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Academic
I am an Associate Professor of Philosophy and GSS (Gender and Sexuality Studies) at Tulane University. This is a dual appointment. Before that, I was an Associate Professor at University of Tennessee, the Andrew Fraser Junior Research Fellow at St. John's College (Oxford University), a Research Fellow at the Denbo Center for Humanities & the Arts and the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS).

My doctorate is from Rutgers University. My doctoral research received Rutgers University's highest student prize, the Distinguished Scholarly Achievement Award. I later received the UK's Royal Institute of Philosophy's Essay Prize and Canada's Killam Fellowship (declined). 

In 2022 I received the Chancellor's Notable Woman Award from the University of Tennessee and was listed in the 40-under-40 list for East Tennessee. In 2023 I received the Provost's Early Career Research Award. 

I am a former Associate Editor at Law & Philosophy. I founded the Coursier-Cross Library. My Erdos-Bacon-Sabbath number is 14 or less.*

I'm 'first gen' for university and for completing high school. As an applied epistemologist who aims to create pathways of mutual respect and equitable expertise between the campus, the city, and the wild, being 'first gen' is probably an advantage.

Personal
Outside of academia, I am interested in physical, creative, and healing arts. I perform with circuses, specialising in acro-balance, aerials, and found object experimental stunts. This means I perform on suspended scaffold poles and rope loops. 

My favourite apparatus is a 12-foot wooden ladder, which hangs from its middle. It tips and spins, fast. It's extraordinarily dangerous, but that isn't why I like it. I sometimes model and dance for artists and creative media.

More Personal
Here is some personal history in, roughly speaking, reverse order:

In 2022-2024, I ran a countercultural community space called the Playhouse. It was a hearth for community, collaboration, public philosophy, and the arts. Its raison d'etre is a space for adults to be playful. This hearkened back to my undergraduate years, which also involved a lot of public philosophy, philosophical arts, public events at my house, community organising, and performing. I was a Beltane Red Man in Edinburgh. If you Google that, you'll probably see me. I'm the one in red body paint.

Before my undergraduate degree, I sailed the Stavros S. Niarchos, her sister ship, and other sailing ships in the fleet. I was onboard for about a year, mostly around the Caribbean. I also sailed across the big bits. I spent a lot of time in the rigging.

I travelled for about two years. During that time, I studied Physics and Maths with the Open University. Inspired by Laurie Lee, I walked, I didn't plan the trips, and I slept on beaches. I once walked to Gibraltar without knowing what it was. When it came into view, it was quite the surprise. One day, I'd like to feel similar surprise at the Grand Canyon, so I try to avoid seeing photos of it.

I grew up in the woods near Orford, Suffolk. This is the house. This is its thatch. My mum grew a lot of food. My dad is a great shot. He didn't aim at fauna, but would shoot coins out of the air. I have a country-girl soul. After twenty one years of city living, I still feel like a delighted alien in urban spaces. I now live in New Orleans, which is especially delightful. 

I spent a lot of time sailing, swimming, and biking in the woods. (The sailing and swimming were in the rivers; the biking was in the woods.) I sometimes swam between the four villages on my river That is, Snape, Aldeburgh, Orford, and Butley. I climbed a lot of trees. I still do. 

I attended a tiny Victorian primary school in a 'picturesque' medieval village. It feels like a land outside of time. The road ends at our river, which is a lovely place to end.

I am very happy to work with doctoral students. I guide students on a range of topics, including epistemology, meta-philosophy, and some aspects of sex and relationships. 

I am especially well-suited to projects in social epistemology (incl. applied epistemology and legal epistemology), virtue epistemology, the ethics of belief, the normativity of attention, philosophy of sexual violence, and philosophical methodology.

Please see the "key words" section at the top of my CV, my Essays Overview, or explore this website to further a better sense of my research interests.

Tulane is particularly strong in social and political philosophy and in philosophy of mind. Here are the faculty lists for Philosophy and Gender & Sexuality Studies. (I have a dual appointment.) Students can also benefit from Tulane's Newcomb Institute, which focuses on gender, and Tulane's Murphy Institute, which includes the Center for Ethics and Public Affairs and other centres for research on law and policy. Graduate students can pursue the graduate certificate in Gender and Sexuality Studies. 

Note that if you have a left-field, non-standard idea for doctoral studies -- a project on philosophy of polyamory, kink, magick, tarot, sex work*, dance, philosophy through art, the emotions of climate change, the art of gathering, philosophy of personal life experience, or some other creative or countercultural endeavour -- Tulane could be a great place for this. 

New Orleans is a fantastic, mind-inspiring place to live, and the faculty is extrordinarily open-minded and supportive. I have a dual appointment across two departments, and my colleagues are experts in emotions, cog sci, society, sex, and many other topics. Tulane University supports cross-disciplinary, art-based, and city-engaged projects. So I think there are various avenues here to expand what philosophy can be. 

Indeed, Tulane might be a uniquely good place for exploratory, innovative, creative philosophy projects as PhD student. Note that I need to coordinate with my colleagues about this, and so no promises! Contact me if this appeals, and we can talk. 

As noted above, my main research remains within mainstream analytic epistemology.

Application information for the MA and PhD is here.

For updates about my wonderful students, go here. 
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* Re. Sex work projects. That topic is not new; I mean an unusual perspective or stance, such as combining philosophy of sex work with ethnography of the city, for example, or the aesthetics of stripping. That is, the kinds of philosophy questions about sex work that arise when people stop blurring their vision with distracting ethical handwringing.

During colloquia visits and some workshops, I can also present an informal and irreverent session called "Work Skills, Distilled: A Year of Productivity Training in n Minutes". 

It is a condensed, distilled version of many, many hours of productivity trainings. The content can be adapted for sessions of various lengths (i.e., 30-75 minutes). 

The presentation covers time management strategies, goal setting, planning, kinds of accountability group, "work-life balance", and similar. Unlike other trainings, I cover the topics fast.

The session emphasises that it is empowering to know about the range of techniques, so that you can try them. But no technique suits everybody; only do what works for you.

I can present it pro bono if I am visiting a conference or department. Otherwise, I typically ask for an honorarium, to manage demand.