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Duquesne Graduate Philosophy News • Spring 2016 duq.edu/philosophy

Department of Philosophy 600 Forbes Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15282 PhilosophyDepartment

GRADUATE NEWS • SPRING 2017 VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1 Department News

This has been another successful and stimulating year for the secured a Diversity Project Grant from Hypatia: a feminist philosophy Philosophy Department. We are happy to announce the promotion journal in support of the D-WiP conference. of Dr. Jennifer Bates to Professor in Fall 2016, and in Spring 2017, the promotion of Dr. Jay Lampert to Professor and Dr. Tom Eyers to Our recent alumni have also had a busy year. Associate Professor. Jim Bahoh, Ph.D. ’16, was awarded a prestigious VolkswagenStiftung/Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Renowned philosopher Dr. Simon Critchley (New School for Social Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Bonn. GRADUATE NEWS continued from inside Research) visited Duquesne University on November 17–18 to give There, he will work on a new research project with a seminar for the Simon Silverman Phenomenology Center’s 35th the heading, “The Critique of Representation in JACOB GREENSTINE, “Diverging Ways: The Trajectories of MARTIN KRAHN, “The Structure of Logical and Natural Concepts Annual Symposium “Life, Death and Play: Philosophy in Literature, German Idealism: The Historical and Systematic Ground of Recent Ontology in Parmenides, Aristotle, and Deleuze,” Contemporary in Hegel’s System,” October 14. Sport and Psychoanalysis.” Ontologies of ‘Events.’” More specifically, this project will examine Encounters with Ancient Metaphysics, ed. Jacob Greenstine and TREY WEISE, “Reading Wordsworth’s ‘Prelude’ with Adorno’s the relation between Heidegger and Deleuze’s theories of events on Ryan Johnson, 2017. Aesthetic Theory: Apocalyptic Imagination, Utopian Materiality, The Heidelberg Exchange program continues this year, with the basis of their respective engagements with Kant, Maimon, and MARTIN KRAHN, “Der Trieb und das Entlassen der Idee,” Idee, and Hope for Reconciled Subjectivity,” October 14. Heidelberg University hosting Ph.D. student Jiho Oh for the Spring Schelling. Jim will also teach a seminar on this research during his Geist, Freiheit: Hegel und die zweite Natur, ed. Pirmin Stekeler- 2017 semester. time in Bonn. JOSH STURMAN, “On Certainty in Husserlian Phenomenology,” EVENTS, continued from cover Weithofer and Wolfgang Neuser, 2017. November 11. Peter Libbey won a DAAD intensive language grant to study MACKENZIE LEFOSTER, “The Consolation of Philosophers: ANDREW COLE (Princeton University), “The Elements in Hegel and In addition to her several extracurricular commitments to support COLIN BODAYLE, “Hegel’s Inverted World,” November 11. German over the summer, as did Aaron Higgins-Brake and Rebuilding Dignity and Self after Sexual Assault,” In the Sphere of Marx,” October 21. undergraduate students, Christina Rawls, Ph.D. ’15, assisted Kimberley Tucker last summer. This year’s Philosophy Essay Prize the Personal: New Perspectives in the Philosophy of Persons, ed. in establishing the Society for (SWIP) at ANN CAHILL (Elon University), “Must Survivors of Sexual Violence was presented to Colin Bodayle for his essay “Hegel’s Bizarro Simon Smith and James Beauregard, 2016. Dissertation Defenses Brown University’s Pembroke Center, and is pleased to announce Disclose Their Assaults? Title IX, Mandatory Reporting, and the Role World,” and Jacob Greenstine was awarded a McAnulty Dissertation the project’s completion. Brock Bahler, Ph.D. ’14, published , “Heidegger and Deleuze: The Groundwork of JEFFREY LAMBERT, “Absolute Forgiveness: Material Intimacy and JAMES BAHOH of the Confidant,” November 2. Completion Fellowship for the academic year 2016–2017. Jeff his monograph Childlike Peace in Levinas and Merleau-Ponty: Evental Ontology” Recognition in Hegel,” Philosophy of Forgiveness, Volume II: New MICHAL PIEKARSKI (Cardinal Wyszynski University, Warsaw), Lambert received a Travel Grant from the APA to attend the Intersubjectivity as Dialectical Spiral, and co-edited Philosophy of Director: Dr. Daniel Selcer Dimensions of Forgiveness, ed. Court