Graduate Students'
Background Information & Research Interests

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PhD Students

William Barnes

Previous Degree(s): BA- hons Philosophy (York); MA Buddhist studies (London)

Philosophical Interests: Liberation philosophy

 

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James Bodington

Previous Degree(s): BA in philosophy, Suffolk University; MA in philosophy, Boston University

Philosophical Interests: Philosophy of Technology, Philosophy of Psychology, Philosophy of Self and Personal Identity, 20th Century Continental Philosophy (especially Heidegger, Irigaray, and Foucault), Wittgenstein

Presentations:

    "Disentangling the Neuronal Self: A Kristevan Critique of the Contemporary Metaphorics of Self", Kristeva Circle, Siena College, October 2012


    "Neuroplasticity and Neurofemininity: Malabou, Irigaray, and the Revolutionary Potential of a New Metaphorics of the Brain", University of New Mexico Graduate Student Conference, April 2012

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Dan Briggs

Previous Degree(s): BA in Philosophy, Bennington College

Philosophical Interests: History of Philosophy, especially Descartes, Kant, and Heidegger; Contemporary Continental Theory

Presentations:

    "Hegel on Spinoza and the Dangers of Neo-Spinozist Politics," Villanova University annual graduate conference, Villanova, PA, April 2011

    "Indebtedness and the Gift: Heidegger and Derrida on Presents," Pacific University Undergraduate Philosophy Conference, Forest Grove, OR, April 2007

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Susanne Claxton

Previous Degree(s): BA in Letters, University of Oklahoma; MA in Philosophy, Oklahoma State University

Philosophical Interests: Continental Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy, Ecofeminism

Working Dissertation Title/Topic: An Ecofeminist Understanding of Heidegger's Ideas on Dwelling and the Fourfold in accordance with a Mystical Interpretation of Plato

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Kaitlyn Creasy

Previous Degree(s): BA in Philosophy, New York University

Philosophical Interests: Nietzsche, ancient philosophy (especially the Presocratics), 20th century Continental philosophy (especially Heidegger), philosophy of culture

Presentations:

    "A Reconciliation of Value Monist and Value Pluralist Aspects of Nietzsche's System of Values," New York University Undergraduate Research Conference in the College of Arts and Sciences, New York, NY, 2010.

    “Taoist Influences on Heidegger’s Philosophy,” Dean’s Circle Research Colloquium in the General Studies Program at New York University, New York, NY, 2008.

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Jaime Denison

Previous Degree(s): BA in Philosophy, University of the Pacific; MA in Philosophy, University of California, Irvine.

Philosophical Interests: Conceptions of individuality & selfhood in modernity, nineteenth century German philosophy, critical theory, philosophy of culture, psychoanalysis, play theory & imagination, aesthetics, literary criticism, philosophical anthropology, German & French Enlightenment, agency, legal & political philosophy, urban design.

Publications:

    “Between the Moment and Eternity: How Schillerian Play Can Establish Animals as Moral Agents”. Between the Species, Issue X, August 2010.

Presentations:

    “The Fullness of World and Loss of Resistance: Anxiety in Sein und Zeit”, Southwest Seminar in Continental Philosophy, University of Denver, Denver, May 28, 2011.

    “The Politics of Space: How Do We Find the Image of the Polis in a Postmodern Age?”, Cultural Studies Graduate Conference: “Networks of Power: Re-Imagining the Imagined Community in a Globalized World”. University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, April 17, 2010.

    "Art and Technology: Enabling or Disabling Political Imagination?"; Fantastic Projections: Crisis, History, and the Aesthetic Imagination (UNM Cultural Studies Graduate Student Conference), Albuquerque, NM, April 2009 "Degrees of Freedom and Morality in the Compatiblist Perspective," Southern California Conference of Undergraduate Research at University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, November 200

Working Dissertation Topic: The developments of play theory in nineteenth century German philosophy and psychoanalysis

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Laura Guererro

Previous Degree(s): BA in Philosophy, Willamette University; MA in Philosophy, University of Hawaii

Philosophical Interests: Buddhist Philosophy, Indian Philosophy, Comparative Philosophy, Epistemology, Ethics, Pragmatism

Working Dissertation Title/Topic: Buddhist Moral Epistemology

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Stephen Harris

Previous Degree(s): BA in Philosophy, University of Oklahoma; MA in Philosophy, University of Hawai'i

Philosophical Interests: Indian and Buddhist Philosophy, Comparative Philosophy, Ethics, Phenomenology

Publications:

    Forthcoming. "On the Classification of Śāntideva's Ethics in the Bodhicaryāvatāra," Philosophy East and West. Vol. 65: 3.

