Biography

University of Tennessee Knoxville - Philosophy

My Ph.D. is from the University of Oklahoma. I also have an M.Litt. from the University of Glasgow (UK). I joined the Department as a Lecturer in the fall of 2012.



I work primarily in ethics and political philosophy, with special attention to issues of a global dimension. My main research addresses central concerns of ethical and political theory applied to climate change, working from a framework that understands climate change as a violation of human rights and its application to the moral obligations borne by both individuals and collective groups. My interest in human rights and obligations is not solely limited to environmental matters, but also poverty and economic concerns, all of which relate to broader questions about consumption, sustainability, and the ethics of intervention. Thus, I have been expanding my work to begin thinking about the implications global problems like climate change have for international relations and state sovereignty. Here, I am particularly interested in pursuing the idea of what I call "environmental legitimacy" and the role such concept might play in justifying both domestic regulations and international interventions.

I have also done work in Asian philosophy. In particular, I am interested in how some of the accounts of political theory offered in classical works have relevance or insight for issues of contemporary political philosophy.