I apologize for the tardiness of this ballot but it should only take a few moments to fill out. Please keep in mind that only members may vote.
FEAST BALLOT 2009
Please return your vote by Monday, December 28 to
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A. INTRODUCTION:
1. Election of Steering Committee members to commence service on January 1, 2010:
FEAST Steering Committee seats to be filled are:
1. At Large Member (January 1, 2010 - December 31, 2011)
2. Grad Representative (January 1, 2010-December 31, 2011)
Bios of candidates (in alphabetical order):
For At Large Member (three-year term):
Louise Collins. I have been a low-profile participant in FEAST since its inception and am eager to become more actively involved in the organization. I am pleased to be completing my sixth - and final! - year as Philosophy Department chair at Indiana University South Bend, where I am an associate professor of Philosophy, and also serve on the Women’s Studies Governing Board.
I presented a paper on feminist approaches to children’s literature at the 2001 proto-FEAST meeting, served on the program committee in 2003, 2005 & 2007, and chaired a session at the 2009 meeting. Reading and discussing the manuscript submissions to FEAST for three meetings was a privilege and a joy, despite the need to make some tough calls.
I have a paper forthcoming in the 2010 Hypatia FEAST Special Issue, entitled, “Autonomy and Authorship: Story-Telling in Children’s Picture Books.” My current research project explores the significance of on-line relationships.
Among my hopes for FEAST: that the organization continue to flourish and provide a supportive, professional venue for feminist philosophers to share our work; and, that the organization continue to nurture the next generation of feminist scholars from diverse backgrounds.
Peter Higgins (Ph.D., University of Colorado at Boulder, 2008) is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Faculty Affiliate of Women’s and Gender Studies at Eastern Michigan University. Peter’s area of research specialty is global feminist social and political philosophy. His current work critiques extant philosophical visions of justice in immigration policy (on the grounds that almost all of it overlooks the synergistic effects of immigration policies with the workings of unjust social institutions like gender, race, and class), while developing and defending a feminist principle for determining whether or not states’ immigration policies are just. Peter has latent philosophical interests in philosophy of sexuality and queer theory that he hopes to pursue in the not-too-distant future.
Peter has been a member of FEAST and presented work at its bi-annual conference since January 2006. He strongly supports the mission of FEAST to increase the visibility and influence of feminist ethical, social and political theory, and is eager to contribute to the flourishing of the organization. Having always had such a fabulous time at the three FEAST conferences in which he’s participated, Peter wishes to serve FEAST and its membership as at large representative to the steering committee.
Alice MacLachlan is an assistant professor in the department of philosophy at York University (Toronto, Canada). She works in feminist ethics and in social and political philosophy. Her research topics include reconciliation, forgiveness and apology, as well as the philosophy of Hannah Arendt. She also has interests in the politics of sexuality. She completed her PhD at Boston University in 2007, and holds degrees from Cambridge University (UK) and Queen's University (Canada). Alice is the founder and a moderator of the online feminist draft exchange, and is actively involved in fostering local feminist communities in the Toronto area. "FEAST was my first experience of a professional feminist philosophy conference, and it was through the FEAST email listserv that I first felt connected to the wider community of feminist ethicists and social theorists working, writing and changing philosophy. I remain committed to the mission of FEAST and - at the same time - I am intrigued and excited by the changes and challenges FEAST faces, ranging from difficult and important conversations on the listserv, to discussions of conference location, atmosphere and accessibility. I would welcome the opportunity to be more involved in FEAST, as a member of the steering committee, as we move forward, and I look forward to finding ways I can contribute."
Lisa Rivera. I am an Associate Professor at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. I received my Ph.D. from Cornell University in 2001. My current work in Feminist Ethics focuses on the relevance of political engagement and social location for moral agency.
