teaching. This is an effort that is ongoing. Thus, it is an excellent initiative by the College of Charleston to support and engage in this cutting-edge endeavor of correcting how we look at the past – and, in doing so, ultimately contribute to a more equitable future.”

The second guest lecture, “Demons, Doubts, and the Struggles of Knowing,” was presented by Dr. Christia Mercer, Gustave M. Berne Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University. Professor Mercer suggested that, while the contributions of early modern women philosophers to the development of modern thought is now widely acknowledged, late medieval women’s influence has yet to be reckoned with. In a wide ranging, and art-filled (!) talk, Professor Mercer showed how Teresa of Ávila’s arguments about achieving clear and distinct ideas influence Descartes and how philosophers need to be more sensitive to a variety of ways philosophy has been done throughout history.

Planning has already begun on the next Vanished Voices Lecture that will be held in Fall 2023 at the college. The focus will be on the African philosopher Anton Wilhelm Amo who was active in northern Europe in the 18th Century. Amo taught at the University of Halle, then at the University of Jena before an increasinlgly racist culture forced him to leave. In that time he wrote two philosophical books whose significance has only recently been re-recognized. Berlin initiated a decolonization campaign and in 2020 renamed the street, Mohrenstraße, to Anton-Wilhelm-Amo-Straße in Amo’s honor. This guest lecture will be a collaborative event with the Department of German at the College.

In addition to the lecture series, Dr. Boyle crafted a special topics course with visiting professor, Dr. Manuel Fasko, this spring – Recovering Vanished Voices: Women Philosophers of the 17th-19th Centuries. The course confronts the established androcentric narrative of the history of philosophy and draws from works by women philosophers such as Margaret Cavendish (1623–1673), Anne Conway (1631-1679), Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1648–95), Mary Astell (1666–1731), Emilie du Châtelet (1706–1749), Mary Shepherd (1777–1847), Sojourner Truth (c.1797–1883), or Constance Naden (1858-1889). Studying these thinkers will lead to discussions on their contributions to well-known philosophical problems such as the mind-body-problem or raise new questions, such as the role of women in philosophy or society more generally. The course aims for students to become a part of the effort to let these previously vanished voices be heard, thereby changing the way we look at the past, and, in doing so, ultimately shaping the future.

We look forward to sharing this valuable and ongoing work in the history of philosophy!