I am interested in philosophy in broadly interdisciplinary programs, and I am particularly interested in the juncture between social and political thought with both aesthetic experience and the arts and psychoanalytic theory. I often teach key historical texts from Kant, Hegel, Marx, Freud, and Lacan, as well as 20th century and contemporary critical thinkers. Big questions for me include the relationship between language and subjectivity, what role aesthetic experience plays in social life and sociability, and how we should understand the relationship between authority and economic forces. (I am also interested in mathematics, physics, and biology.)
Education
Ph.D., Philosophy, Vanderbilt University, 2008; M.A., Philosophy, Vanderbilt University, 2004; B.A., Liberal Arts, St. John's College, 1997.
Teaching Style
I work with students on how and why to engage with texts and images, focusing on close reading and slow looking practices, how to engage challenging texts from very different time periods, what a rich seminar can do collectively that is beyond any one of us individually. Therefore, my approach emphasizes reading, annotation, writing, note-taking, conversation, and, at its best, intellectual, and artistic friendship.