Lewis, Wilmington: Vernon “Blindness to Normativity,” November 4. Pedagogy Workshop at the 21st American Association of Philosophy Childhood Today: Exploring the Boundaries, both with Lexington Press, 2016. JUSTIN HABASH, “Early Greek Philosophy and the Discovery of Teachers (AAPT) Workshop-Conference. Tristana Martin-Rubio KELLY ARENSON (Duquesne University), “Epicureans on Love, Sex, Books. He was also appointed to their Series Editorial Board for the Nature” FRANK SMECKER, “Mapping the Abstract Essence of Concrete and Marriage,” December 2. Philosophy of Childhood series. Nathan Eckstrand, Ph.D. ’14, was Existence: An Analysis of the Privative Form of Value, an Director: Dr. Ronald Polansky hired as a Visiting Assistant Professor by Ft. Hays University to teach Polansky Grant Winners Overdetermined Category,” Crisis and Critique Journal, Vol. 3, No. 3, SASA STANKOVIC (Ryerson University), “Kant and the Imagination,” at its partner school in China, SIAS University, beginning in Fall 2017. ARIANA RAGUSA, “Vico’s Fabulous Beginnings: From the Forests Recipients for the 2017 Ronald M. Polansky Graduate 2016. February 3. He has also been serving as an Associate Editor for the APA Blog, in to the Academies” Student Scholarship award include: JESSICA GELBER (), “Two Ways of Being an charge of posts on Diversity and Research and of its ongoing series Director: Dr. Fred Evans Gizem Atalay (Université du Québec à Montréal End: Aristotle and Teleology,” March 31. interviewing recent graduates and young scholars about their work. Colloquium Presentations NALAN SARAC, “A Study on Conscience: The Content and [UQAM]) JEFFREY WILLIAMS (Carnegie Mellon University), “Brave New COLIN BODAYLE, “Plato’s Cosmology: Number and Ratio in the Function” Roly Carspecken (Germany) We welcome any news from alumni! Share your news with the University,” April 28. JEFF LAMBERT (Duquesne University), “The Ethical Questions of Philebus,” April 20. Director: Dr. Ronald Polansky Aaron Higgins-Brake (Germany) Department by contacting [email protected]. The Examined Life Speaker Series 2016–2017 Pornography,” November 18. ROLY CARSPECKEN, “The Illocutionary Dimension of Self- EVAN STREVELL, “Memory, Phantasia, and the Perception of Time: Frank (Trey) Weise (France) SILA OZKARA (Duquesne University) “Beginnings and Ends: TRISTANA MARTIN-RUBIO (Duquesne University), “The Places Consciousness,” April 7. a Commentary on Aristotle’s De memoria” Any contributions to the Polansky Endowment Fund Director: Dr. Ronald Polansky Foundations of First Philosophy and Death,” October 7. You Will Go: Merleau-Ponty on Life as Adventure,” April 21. ZACH SLANGER, “Transmission, Infection, Contagion: Towards a can be made directly to the department: c/o Chair Events (Duquesne University), “Truth in the Age of New Sexual Ethics,” April 7. JAMES TAYLOR, “Techno-Rascism: Heidegger’s Philosophy of PATRICK LEE MILLER of Philosophy, Department of Philosophy, Duquesne Philosophy Department Speaker Series 2016-2017 Technology and Critical Philosophies of Race” Trump,” October 28. University, Pittsburgh, PA 15282. GIUSEPPINA MECCHIA (University of Pittsburgh), “Submitting to ANTHONY CELI, “Tradition and World: Understanding Between Director: Dr. George Yancy Time: Historicity and Dystopia in Michel Houellebecq,” September 30. Gadamer and Heidegger,” February 10. continued, see ROLY CARSPECKEN, “Spiritual Autopsy: Hegel and Derrida on the EVENTS Life and Death of Spirit,” February 10. Duquesne Graduate Philosophy News • Spring 2017 duq.edu/philosophy

Philosophy Faculty News Graduate News

Dr. Kelly Arenson Fr. Brian Cronin Jacob Greenstine and recent Duquesne alumnus Ryan Johnson Dr. Arenson’s paper “Impure Intellectual Pleasure and the Phaedrus” Fr. Cronin has been spending his spare time editing his forthcoming have co-edited a book entitled Contemporary Encounters with was published in Epoche: A Journal for the History of Philosophy. book on The Phenomenology of Human Understanding. He has Ancient Metaphysics with Edinburgh University Press. David Also, her paper “Epicureans on Marriage as Sexual Therapy” was been completing final revisions of the text, and correcting the Hoinski, Ph.D. ’14, and Dr. Ronald Polansky contributed chapters to accepted for publication in Polis: The Journal for Ancient Greek