I am Professor of Philosophy and Education at the University of Pennsylvania. My research focuses on early modern philosophy, including the history of philosophy of science, the history and philosophy of education, and women in the history of philosophy. I have published on a wide range of figures, including Astell, Cavendish, Conway, Descartes, Du Châtelet, Hobbes, Leibniz, Malebranche, and Wolff, covering topics in metaphysics, the natural sciences, ethics and political philosophy. I am also engaged with students and teachers in the Philadelphia Public School District bringing philosophy into pre-college classrooms. I have held research grants from the National Science Foundation, the American Council of Learned Society, the Australian Research Council, the Social Sciences and Humanities Council of Canada, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Current Research Project

My current research interest focuses on the philosophy of Emilie Du Châtelet: This started as a collaborative project with Andrew Janiak (Duke University), which received past funding from the American Council of Learned Societies. Andrew and I continue collaborations on Du Châtelet’s natural philosophy. I am also working on her engagement with some questions in value theory (human happiness and virtue, for example), as well as her uses of various genres and methods to produce philosophy. Across all projects on Du Châtelet, we are concerned with the gendered context in which she forged her philosophy.

Teaching

My teaching interests include a wide range of course in the history of philosophy, global philosophy, and publicly-engaged philosophy (including public engagement components). I also enjoy opportunities to co-teach with colleagues across Penn, including regularly offering courses in the Robert K. Johnson Integrated Studies Program.