CV

VANESSA CHRISTINA WILLS

The George Washington University

Department of Philosophy

Rome Hall

801 22nd St. NW

vcwills@gwu.edu

vanessawills.com

Education

  • PhD in Philosophy, University of Pittsburgh, December 2011

    • Dissertation: “Marx and Morality”; Committee: Michael Thompson (Chair), John McDowell, Peter Machamer, Tommie Shelby

  • Fulbright Scholar, Institut für Philosophie, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 2010-11

  • Dissertation Fellow, Department of Philosophy, University of Rochester, 2009-10

  • A.B. in Philosophy, Princeton University, June 2002

Current Position

  • Assistant Professor of Philosophy (and Affiliated Faculty in the Program in Africana Studies), The George Washington University, August 2015-present

Previous Position

  • Assistant Professor of Philosophy, St. Joseph’s University, August 2012-August 2015

Areas of Specialization

  • Philosophy of Race; Moral Philosophy; Social and Political Philosophy; 19th Century German Philosophy (especially Karl Marx)

Areas of Competence

  • Epistemology; Applied Ethics; German Idealism

Selected Publications

  • “Revolutionary Admiration”
    • in ed., Alfred Archer and André Grahle, The Moral Psychology of Admiration, London: Rowman and Littlefield, 2019
  • ‘Man is the Highest Being for Man’: Marx’s Radical Irreligion”

    • in ed., Graham Oppy, The Blackwell Companion to Atheism and Philosophy, Malden: John Wiley & Sons, 2019

  • ‘What are you doing around here?’: Trayvon Martin and the Logic of Black Guilt”

    • Book chapter in eds., Janine Jones and George Yancy, Pursuing Trayvon Martin: Historical Contexts and Contemporary Manifestations of Racial Dynamics, Lanham: Lexington Books, 2012.

  • Review of Terence Irwin’s The Development of Ethics

    • The Philosophical Forum, Volume 42, Issue 3, Fall 2011. (Due to the great length of Irwin’s three-volume history of ethics, the review of his work was a collaborative effort. I reviewed Irwin’s entry on Karl Marx’s moral philosophy.)

  • In progress: monograph on Marx’s Moral Thought; “The ‘White Privilege’ Concept in Marxism and Critical Race Theory”; “Black Woman Marxists on Race, Gender, and Class”

Public Philosophy

  • Philosophy as a Virtuous Irritation: Can there be ‘ruthless criticism’ in safe spaces?,” PoliticalPhilosopher.Net, September 2016
  • Democracy and the Range of Options,” DailyNous.com, July 2016
  • ‘Where Do We Go From Here,’ An Inter-Generational Teach-In on the Triple Evils of Militarism, Economic Exploitation, Racism,” WPFW 89.3 radio, January 2016
  • Vanessa Wills on Marxism,” The Un-Mute Podcast, August 2015

