VANESSA CHRISTINA WILLS
The George Washington University
Department of Philosophy
Rome Hall
801 22nd St. NW
vanessawills.com
Education
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PhD in Philosophy, University of Pittsburgh, December 2011
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Dissertation: “Marx and Morality”; Committee: Michael Thompson (Chair), John McDowell, Peter Machamer, Tommie Shelby
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Fulbright Scholar, Institut für Philosophie, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 2010-11
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Dissertation Fellow, Department of Philosophy, University of Rochester, 2009-10
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A.B. in Philosophy, Princeton University, June 2002
Current Position
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Assistant Professor of Philosophy (and Affiliated Faculty in the Program in Africana Studies), The George Washington University, August 2015-present
Previous Position
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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
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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
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“‘Man is the Highest Being for Man’: Marx’s Radical Irreligion”
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in ed., Graham Oppy, The Blackwell Companion to Atheism and Philosophy, Malden: John Wiley & Sons, 2019
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“‘What are you doing around here?’: Trayvon Martin and the Logic of Black Guilt”
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Book chapter in eds., Janine Jones and George Yancy, Pursuing Trayvon Martin: Historical Contexts and Contemporary Manifestations of Racial Dynamics, Lanham: Lexington Books, 2012.
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Review of Terence Irwin’s The Development of Ethics
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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.)
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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
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“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
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Saint Joseph’s University
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Faculty Research Grant, Summer 2014
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Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (German Academic Exchange Service)
- Short-term Grant for Research at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany, Summer 2012
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J. William Fulbright U.S. Student Program
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Grant for Research at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany, 2010-11
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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)
- Master’s Thesis Committees
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- 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
- Graduate Courses
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- 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)
- Undergraduate Courses
- 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
- Thesis Advisor (one-on-one advising of an undergraduate research project)
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- 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
- Instructor (classes designed and taught independently)
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- Teaching Assistant
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- 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
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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)