    2011. “Does Anātman Rationally Entail Altruism? On Bodhicaryāvatāra 8: 101-103,” Journal of Buddhist Ethics. Vol. 18, 92-123.

    2010. “Antifoundationalism and the Commitment to Reducing Suffering in Rorty and Madhyamaka Buddhism,” Contemporary Pragmatism. Vol. 7:2, 71-89.

Presentations:

    “The Classification of Indian Buddhist Ethics.” Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy Annual Meeting. Honolulu, HI. May 25-28, 2011.

    “The Ethics of Seclusion and Engagement in Early Buddhism: Continuities with the Engaged Buddhism Movement.” Tenth East-West Philosophers’ Conference. Honolulu, HI. May 16-24, 2011.

    “Tantric Logic and Saṃsāric Fuel in Mahāyāna Moral Theory.” Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy, APA Eastern Division Meeting. Boston, MA. Dec 27-30, 2010.

    "Does Anātman Rationally Entail Altruism? Another Consideration of Śāntideva’s Abhidharmika Argument," APA Pacific Division Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC, Canada, April 2009

    "Making the Most of Traditions and Persons: Classical Confucian Person Making and Implications for Models of Disability," UNM Philosophy Student Conference, Albuquerque, NM, April 2009

Working Dissertation Topic: The role of duḥkha (suffering) in Indian Buddhist Ethics.

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Tara Kennedy

Previous Degree(s): BA in Philosophy, Salisbury State University (now Salisbury University); MA in Philosophy, University of New Mexico

Philosophical Interests: Environmental Philosophy, Phenomenology, Ecophenomenology, Ethics, Applied Ethics, and the relationship between Philosophy and Literature

Presentations:

    "Ethos as Abode: The Heideggerian Ground of Ethics," APA Pacific Division Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC, Canada, April 2009
    "The Problem of Wilderness," UNM Philosophy Student Conference, Albuquerque, NM, April 2006

Working Dissertation Title/Topic: Retrieving the Retrievers: Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, and Phenomenology as the Basis for Environmental Ethics

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Jeremy Martin

Previous Degree(s): BA in English, St. Mary's College of California; MA in Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies, UNM

Philosophical Interests: Indian Philosophy, especially ontology, epistemology and logic in the classical sutra period and subsequent commentarial traditions; Tibetan Philosophy; Western Epistemology, Ethics, and Political Philosophy

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Justin Messmore

Previous Degree(s): B.A. in Philosophy, Lake Forest College

Philosophical Interests: Continental philosophy, philosophy of education, mysticism.

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Ethan Mills

Previous Degree(s): BA in Philosophy, Hamline University; MA in Philosophy, University of Hawaii

Philosophical Interests: Epistemology (especially Ancient and Modern Skepticism), Indian Philosophy, Buddhist Philosophy, Ethics, Early Modern European Philosophy, Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Religion, Chinese Philosophy.

Publications:

    “Jayarāśi’s Delightful Destruction of Epistemology.” Philosophy East and West. Forthcoming 65:4 (October 2015).
    “Engaged Buddhist Metaphysics: Buddhadāsa on Dependent Origination.” Indian Ethics: Classical Traditions and Contemporary Challenges: Volume II. Eds. Purushottama Bilimoria and Joseph Prabhu. Springer Publishing, Forthcoming
    “Epistemological Pacifism and Skepticism.” The Hamline Review (Special Issue in Honor of Duane Cady). Volume 31 (2012).
    “Hollywood Doesn’t Know Dick.” Philip K. Dick and Philosophy. Ed. D. E. Wittkower. Chicago: Open Court, 2011.
    “Book Review of Ancient Scepticism by Harald Thorsrud.” Ancient Philosophy. Volume 31, Number 2 (Fall 2011).
    “Book Review of Pyrrhonism: How the Ancient Greeks Reinvented Buddhism by Adrian Kuzminski.” Ancient Philosophy. Volume 31, Number 1 (Spring 2011).
    "From Comparative to Cross-Cultural Philosophy." Comparative Philosophy Today and Tomorrow: Proceedings from the 2007 Uehiro CrossCurrents Philosophy Conference. Eds. Sarah A Mattice, Geoff Ashton and Joshua P. Kimber. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Press, 2009.
    "Truthiness of the Appearances." Stephen Colbert and Philosophy: I Am Philosophy (And So Can You!). Ed. Aaron Allen Schiller. Chicago: Open Court, 2009.
    “Book Review of Buddhism, Knowledge and Liberation: A Philosophical Study. By David Burton.” Philosophy East and West, Volume 57, Number 4 (October 2007) 593-595.
    “Book Review of Being Benevolence: The Social Ethics of Engaged Buddhism. By Sallie B. King.” Journal of Buddhist Ethics, Volume 13 (2006).
    “Cultivation of Moral Concern in Theravada Buddhism: Toward a Theory of the Relation Between Tranquility and Insight,” Journal of Buddhist Ethics, Volume 11 (2004).

Presentations:

    “Rejecting Epistemology: Nāgārjuna’s Pañcakoṭi and Agrippa’s Trilemma,” Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy Annual Conference, Carbondale, IL. October 11-14, 2012.
    “Religiosity Without Belief: Nāgārjuna’s Buddhist Skepticism.” Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy Annual Conference, Honolulu, HI. May 26-28, 2011.
    “The Ethics of Skepticism: What We Can Learn from Nāgārjuna, Sextus and Jayarāśi.” The Tenth East-West Philosophers’ Conference, Honolulu, HI. May 16-24, 2011.
    “Is Skepticism Inevitable?” American Philosophical Association Central Division Meeting, Minneapolis, MN. March 30-April 3, 2011.
    “Jayarāśi’s Skepticism: How to Stop Worrying and Love a Life without Philosophy.” American Philosophical Association Eastern Division Meeting, Boston, MA. December 27-30, 2010.
    “Materialism, Skepticism and the Alleged Spirituality of Indian Philosophy.” Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy Annual Conference, Asilomar, CA, June 14-17, 2009.
    “Nāgārjuna, Jayarāśi and the Distinctive Character of Indian Skepticism,” American Philosophical Association Pacific Division Meeting, Vancouver, BC, Canada, April 8-12, 2009.
    “Engaged Buddhist Metaphysics: Buddhadāsa on Dependent Origination," Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy Annual Conference, Asilomar, CA, June 8-11, 2008.
    “Is Epistemology Possible?: Jayarāśi and the Buddhist Logicians on the Very Idea of a Pramāṇa,” American Philosophical Association Pacific Division Meeting, Pasadena, CA, March 19-23, 2008.

Working Dissertation Title/Topic: The Dependent Origination of Skepticism in Classical India: An Experiment in Cross-Cultural Philosophy.

 

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Krupa Patel

Previous Degree(s): BS in Nutritional Science, UC Davis; BS in Psychology, UC Davis; MA in Philosophy, San Jose State University

Philosophical Interests: Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Science, Phenomenology, Plato

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Phillip W. Schoenberg

Previous Degree(s): BA, San Jose State University; MA, San Jose State University

Philosophical Interests: American Philosophy, Pragmatism, History of Philosophy, Philosophy of Experience (Religion/Esthetics/Ethics).

Presentations:

    Rorty’s Ironic Atheism: Towards a Neo-Pragmatic Philosophy of Religion,” 12th Annual Meeting on Pragmatism, November, 9 – 13, 2009, Sao Paulo, Brazil
    Comments on “The Proto-Morality of Life: Primary Recognition in Axel Honneth’s Reading of Phenomenology of Spirit,” American Philosophical Association (APA) Pacific Division Meeting, March 31 – April 3, 2010, San Francisco, CA.
    Comments on “Self-Awareness, Self-Understanding, and Self-interpretation,” American Philosophical Association (APA) Pacific Division Meeting, April 8 – 12, 2009, Vancouver, BC.