Presentations

  • Black Woman Marxists on Race, Gender, and Class”
    • (Invited Keynote) Conference marking the 25th anniversary of Louise Antony and Charlotte Witt’s A Mind of One’s Own, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, November 2018
  • Discussant in Author-Meets-Critics session on Will Roberts’ Marx’s Inferno: The Political Theory of Capital (Upcoming)
    • American Political Science Association, September 2018
  • Racial Injustice and False Consciousness” (Upcoming)
    • Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Society Meeting, March 2018
  • Ruthless Criticism in Safe Spaces: Philosophical Pedagogies for Sensitive Classroom Discussions” (Upcoming)
    • Panel on Inclusivity in the Teaching and Practice of Philosophy, organized by the APA Committee on the Status of Women, Eastern Meeting of the American Philosophical Association, January 2018
  • Race, Ethics, and Policing in the Context of Injustice”
    • (Invited), Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Department of Philosophy, October 2017
  • Individual Action, Social Emergence, and ‘the Laws of History’”
    • First Annual Meeting of the Critical Social Ontology Workshop, Saint Louis University, June 2017
  • Heaven is a Place on Earth: Marx’s call for the abolition of morality”
    • Eighth Braga Meeting on Ethics and Political Philosophy, University of Minho, June 2017
  • Discussant in session on Naomi Zack’s “Contemporary Claims of Political Injustice”
    • Res Philosophica Conference on Race and Gender, Saint Louis University, April 2017
  • Panelist, “Teaching Race in the Age of Trump”
    • The George Washington University, March 2017
  • Fascism and Anti-Fascism”
    • Conference on “Resisting, Organizing, and Building in the Age of Trump and Beyond, Georgetown University, January 2017
  • Discussant in “Author-Meets-Critics” session on John Murungi’s An Introduction to African Legal Philosophy
    • African Studies Association Conference, December 2016
  • Race Thinking as Ideology”
    • (Invited Keynote) Conference on the Philosophy of ‘Race’ and Racism, Oxford University, June 2016
    • Annual Meeting of the International Society for MacIntyrean Enquiry, July 2015
  • False Consciousness”
    • Seventh Braga Meeting on Ethics and Political Philosophy, University of Minho, June 2016
    • (Invited) Georgetown University, Department of Philosophy, April 2016
    • (Invited) Wellesley College, Department of Philosophy, February 2016
  • Human Nature as a Standard of Ethical Evaluation”
    • (Invited) Texas A&M University, Department of Philosophy,, October 2015
  • Marx and Morality”
    • (Invited) Morgan State University, Department of Philosophy, April 2016
    • Department of Philosophy, Howard University, November 2015
    • (Invited Talk in the Ian Moore Memorial Lecture Series), Towson University, Department of Philosophy, April 2015
  • The ‘White Privilege’ Concept in Marxism and Critical Race Theory”
    • (Invited) Department of Philosophy, University of Alabama, April 2015
    • California Roundtable on the Philosophy of Race, September 2014
    • Central Meeting of the American Philosophical Association (Group Session of the APA Committee for the Status of Blacks in Philosophy), February 2014
  • Species-Being and the Ethics of Human Enhancement”
    • Central Meeting of the American Philosophical Association (Group Session of the Marx and Philosophy Association), February 2015
  • Blaming Racists: Moral Responsibility in the Context of Social Control”
    • Central Meeting of the American Philosophical Association, February 2015
    • (Invited) Department of Philosophy, The George Washington University, February 2015
  • Ideals of Ethical Leadership in ‘The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant’”
    • Central Meeting of the American Philosophical Association, February 2015 (Group Session Co-sponsored by Concerned Philosophers for Peace and the Committee on the Status of Black Philosophers)
  • Human Nature as an Ethical Ideal in the Thought of Frederick Douglass”
    • (Invited) Annual Interdisciplinary Conference on Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass Institute at West Chester University, October 2014
  • What’s Wrong with Human Rights Talk?”
    • Paper given in absentia at the Central Meeting of the American Philosophical Association, February 2013
  • Human Nature, Human Rights, and the Struggle for Human Liberation”
    • (Invited Keynote) University of Memphis Ida B. Wells Conference, November 2012
  • Ethics, Essence, and Objectivity in Radical Thought”
    • Radical Philosophy Association Conference, October 2012
  • Democracy, Leadership, and Representation in Black Politics”
    • (Invited) Rock Ethics Institute, Pennsylvania State University, February 2012 (Invited)
    • Collegium of Black Women Philosophers Conference V, April 2012
  • Freedom and Morality in the Thought of Karl Marx”
    • (Invited) City College of New York, Department of Philosophy, February 2012
    • (Invited) University of New Mexico, Department of Philosophy, February 2012
    • (Invited) St. Joseph’s University, Department of Philosophy, February 2012
    • (Invited) Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Department of Philosophy, November 2011
  • Marx’s Moral Philosophy”
    • Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Social Philosophy Research Colloquium, May 2011 (Invited)
  • Marx’s Critique of Natural Right”
    • York University, Historical Materialism Conference, May 2010

Selected Honors and Awards

  • Saint Joseph’s University

    • Faculty Research Grant, Summer 2014

  • Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (German Academic Exchange Service)