typescript, proofing, and final design and presentation. Still there the volume. Political Thought. She presented a version of the latter paper to is the task of producing an index. He thinks it should be finished Duquesne’s own philosophy department in December 2016 as part by Christmas or before. The book presents a phenomenological Boram Jeong has been hired as a tenure-track assistant professor of its Speaker Series. In addition, Dr. Arenson presented “Epicureans description of the process of human questioning, understanding at the University of Colorado Denver. She will begin her teaching on Non-Cognitive Therapies” at the annual meeting of the Society experience, and sorting out true from false in the area of truth and responsibilities in Fall 2017. for Ancient Greek Philosophy, at Fordham University in October value. Our culture seems to have lost the basic distinction between 2016. She is currently working on articles on Plato’s Timaeus and true and false, genuine and fake, fact and fiction. No contemporary Matt Lovett has renewed his contract as a Visiting Lecturer at the KIMBERLY TUCKER – Ph.D. in philosophy, Duquesne University Epicurean joy. In the spring of 2016, she founded the Hellenistic philosophy has a tenable or robust defense of truth; we are reduced University of Pittsburgh’s Women, Sexuality, and Gender Studies Philosophy Society (www.hellenisticphilsociety.org), an international to relying on advertisements in the New York Times to defend truth! Department. He has also been invited to give two talks this year. LUKE SCHUMACHER – Ph.D. in philosophy, Fordham University organization with over 50 members. The group will hold its first Fr. Cronin offers a clear, systematic, verifiable, comprehensive and On March 17, he gave a paper entitled “On the Sexual Genesis Conference Presentations meeting at the 2017 Pacific Meeting of the American Philosophical critical presentation. He thinks we are in great need of such a text. of Thought in Deleuze” at the University of Pittsburgh, and on Association. Maybe Christmas will be too late! March 27, presented “Capitalizing on Women: Globalization and the September 10, COLIN BODAYLE, “Metaphor, Metaphysics, and International Sex Trade” at Florida Southern University. Marx: On a Paragraph from Heidegger’s ‘What is Metaphysics?’,” Dr. Jennifer Bates Dr. Fred Evans Pittsburgh Area Philosophy Colloquium, Washington, PA. Jennifer Ann Bates was promoted to Full Professor of Philosophy in The academic year 2016–17 has been productive for Dr. Evans. It Our graduate students have had an ambitious year, bringing three October 20–22, NICHOLAS BROWN, “Making History: Spring 2016. She published an article on Hegel and Shakespeare in has included academic accomplishments and political resistance conferences to Duquesne University. The Pennsylvania Circle Power, Discourse and the Possibility of Change,” Society for the journal Angelaki, and submitted two invited book chapters under against Trumpism’s assault on democracy. During 2016, five of his of Ancient Philosophy, represented by Jacob Greenstine and Phenomenological and Existential Philosophy (SPEP), Salt Lake City, contract (for The Philosophy of Theatre, Drama and Acting and papers were published, three in peer reviewed journals, two as Aaron Higgins-Brake, took place March 3–5, featuring papers from UT. The Routledge Companion to Shakespeare and Philosophy). She chapters in book collections. He has also completed four other graduate students and faculty working in Ancient Greek and Roman October 28–30, JACOB GREENSTINE, “Not-Being and the Most presented the latter chapter to the Duquesne Women in Philosophy. papers, three of which have been accepted for publication and Philosophy across Pennsylvania and keynote addresses from Dr. General Principles,” Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy (SAGP), Bates also submitted her book panel paper from SPEP 2015 (under another submitted to conferences. Columbia University Press Dr. C. D. Keyes in Fall 2016, he wrote “Truth in Jim Lennox (University of Pittsburgh) and Dr. Melanie Subacus New York, NY. contract with Philosophy Today). Her current work is a book chapter has sent out his new book manuscript, Citizenship and Public Dr. Keyes has been teaching undergraduate and graduate