Category Archives: Grants and Scholarships

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.

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.

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.”