Philosophy Newsletter

Dear Friends of the Department of Philosophy,  

It has been a year of challenges and uncertainty for the University of Minnesota and universities across the country. Reductions in federally funded research grants, the targeting of international students, and DOE and DOJ investigations of campus activity have sent shockwaves through our University community. Although the Department of Philosophy does not receive much in the way of federal research dollars, we are not immune to the broader effects that federal funding cuts will have on the College of Liberal Arts and the University. Closer to home, we are very concerned about our international PhD students and the threats to academic freedom and autonomy. Despite these challenges, the department had a good year with lots of continued success for our faculty, students, and staff. I’ll relay some highlights in the newsletter below.

The editorial board of the undergraduate journal Epistemai hosted an Undergraduate Philosophy Conference in April, with a keynote talk by Professor Chiara Bottici from The New School. The conference featured talks by students from the University of Chicago, Haverford College, and York University, and covered a range of topics including Hegelian feminism, Derrida and artificial intelligence, and the definition of religion. The Epistemai team continues to be a very active presence in the department, and we are very excited about future conferences and future editions of the journal.  

Professors Jessica Gordon-Roth and Dwight K. Lewis Jr. were awarded a Mellon Foundation Grant in the amount of $500,000 in support of the Minnesota Center for Canon Expansion and Change (CCEC). CCEC seeks to change the way that the history of modern philosophy is taught by including new and neglected voices alongside the more familiar philosophical figures. CCEC hosted a week-long summer program in June, and with the help of this Mellon grant, will continue its strong upward trajectory. CCEC aims to raise additional financial support from both foundations and individuals to sustain this important work into the future.  

In addition to his work on CCEC, Professor Lewis and his students curated the art exhibit Layers of Joy at the UMN Quarter Gallery. Layers of Joy was a celebration of Black art, identity, and community, which featured the work of five early- and mid-career artists whose work illustrates aspects of Black experience. To kick off the exhibit, Professor Lewis hosted a live performance by the artist seangarrison in which he painted a room-sized mural in front of an audience of over 100. 

You may have seen our colleague Professor Valerie Tiberius featured in a print or television news story for her book What Do You Want Out of Life: A Philosophical Guide to Figuring Out What Matters, Princeton University Press. This is just one of several new books by our faculty, including Carl Elliott’s The Occasional Human Sacrifice: Medical Experimentation and the Price of Saying No, Norton, and Brian Bix’s Families by Agreement: Navigating Choice, Tradition, and Law, Cambridge University Press.  

Finally, I’d like to send out a save-the-date announcement for our next May Brodbeck Outreach Event, to be held at the Surly Brewing Company on October 24, 2025, 6:00 – 8:00 PM. The theme for this event will be philosophy and artificial intelligence. Food and drinks and lively philosophical discussion will be led by UMN faculty, including Valerie Tiberius. We hope to see you there this fall!  

Thanks to all of you who have supported the Department of Philosophy. On behalf of the faculty, staff, and students, I hope you know how grateful we are for your generous support. As we look forward to a productive and invigorating academic year, we wish you all the best in whatever this season holds for you.

Warm regards,
Peter Hanks
Professor and Chair