students the Age of Trump,” which he first (Villanova University). Our Graduate Students in Philosophy for Cambridge University Press, on the imagination in Kant, Fichte, Art: An Essay in Political Aesthetics, to reviewers. He will be on in his Christian Philosophy course and his graduate seminars, Is gave as a talk to the Department’s organization (GSIP), under the direction of Jeff Lambert, hosted October 29–30, KELSEY WARD, “A Teleological Interpretation of De Hegel and Solger. Jennifer was a panelist on “Philosophy, Teaching, sabbatical for the 2017–18 academic year in order to work on a God Illusion? Nietzsche & Kierkegaard, and Ricoeur’s Symbolism of Examined Life series, and then their 10th annual workshop “On Forgiveness and War” on March finibus v,” Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy (SAGP), New York, and Gender,” presented a paper “Kantian Grit: Severus Snape and book about cosmopolitanism. Dr. Evans is delighted that two of Evil. He also co-authored an article entitled “Contemporary Leveling later to the Northeastern Political 17–18 with invited keynote Dr. Adrian Switzer (Western Kentucky NY. Shakespeare’s Brutus” to The Examined Life Speaker Series, and his recent students have received tenure-track offers, another in the Spirit of Kierkegaard,” Thinking About Religion, Vol. 12, with Science Association, before University). The Duquesne Women in Philosophy (D-WiP), under November 25–26, JACOB GREENSTINE, “On the Several Senses of was a panelist on The Simon Silverman Phenomenology Center two visiting assistant professor positions, and a fifth her Ph.D. Richard A. S. Hall of Fayetteville State University. publishing it here: www.3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily/2016/11/ Tristana Martin-Rubio’s leadership, held their fourth annual Not-Being in Aristotle,” 2400 Aristotle, Bucharest, Romania. “Seminar with Professor Simon Critchley”. Jennifer co-supervised Working with these scholars and his previous dissertation students conference, “Critical Philosophies of Life,” on March 24–25. The truth-in-the-age-of-trump.html. He will be on sabbatical in the December 12–14, ALESSIO ROTUNDO, “Merleau-Ponty’s the Department’s first Cotutelle Ph.D. (with the University of has been one of his greatest joys at Duquesne. The Duquesne conference included a roundtable discussion on diversity in Dr. Jeffrey McCurry coming fall to expand this piece into a book. Phenomenology of Form as Return to and Departure from the Cologne, of Stephanie Adair’s Ph.D., defended April 2016). Jennifer Faculty and Staff Social Justice Association (for which he is philosophy and a series of papers from graduate students and In Fall 2016 Dr. McCurry helped put on the 35th Annual Simon Aristotelian Tradition of the Schichtungsgedanke,” Aristotle and presented an invited paper on Hegel and Shakespeare at Kingston Coordinator) promoted and provided a bus for the Women’s March faculty of all levels, with a keynote address by Dr. Cynthia Willett Silverman Phenomenology Center Symposium on “Life, Death, Dr. Daniel Selcer Phenomenology: Departures and Returns, Leuven, Belgium. University London, England, April 1, 2017. on Washington, supported immigrant rights, and is working on other and Play: Philosophy in Literature, Sport, and Psychoanalysis” with Daniel Selcer did nothing during the fall semester: In early (). The conference was generously supported by resistance activities. He continues as Coordinator for the Center for Prof. Simon Critchley. In October 2016 he also presented papers September, he delivered a lecture on Descartes’s concept of Hypatia: a feminist philosophy journal, with additional support from January 28–29, M. V. KRAMER, “Toward a Gadamerian Hermeneutic Dr. Faith Bjalobok Interpretive and Qualitative Research (CIQR). entitled “Freud and the Psychoanalysis of Consciousness in the ‘nothing’ as the keynote address for the 2016 Pittsburgh Area the Philosophy Department, the Center for Women’s and Gender of Religious Experience,” 13th Annual Gonzaga Graduate Philosophy This year, Faith was invited to Culture of Modernism” at the Society for Phenomenology and Philosophy Colloquium at Washington and Jefferson College; in early Studies, MAP, the Office of the Dean, and the Duquesne Program Conference, Spokane, WA. speak