Zachary Shank

Previous Degree(s): B.A. in Spanish, B.A. in Philosophy, University of New Mexico; M.A. in Philosophy, University of New Mexico

Philosophical Interests: New urbanism, urban theory, architectural sociology, 20th century Continental philosophy (especially existentialism and situationist thought), philosophy of art and film, happiness and the good life, Emerson, Thoreau, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Debord.

Working Dissertation Title/Topic: The metaphysics and meaning of building.

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Gino Signoracci

Previous Degree(s): BA in Philosophy, BA in English, University of Notre Dame; MA in Philosophy, Brock University

Philosophical Interests: Social and Political Philosophy, 20th-Century Continental Philosophy, Indian Philosophy (especially Advaita Vedanta), Comparative Philosophy, Meta-philosophy

Presentations:

    “Marxism and Eastern Thought: Toward a philosophy of perpetual revolution?” Marxist Literary Group Summer Institute on Culture and Society: “What Is Revolution?” University of Illinois-Chicago, Chicago, IL, June 2011.
    “Vivekānanda’s Vedānta: Monism, ethics, and prospects for contemporary philosophy.” Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy Annual Conference: “Sustainability and Interdependence.” University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, May 2011.
    “Transformative Philosophy East and West: Vedāntic and Buddhist Resources for the Critique of Political Economy.” 10th East West Philosophers’ Conference: “Value and Values: Economics and Justice in an Age of Global Interdependence.” East-West Center, Honolulu, HI, May 2011.
    “On Western Hostility to Eastern Philosophy: Liberation over social action?” 9th Annual Student Conference: “Life, Death, and Liberation: A Conference of Comparative Philosophy.” University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, April 2011.
    “God-to-come and Divinology: Not the way out of the spectral dilemma.” 10th Annual Philosophy Conference: “The Return of Metaphysics.” Villanova University, Villanova, PA, April 2011.
    “The Ethic of Identity in Advaita Vedānta and its Relevance for Contemporary Philosophy.” 8th Annual Student Conference: “Agency, Freedom, and Ethics.” University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, February 2010.

Kristian Simcox

Previous Degree(s): BA, University of Oregon

Philosophical Interests: German Philosophy since Kant, especially Schelling and Heidegger; 20th Century Continental Philosophy; American Philosophy; Aesthetics; Environmental Philosophy

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Joseph M. Spencer

Previous Degree(s): BA Philosophy, Brigham Young University (2004); MLIS Library Science, San Jose State University (2009); MA Philosophy, University of New Mexico (2012).

Philosophical Interests: Contemporary French Philosophy, Early Analytic Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion.

Publications:

    “Economy Suspended: The Possibilities of a Badiouian Business Ethics” (with Robert B. Couch, Willamette University). Forthcoming in Business Ethics: A European Review.
    Perspectives in Mormon Theology: Scripture (edited, with James E. Faulconer, Brigham Young University). Forthcoming from Greg Kofford Books.
    “Reading the Unwriteable: On the Interpretation of Job 19:23-25a.” In James E. Faulconer and Joseph M. Spencer, eds., Perspectives in Mormon Theology: Scripture, forthcoming from Greg Kofford Books.
    “Humanism and Anti-Humanism in the Philosophy of Alain Badiou.” Appraisal: The Journal of the Society for Post-Critical Philosophy and Personalist Studies 9.1 (March 2012): 33-39.
    An Other Testament: On Typology. Salem, OR: Salt Press, 2012.
    Reading Nephi Reading Isaiah: Reading 2 Nephi 26-27 (edited, with Jenny Webb, independent scholar). Salem, OR: Salt Press, 2011.
    “Nephi, Isaiah, and Europe.” In Jennifer Webb and Joseph M. Spencer, eds., Reading Nephi, Reading Isaiah: Reading 2 Nephi 26-27 (Salem, Oregon: Salt Press, 2011), 19-35.
    “Faith, Hope, and Charity: Alma and Joseph Smith.” In Adam Miller, ed., An Experiment Upon the Word: Reading Alma 32 (Salem, Oregon: Salt Press, 2011), 57-69. “The Four Discourses of Mormonism.” BYU Studies 50.1 (2011): 4-24.
    “On Vital Questions.” Review of Robert L. Millet, By What Authority? The Vital Question of Religious Authority in Christianity, 2010. Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 44.3 (Fall 2011): 199-202.
    “Prolegomena to Any Future Study of Isaiah in the Book of Mormon.” Claremont Journal of Mormon Studies 1.1 (April 2011): 53-69.
    “On the Poetics of Self-Knowledge: Poetry in Parley Pratt’s Autobiography.” Journal of Mormon History 37.1 (Winter 2011): 173-178.
    “Mormonism and the Enlightenment: In Response to John-Charles Duffy.” Square Two 3.3 (Fall 2010).
    “Towards a Pauline Theory of Gender: Rereading Romans 1:26-27.” Journal of Philosophy and Scripture 7 (2010): 9-19.
    "René Girard and Mormon Scripture: A Response.” Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 43.3 (Fall 2010).
    “Towards a Pauline Theory of Gender: Rereading Romans 1:26-27.” Journal of Philosophy and Scripture 7 (2010).
    "Of Revolution’s Embrace: A Review of Craig Livingston’s ‘From Above and Below,’” The Mormon Worker 8 (March 2010): 7, 10-11.
    “The Romance of Materialism: Notes on Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo.” The Mormon Review: Books and Culture from an LDS Perspective 1.6 (September 2009): 1-4.
    “Taking Grace for Granted: A Roundabout Review of Adam Miller’s Immanent Grace,” Element: The Journal of the Society for Mormon Philosophy and Theology 4.2 (Fall 2008).
    "Plato in Context: The Republic and Allegory,” Stvdia Antiqva 4.1 (Winter 2005): 15-29.
    “Free From All Men: Stoic Influence in the Writings of Saint Paul.” The Dualist 9.1 (Spring 2004): 29-41.
    “Plato Among and Against the Post-Modernists.” Aporia 13 (Fall 2003): 1-7.

Presentations:

    “‘Serious Disagreements’: Badiou and Derrida, Circa 1990.” Paper presentation at the third annual Derrida Today conference, University of California at Irvine, July 11-13, 2012.
    “Mathematized Truths: Alfred Tarski and Alain Badiou.” Paper presentation at “Continental Philosophy in the Great Basin,” the third annual meetings of the Southwest Seminar in Continental Philosophy, Brigham Young University, June 7-9, 2012.
    “Mormons, Films, Scriptures.” Paper presentation at the annual conference of the Association of Mormon Scholars in the Humanities, “Economies and Humanities,” Southern Virginia University, May 18-19, 2012. “Typology and Messianism in the (Book of) Mormon Experience.” Paper presentation at the annual conference of the American Historical Association, “Communities and Networks,” Chicago, January 5-8, 2012.
    “Immortality or Eternal Life? On the Religious Significance of Atheist Living.” Paper presentation at “What Is Life? Philosophy, Theology, and Science,” Kraków, Poland, June 24-28, 2011.
    “Playing with the Economy: On Badiou’s Lack of a Theory of Political Economy.” Paper presentation at “Badiou, Business, Ethics,” Centre for Philosophy and Political Economy, University of Leicester, May 26-28, 2011.
    “Philosophy’s Return and Liberation’s Prospects: On Alain Badiou.” Paper presentation at the annual University of New Mexico Philosophy Student Conference, “Life, Death, and Liberation: A Conference on Comparative Philosophy,” University of New Mexico, April 15-16, 2011.
    ‘I Speak in Tongues More than All of You’: Badiou and Agamben on Glossolalia.” Paper presentation at Postmodernism, Culture, and Religion 4, “The Future of Continental Philosophy of Religion,” Syracuse University, April 7-9, 2011.
    “Mormon Theologians are Ordinary Latter-day Saints: On the Neuroses Consequent to being a Mormon in Academia.” Paper presentation at the biannual Faith and Knowledge Conference for LDS Graduate Students in Religion, “The Intellectual Prospects of Mormonism,” Duke University, February 11-12, 2011.
    “Reading the Unwriteable: On the Interpretation of Job 19:23-25a.” Paper presentation at a conference hosted by Greg Kofford Books and BYU’s Richard L. Evans Chair of Religious Understanding, “Mormon Scriptural Theology,” Brigham Young University, October 4, 2010.
    “Remnants of Revelation: On the Canonical Reading of D&C 42.” Paper presentation at a culminating conference for a seminar hosted by the Mormon Theology Seminar and BYU’s Richard L. Evans Chair of Religious Understanding, “Embracing the Law: A Seminar Reading of D&C 42,” Southern Virginia University, September, 2010.
    “Sartre, Althusser, and the PCF.” Invited lecture presented to the Revolutionary Student Union at Utah Valley University, August 4, 2010.
    “Of ‘Eternal’ Gender: Saint Paul on Sexuality.” Paper presentation at the annual conference of the Mormon Scholars in the Humanities, “The Family and Human Relationships in History, Literature, Art, and Philosophy,” Claremont Graduate University, May 21-22, 2010.
    “To the Point: Politics and Philosophy in Alain Badiou.” Invited lecture presented to the Revolutionary Student Union at Utah Valley University, April 1, 2010.
    “Subjectivity and Truth: Towards a Basic Mormon ‘Anthropology.’” Paper presentation at the annual conference of the Society for Mormon Philosophy and Theology, “The Measure of Their Creation—Theological Anthropology,” Utah Valley University, March 25-27, 2010.
    “The Four Discourses of Mormonism: Towards the Thinking of a Uniquely Mormon Hermeneutics.” Paper presentation at the annual meeting of the Association for Mormon Letters, “‘One Eternal Round’: Mormon Literature Past, Present, and Future,” Utah Valley University, February 27, 2010.
    “Jacques Rancière: Democracy and Aesthetics.” Invited lecture presented to the Revolutionary Student Union at Utah Valley University, February 3, 2010.
    “Giorgio Agamben as a Subtractive Thinker.” Invited lecture presented to the Revolutionary Student Union at Utah Valley University, November 12, 2009.
    “‘A Wellcome Messenger’: The Development of Parley P. Pratt’s Theology of Death.” Paper presentation at the concluding symposium of the 2009 Summer Fellows Seminar, “Parley and Orson Pratt and the Formation of Mormon Thought,” Brigham Young University, July 2, 2009.
    “Omnipotent Weakness: Toward a Mormon Doctrine of God’s Omnipotence.” Paper presentation at the annual conference of the Society for Mormon Philosophy and Theology, “Upon All Nations—Religious Pluralism,” Claremont Graduate University, May 22, 2009.
    “Alfred Hitchcock in the Legacy Theater: Mormonism, Film, and ‘Religious’ Criticism.” Paper presentation at the annual conference of the Mormon Scholars in the Humanities, “Religions and the Practices of Criticism,” Brigham Young University, May 8, 2009.
    “Nephi, Isaiah, and Europe.” Paper presentation at a culminating conference for a seminar hosted by the Mormon Theology Seminar, BYU’s Richard L. Evans Chair of Religious Understanding, and the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Studies, “Reading Nephi Reading Isaiah: 2 Nephi 26-27,” Brigham Young University, April 15, 2009.
    "Faith, Hope, and Charity: Alma and Joseph Smith.” Paper presentation at a culminating conference for a seminar hosted by the Mormon Theology Seminar and BYU’s Richard L. Evans Chair of Religious Understanding, “An Experiment Upon the Word: Reading Alma 32,” Brigham Young University, September 19, 2008.
    “Thinking the Mormon Hermeneutical Situation: Four Mormon Discourses and the Place of a Uniquely Mormon Hermeneutics.” Paper presentation at the annual conference of the Mormon Scholars in the Humanities, “Interpretation: Latter-day Saint Perspectives,” Southern Virginia University, May 16, 2008.
    “Penser le Livre de Mormon: Towards a Hermeneutics of Conversion.” Paper presentation at an undergraduate philosophy and religion conference hosted by Prof. James E. Faulconer, Brigham Young University, April, 2004.
    "Free From All Men: Stoic Influence in the Writings of Saint Paul.” Lecture given as part of the Student Society for Ancient Studies Student Lecture Series, Brigham Young University, February, 2004.
    “Plato and Greek Religion: Reading Three Allegories in The Republic.” Lecture given as part of the Student Society for Ancient Studies Student Lecture Series, Brigham Young University, October, 2003.
    "Plato and Pythagorean Religion." Paper presentation at an undergraduate philosophy conference, Utah Valley State College (now Utah Valley University), October, 2003.