I was overjoyed to find in FEAST a place where I could collaborate with other feminist theorists, both intellectually and politically. FEAST’s mission to increase the “visibility and influence” of feminist ethics and feminist social and political philosophy gives me the hope that FEAST will continue to be a resource for those of us who want to challenge the status quo in the academy, and further feminist ethical and political perspectives within and beyond disciplinary boundaries.
Some of my hopes for FEAST:
I hope that FEAST will mentor graduate students and junior faculty in order to promote the professional success and flourishing of feminist ethicists, political philosophers, and social theorists.
I hope FEAST will promote the work of people with diverse backgrounds and those who are underrepresented in philosophy by providing intellectual collaborators, a constructive place to develop work, and guidance in negotiating the rocky terrain of academia.
I want to work with others to support PIKSI and develop further strategies to make academic philosophy include those who are now marginalized from, or altogether shut out of, the discipline.
I hope we will continue to have many difficult conversations, and that these conversations will lead to opportunities for feminist action both inside and outside the university.
I hope that FEAST conferences continue to be venues where feminists with a variety of different theoretical orientations can engage with one another to cultivate our work. The conferences are a place where we can find intellectual collaborators and expand our own theoretical frameworks. I want to support those who find venues for publishing the writing of FEAST members.
I hope that FEAST members can be resources for one another in the face of two prolonged wars, an alarming environmental situation, and other forms of injustice and oppression. Many of the scholars in FEAST are also experienced activists and organizers. I hope to work with others in the FEAST community to voice a feminist perspective on the ethical and political issues we face.
For Grad Representative (two-year term):
Jessica Kyle. I am a Ph.D. student in Binghamton University’s Program in Social, Political, Ethical, and Legal Philosophy (SPEL). My research and teaching interests include Social and Political Philosophy, Ethics, Feminist Philosophy, and Philosophy of Law. Currently, my research is focused on non-ideal moral and political theorizing, and also on exploring the role of caring moral emotions like sympathy, empathy, and compassion in politics and political concepts (e.g., solidarity) through an Arendtian political lens. I am an active member of FEAST and at the 2009 conference I both presented a paper and served as the local arrangements and registration co-coordinator.
Having the good fortune to be part of a very feminist-friendly graduate program in philosophy, I am aware of the significance of environments that encourage the flourishing of academic-related feminist pursuits and also strongly interested in promoting these spaces. And, as president of my program’s Graduate Student Organization, I have worked to ensure representation of and promote responsiveness to graduate student interests and concerns. These efforts have included serving on the GSO Committee for Graduate Student Professional Support, through which I have helped to organize activities including conference presentation and teaching workshops. I would love to have the opportunity to draw on this experience for the advancement of graduate students in feminist philosophy. A primary commitment of mine as FEAST grad student representative would be to the continuation and strengthening of those programs and activities put in place through the hard work of other graduate students; these include the FEAST Mentoring Program and FEAST Conference events such as the Mentoring Breakfast and student/faculty lunch session on succeeding as women philosophers. While the initiation of new programs and activities is dependent on the feedback of FEAST grad student members, a further hope I have is to help compile and make available through the FEAST website, listserv, and perhaps other digital venues a range of information and resources specifically tailored to the issues and needs of graduate student women in philosophy.
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Please cut and paste from here, and send to [log in to unmask]
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B. BALLOT
1. Instructions:
Please complete the following form and return it by Monday, December 28 to the FEAST Nominating Committee, via Maurice Hamington at [log in to unmask]
The easiest procedure for all of us will be for you to just cut and paste the ballot itself, as directed just above.
Please vote for one (and only one) nominee for each of the open seats.
2. Vote:
For At-Large Representative (two-year term):
___ Louise Collins
___ Peter Higgins
___ Alice MacLachlan
___ Lisa Rivera
For Grad Representative (two-year term):
___ Jessica Kyle
Again, please return your ballot by Monday, December 28 to Maurice Hamington at [log in to unmask]
Thank you.
Maurice Hamington, Chair
FEAST Nominating Committee