I'm Professor of Philosophy at Harvard University. Before coming to Harvard, I taught at Illinois State University (2013-2016). I received my PhD from University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2013 and my BA in 2006 from Ball State University, where I majored in philosophy and Spanish. Between graduating from Ball State and beginning my PhD, I spent some time teaching kindergarten in Denver, Colorado.
My research interests are in the areas of social and political philosophy and ethics. I write about political liberalism and political legitimacy, egalitarian justice, education, and the gendered division of labor. My 2019 book, Liberalism, Neutrality, and the Gendered Division of Labor (OUP), argues that social policy aimed at eroding the gendered division of labor can comply with stringent liberal constraints on legitimate exercises of political power. From that argument, I draw out practical implications about the policy in question and theoretical implications about the liberal constraints themselves.
My new book project, tentatively called The Anatomy of Justice: Liberal Egalitarianism for Liberals and Critics Alike, develops a novel approach to theorizing liberal egalitarian justice and argues for that approach on the grounds that it supports compelling resolutions to longstanding disputes and difficulties internal to egalitarianism, and compelling defenses of liberalism against its egalitarian critics.
I have ongoing projects on equal educational opportunity, sectoral justice more broadly, and liberal egalitarian theory. I've also written on diversity problems within the discipline of philosophy, on the ethics and politics of abortion, on the use of social policy to curtail animal consumption and experimentation, on the practice of non-ideal theory in political philosophy, and on other issues in feminist philosophy. Those interested in my research can check out my curriculum vitae and my research page.
I've taught a variety of classes at Harvard, ISU, and UW-Madison. Most of my teaching is in ethics, political philosophy, social philosophy, feminism, and educational ethics. Those interested in my teaching philosophy and descriptions of some of the courses I’ve taught can find that information on my teaching page. (Current students looking for course materials will have better luck visiting our course webpage on Canvas.)