Working Dissertation Title/Topic: Alain Badiou's Theory of Truth

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Carolyn Thomas

Previous Degree(s): BA in English, Duke University; MA in English, Stanford University, MA in Liberal Arts, St. John's College, MA in Eastern Thought, St. John's College, MA in Philosophy, University of New Mexico.

Philosophical Interests: Ancient Philosophy, Ontology, Philosophy and Literature, Comparative Philosophy, Philosophy of Education, Plato and Heidegger.

Working Dissertation Title/Topic: Paideia and Poiesis: Heidegger's Philosophy of Education. Dissertation advisor is Iain Thomson.

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Tanya Whitehouse

Previous Degree(s): B.A. English Literature; M.A. Philosophy

Philosophical Interests: Philosophy of Art and Law; Political Philosophy; Applied Ethics; Logic; Philosophy of Language

Presentations:

    presentation on legislation, New Mexico State University, spring 2010;

    presentation on philosophy of art, Texas Tech University, spring 2001

Working Dissertation Topic: philosophy of language/language use (working with Dr. Livingston)

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MA Students

 

Krista Allen

Previous Degree(s): University Studies B.A. summa cum laude - Philosophical and Business Aspects of Law

Philosophical Interests: Philosophy of mind with a focus on animal mind, epistemology, philosophy of science, philosophy of music, and metaphysics.

Presentations:

    "Use of Language as a Measure of Animal Intelligence"

    Berger's "Why Look at Animals"

Michael Barron

Previous Degree(s): B.A. Philosophy, Religion from Birmingham-Southern College

Philosophical Interests: Mystical philosophy, Metaphysics, Indian philosophy, Non-duality, American philosophy, Process philosophy, William James, Emerson, Whitehead.

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Mark Behrmann

Previous Degree(s): Bachelor of Music in Composition/Minor in Philosophy

Philosophical Interests: German Idealism, Aesthetics, and Critical Theory

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Michael F. Brett

Previous Degree(s): BA in Philosophy, Ohio University

Philosophical Interests: Continental Philosophy, Meta-Ethics, Philosophy of Religion

MA Paper Title/Topic: The Will to Power: Mercy, Animosity, and Rivalry

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Christopher Duncan

Previous Degree(s): BA, Philosophy, University of New Mexico

Philosophical Interests: Phenomenology, Philosophy of Psychology, Existentialism, Logic and Heidegger.

 

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Jennifer O. Gammage

Previous Degree(s): BA, Philosophy and Anthropology, University of New Mexico

Philosophical Interests: History of philosophy, especially 19th and 20th century German thought, Plato and the Presocratics, American
transcendentalism and pragmatism, existential phenomenology, hermeneutics, philosophy of education, Heidegger and Emerson, and
questions of embodied identities.

Presentations:

    "Martin Heidegger and the Pedagogic Relationship," University of New Mexico's Fourth Annual National Ronald E. McNair Research and Leadership Conference, October 2010.

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William L. Gannon

Previous Degree(s): B.A. (Zoology), M.A. (Biology), Ph.D. (Biology)

Philosophical Interests: Ethics, 19th century philosophy, environmental ethics, pragmatism, experimental philosophy, utilitarianism, Hellenistic, especially Epicurus.

Publications: >50 publications (mostly Biology), CV here.

    "Ethics of Animal Use," Journal of Mammalogy 90(6): 1495-1497 (2008), Review of, Sandoe, P., and S. B. Christiansen.
    "Speaking the Right Language: The Scientific Method as a Framework for a Continuous Quality Improvement Program Within Academic Medical Research Compliance Units," Academic Medicine 83:941-948 (2008), Nolte K. B., D. M. Stewart, K. C. O’Hair, W. L. Gannon, M. S. Briggs, A. M. Barron, J. Pointer, R. S. Larson.
    "Guidelines for the Use of Wild Mammals in Research by the American Society of Mammalogists," Journal of Mammalogy 88:809-823 (2007), Gannon, W. L., R. S. Sikes, and the Animal Care and Use Committee of the American Society of Mammalogists.
    Additional information here.


