Public Philosophy

Popular Audience Essays and Conversations.

• “Who Will Clemson Censor Next?” The Chronicle of Higher Education.

• TEDx Talk: “The Upside of Feeling Bad”

• Public discussion: Kollegium Talks, “Is there an upside to unpleasant feelings?” View on YouTube. 

• "Disgust Can Be Morally Valuable," Scientific American

• "A Way to Make COVID-19 College Furloughs More Fair," The Conversation

• "Your COVID-19 Anxiety Could be a Good Thing," The Washington Post

• "Worried Well," Aeon Magazine

• "Life's Anxieties: Good or Bad?" The History of Emotions Blog

Leadership Roles.

I have served on the Advisory Committee for Western Michigan University's Center for the Study of Ethics & Society, an organization that creates opportunities for people in the WMU and Kalamazoo communities to engage in public reflection about ethical issues. I was also a member of the Executive Board of the Center for the Humanities as Washington University in St. Louis from 2016-2018.

Media, Interviews.

• The National (on eco-anxiety)

• Dialexicon (Public Philosophy interview on emotions and their value for youth run by Saurish Srivastava)

• HuffPost (on the value of anxiety)

• Reader's Digest (on the value of anxiety)

• Big Think (on the value of anxiety)

Western Michigan Lyceum.

I was the Faculty Mentor and organizer for the WMU Lyceum, a week-long philosophy themed summer camp for high school students in the Kalamazoo area. The camp has two aims: (i) to improve students’ critical thinking and writing skills in a fun, engaging manner and (ii) to expose students to the study of philosophy in a college setting. To achieve these aims, the Lyceum uses a theme-based curriculum: daily class sessions combine critical thinking exercises and discussions that are focused on a specific topic within the camp’s larger theme (e.g., Philosophy and Technology, Philosophy and the Environment).

Accomplishments:

• The Lyceum was awarded a grant from the American Philosophical Society's Berry Fund for Public Philosophy

• We have also started up a Philosophy Club at Loy Norrix High School with the help of Joey Zahrn (Loy Norrix)

Guide for Philosophy Summer Camps.

Adam Waggoner (WMU, Philosophy '19) and I developed a how to guide for those interested in starting up a summer camp like the WMU Lyceum.