Greetings and welcome to my home page! I am an Assistant Teaching Professor of Philosophy at Penn State University, where I've been since 2021. Previously, I was a full-time Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Colorado--Boulder, where I went after completing a Ph.D. at the University of Kentucky.
My research is on ancient Greek philosophy. Much is focused on metaphysics in Plato, as well as the Presocratics and Aristotle. The ancient Greeks offer valuable resources for contemporary debates, and my research is in the service of recovering these insights. In particular, the Greeks have powerful accounts of being and fundamental reality from which we stand to learn. I argue that Plato's theory of forms is a viable theory of universals and metaphysical ground, that we should understand Plato partially through his 'unwritten teachings,' and that the dialogues' literary aspects call toward deeper philosophical insights. I've published in Review of Metaphysics, Ancient Philosophy, History of Philosophy Quarterly, Epoché, Classical Philology, Elenchos, and elsewhere. I was Guest Editor for an issue of Ancient Philosophy Today: Dialogoi on Presocratic metaphysics in 2021, and have recently edited a book volume on Parmenides that is forthcoming with SUNY Press. At the moment, I'm working on Plato's Cratylus, Meno, and (as always) Sophist, Aristotle's De memoria et reminiscentia, and Democritus on care for the soul. My interests span the history of philosophy, including medieval philosophy, German Idealism, and phenomenology. My broad teaching interests include ethics, philosophy of race, social and political philosophy, and logic. I am committed to improving the climate for underrepresented and marginalized groups in professional philosophy, academia broadly, and teaching. I am on the organizing committee of Penn State's Coalition for a Just University. At UKY, I was certified as an LGBTQI+ support for students and community members in need and worked for three summers on a free Philosophy Day Camp for underprivileged Kentucky high-school students. I continue to aim to make philosophy a more diverse, supportive discipline. Before my doctoral studies, I completed a B.A. summa cum laude in Philosophy and Classics from Temple University in Philadelphia (my hometown) and an M.A. in Philosophy from Boston College. In previous chapters of life, I worked in documentary filmmaking and played in touring rock bands. These days, I live in State College, PA, with my partner and our many cats. We keep busy through labor organizing, cultivating our personae as self-styled critics of late-modern cultures of decadence, and occasionally bowling. |