    Presentations: Please see CV at referenced website.

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John Garletts

Previous Degree(s): BA in Philosophy, BA in English, both from Northern Arizona University

Philosophical Interests: Continental Philosophy, Martin Heidegger, Friedrich Nietzsche

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Brian Gatsch

Previous Degree(s): B.A. English from UNM

Philosophical Interests: Ethics, Buddhist Philosophy, Environmental Philosophy

Presentations:

    “Pain‑free Livestock: The Problem of Utilitarianism and the Science of Suffering” Eighth Annual Philosophy Student Conference at the University of New Mexico

Tyler Innis

Previous Degree(s): BA in Political Science from San Francisco State University

Philosophical Interests: 19th century German Philosophy, German Idealism, G.W.F. Hegel, 20th century French philosophy, political theory, historical and contemporary forms of materialism, psychoanalysis

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Patrick Kelly

    Previous Degree: BA in History, University of Washington

    Philosophical Interests: Indian and Buddhist Philosophy (esp. Nagarjuna), Zen and Cha'n, Kyoto School, Comparative Philosophy, Nietzsche, Philosophy of Language, Virtue Ethics, Pre‑Socratics

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Kris Miranda

Previous Degree(s): BA in Philosophy, Colby College

Philosophical Interests: Nietzsche, Heidegger, Buddhism, ethics, existentialism, perfectionism, phenomenology, literature and popular culture, skill, transhumanism

Publications:

Presentations:

“Being-in-the-World and the Warrior.” Martial Arts and Philosophy Conference, Canadian Centre for Ethics in Public Affairs. Halifax, Nova Scotia. 9 June 2012.


“Teaching the Superman.” First Annual New Mexico Graduate and Professional Student Conference, University of New Mexico. Albuquerque, New Mexico. 24 April 2012.


“Superhuman: Toward a Nietzschean Bodhisattva.” Phi Sigma Tau Second Annual Philosophy Colloquium, University of North Texas. Denton, Texas. 29 October 2011.


MA Paper Title/Topic
: human perfection and what it might mean to be "superhuman"

Austin Morrell

Previous Degree(s): B.A. in Philosophy from UNM.

Philosophical Interests: Psychoanalysis, Political Theory, Phenomenology

Christopher Rahlwes

Previous Degree(s): B.S. in Political Science from Sam Houston State University.

Philosophical Interests: Existentialism, Soteriology, Presocratics, Mysticism, Indian Philosophy, especially Shaivism and Yoga.

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Gabrelle Saurage

Previous Degree(s): BS in Physics, Texas State University; Masters in Eastern Classics St. John’s College.

Philosophical Interests: Comparative Philosophy, Philosophy of Science, Ethics, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Taoism and Vedic Thought

Presentations:

    “Fugue & Sonata: Heidegger, Hölderlin, Nietzsche” July 2012, American Society for Aesthetics in Santa Fe, NM. Also in June 2012 at the 2012 Southwest Seminar in Continental Philosophy, at BYU in Provo, Utah.

    “Give Them the Whip: A Darwinian Interpretation of ‘On Little Women Old and Young’ from Thus Spoke Zarathustra” October 2011, 2nd Annual Phi Sigma Tau Student Symposium at UNT in Denton, TX.

    “Hölderlin: Schiller’s Futural Poet” June 2011, 2011 Southwest Seminar in Continental Philosophy, at Denver University in Denver, CO. Also in April 2011 at the 9th Annual Philosophy Student Conference at UNM in Albuquerque, NM.

Shawn Unruh

Previous Degree(s): University of Oklahoma B.A. in Film and Video Studies, Minor in Philosophy

Philosophical Interests: Ethics, Political Philosophy, Philosophy of Science

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Robert Vaughan

Previous Degree(s): BA in philosophy, BA in French, Washington State University.

Philosophical Interests: 20th Century French Philosophy (especially Sartre and including influences in German Idealism and Romanticism), Psychoanalysis, Philosophy and Cognitive Sciences (especially memory), Theories of Consciousness, Thought of Place/Location.

Presentations:

    "Imagination and Originary Negation: Sartrean Phenomenological Consistencies with Derridean Challenges to Husserl." Conference of the North American Sartre Society, Texas A&M. November 2012.