at Chatham University’s Dr. Tom Eyers the Human Sciences, and “The Phenomenological Freud” for the October he presented work on images of the void and other early Council. February 25, KELSEY WARD, “Cicero’s Appeal to the Young in De Philosophy Club about the Tom Eyers’ third book, Speculative Formalism: Literature, Theory, Duquesne University Student Counseling Clinical Staff. He has a modern diagrammatic ‘nothings’ at a University of Pennsylvania finibus v,” Pitt Visitors’ Philosophy Conference, Pittsburgh, PA. philosophical origins of the animal and the Critical Present, was published by Northwestern University paper accepted at the Issues in Contemporary Phenomenology interdisciplinary symposium on the materiality of scientific Duquesne’s Minorities and Philosophy (MAP) chapter has held March 3–5, COLIN BODAYLE, “The Ambiguity of the Philosopher in movement. Her Philosophy of Press on March 15th of this year; celebrations are planned at the Conference of the Polish Phenomenological Association in knowledge; in early November he delivered the keynote address bi-weekly reading sessions on issues related to philosophy and race, the Sophist,” Pennsylvania Circle of Ancient Philosophy, Pittsburgh, Animals class co-sponsored University at Buffalo, at Princeton University, and at Duquesne. Warsaw, entitled “A Phenomenological Embrace of the Phenomena: for Vanderbilt University’s Tennessee Philosophical Association gender, sexuality, class and post-colonialism, with an emphasis on PA. the Animal Law Conference at Articles have appeared or are imminent in Critical Inquiry, Boundary Psychology, Moralism, and Therapeutic Action in the Very Early Conference, speaking on political ontology in Hobbes and Spinoza texts that are suitable for introductory courses. MAP also hosted a Duquesne’s Law School in October. 2, Mediations and Revue Internationale de Philosophie. A new book Freud”. (the key to which was demonstrating that, according to Hobbes, seminar with Dr. Jim Vernon (York University) called “Let’s Get Free: March 3–5, KELSEY WARD, “Transparency in Cicero’s De finibus,” In conjunction with her Philosophy project, Determined and Unmoved: Romantic Materialities, is about the ‘multitude’ is precisely ‘nothing’); and, finally, in early December Hegel, Hip Hop, and The Art of Emancipation” on February 4. Pennsylvania Circle of Ancient Philosophy, Pittsburgh, PA. of Law class, Faith Bjalobok a third complete. Over the last year, Eyers has spoken at, among Dr. Patrick Miller he delivered “Cartesian Sound and Atomic Fury” on Cartesian vs. organized a seminar on the social other places, Penn State, Harvard, Princeton, and the Modern Dr. Miller has been inspired by the recent American election to work neo-Epicurean ‘nothings,’ through the Miami University of Ohio 2016 Masters Student Placement justice issues surrounding the United Nations Declaration of Rights Language Association meeting in Philadelphia. Eyers was pleased to Publications on political philosophy in both his teaching and his writing. In Spring graduate colloquium series. This spring, he looks forward to working NICHOLAS BROWN – Ph.D. in comparative literature, CUNY of Indigenous People, and first nations’ perspectives on the Dakota receive tenure and promotion, and he acquired a cat named Henry, JACOB GREENSTINE, “A Thousand Antiquities,” Contemporary 2017, he taught a new course, “America & Antiquity,” in which his on something. Graduate Center Access Pipeline. The event took place on March 29, and featured by far the most important achievement of the year. students are reading the founding documents of the U.S.A., and the Encounters with Ancient Metaphysics, ed. Jacob Greenstine and a presentation from Kelsey Leonard, M.Sc. in Water Science, Policy contemporaneous debates about them, all against the background THOMAS CANTONE – Ph.D. in philosophy, The New School for Ryan Johnson, 2017. and Management, and representative of the Shinnecock Tribal of the ancient authors whose stories and arguments the framers Social Research Nation as Co-Lead on the Mid-Atlantic Regional Planning Body of used to avoid the pitfalls of ancient tyranny. With the same intent, ANTHONY CELI – adjunct instructor, Brookdale Community College continued, see GRADUATE NEWS the U.S. National Ocean Council.