    • Short-term Grant for Research at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany, Summer 2012
  • J. William Fulbright U.S. Student Program

    • Grant for Research at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany, 2010-11

  • University of Rochester

    • Dissertation Fellow in the Department of Philosophy, 2009-10
  • University of Pittsburgh
    • Provost Development Fund Dissertation Fellowship, 2009-10
    • Department of Philosophy Departmental Fellowship, 2006-2007
    • Department of Philosophy Summer Research Grant, Summer 2005
  • K. Leroy Irvis Fund

Predoctoral Fellowship, 2002-2003

Teaching Experience

  • At The George Washington University
    • Master’s Thesis Committees
      • (Committee Chair) Albert Anaim, “Inner-City Justice: Universal Basic Income, Capabilities, and Inner-City Black Men” (May 2017)
      • (Reader) Vance Whitesides, “The Large Ensemble/European Classical Music Paradigm and African American-Originated Dance-Musicking: A Dispositival Analysis of U.S. Secondary Music Education” (May 2017, Graduate School of Education and Human Development)
      • (Reader) Ethan C. Terrill, “Good Welfare as a Condition of Good Science: Justified Uses of Animals in Biomedical and Behavioral Research” (In progress)
      • (Reader) Derek S. Lee, “Saving Libertarian Paternalism” (May 2016)
    • Graduate Courses
      • Economic Justice
      • Hegel and Post-Hegelian Philosophy
      • The Idea of the Individual: Independence and Selfhood in the Political Philosophies of Locke, Rousseau, Marx, and Mill
    • Undergraduate Courses
      • The Philosophy of Fascism and Anti-Fascism (forthcoming Capstone Seminar in Spring 2018)
      • Social and Political Philosophy (Writing Intensive)
      • Marx and the Alienation Concept (Capstone Seminar)
  • At Saint Joseph’s University
    • German Idealism
    • Freshman Seminar on Race and Racism
    • Philosophy of Race (Writing Intensive)
    • Philosophy of Human Nature
    • Philosophy of Karl Marx (Writing Intensive)
  • At the University of Rochester
    • Marx and Morality (upper-level seminar for advanced undergraduates)
  • At the University of Pittsburgh
    • Thesis Advisor (one-on-one advising of an undergraduate research project)
      • Directed Study on Georg Lukács
      • Instructor (classes designed and taught independently)
        • Introduction to Social Philosophy
        • Topics in Social Philosophy: Philosophy of Race
        • Concepts of Human Nature
        • Introduction to Ethics: Applied Ethics
        • Introduction to Ethics: Ethics and Class Society
        • Introduction to Philosophical Problems
    •  Teaching Assistant
      • Philosophy and Public Issues (Writing Intensive)
      • Introduction to Philosophical Problems (Writing Intensive)
      • History of Ancient Philosophy (Writing Intensive)
      • Introduction to Ethics (Writing Intensive)
      • Concepts of Human Nature (Writing Intensive)
      • Introduction to Philosophical Problems
      • Political Philosophy

Professional Activities and Memberships

  • Member, Working Group on Slavery and Its Legacies, The George Washington University
  • Board member, Critical Social Ontology Workshop
  • Board member, The Job Candidate Mentoring Program for Women in Philosophy
  • Referee: Ethics, Radical Philosophy Review, Rethinking Marxism, Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal
  • Committee on the Status of Blacks in Philosophy, American Philosophical Association
  • Administrator, Society of Young Black Philosophers
  • Member, Marx and Philosophy Association
  • Advisory Committee of the Africana Studies Program, St. Joseph’s University (2013-2015)
  • Planning Committee of Thea Bowman Society Lecture Series, St. Joseph’s University (2013-2015)
  • Organizer, Panel Session on “Marx and Human Nature,” Central Meeting of the American Philosophical Association (Group Session of the Marx and Philosophy Association), February 2014
  • Faculty commentator, University of Pennsylvania Philosophy Graduate Student Conference, November 2012
  • Member, Collegium of Black Women Philosophers
  • Member, American Philosophical Association

Languages

  • English (native speaker); German (proficient); Spanish (good)