Personal

Why philosophy? (for my students)

While it's true that I've always been argumentative, as my family would avow, I would like to say that my main philosophical characteristic has been, since childhood, a commitment to (initially) defending and (later) discovering what is morally right and what is true. It was always difficult for me to take anything at face value and I always took issue with (had some doubts about) one or more aspects of any explanation that was given to me (whether in textbooks or by authority figures). My verbal and analytic abilities outweighed my math and science skills, due IMHO, to an unfortunate math/science education, and so I was able to most satisfyingly develop my thoughts verbally. I had a keen ability to interpret original philosophical texts when finally exposed to them in college and enjoyed picking them apart and expanding on their ideas. My philosophy classes in as an undergrad were exhilarating. After solo teaching for a year after my MA, I knew it was the career for me. There's lots about academia that is troubling, but all in all, I think it best supports my autonomy. I greatly value getting to spend my time examining relevant societal and moral issues more deeply, conversing about them with others, and attempting to help my students to do the same.

Biographical Details

I have lived in several US states, traveled extensively throughout Europe and Russia, and lived for long periods in France and Finland. I've done research visits in London and in Lund, Sweden. I grew up in Houston, Texas (and am, on my mother's side, a 6th generation Houstonian - though both she and I were always eager to get out of Houston!). I always long to spend time in unadulterated nature - especially the mountains - and have hiked extensively throughout the French Alps, the Pyrenees, and the Rocky Mountains. I was a highly competitive athlete in my youth but these days, I focus just on sustainable fitness and modest outdoor family adventures. I do have a passion for xc skiing (thus far, exclusively skating style) and hope that Madison, WI will be able to deliver some good snow while I'm here! I'm married with two wonderful kids. My spouse is a scientist with a background in math and computer science.

Personal Philosophy

I am a fan of open-source goods and I think they are crucial to societal well-being. I personally benefit tremendously from the legacy of the famous Finn and fellow Helsinki graduate, Linus Torvalds, as I use Arch Linux on my home computer. I have studied some very basic programming (Python). I do not have any current social media accounts because I do not find them to be healthy or satisfying ways of engaging with others. I realize that the fact of this website alone reveals the preponderance of my ego, but I actively try to minimize my ego and am becoming more and more aware that the pursuit of ego dominates every layer of our society. As a result, there is very little true collaboration and very few truly collective projects. I think the corporatization of the government and society has a lot do with this, especially in terms of fueling the fire, but is probably not the source of the fire. I am thus particularly and increasingly interested in Asian philosophies (especially Daoism and Chan/Zen Buddhism) and am trying to make sense of these, in my personal time, to the best of my abilities. 

Music

I have put music creation to the side for now, though I have plans to complete some projects eventually. I share a snippet of my non-commercial portfolio here. Some highlights from my musical past include scoring a Cannes film festival short film, the performance of two original compositions performed at Houston concert hall venues (an original string quartet, Spring-Migration, and a flute duet, a rehearsal recording of which I share in the portfolio, In Deep Woods on a Sunny Day), opening a concert for Jane Siberry with some songs from my original song album, and writing original lullabies for many children, my own included. I love to "musically illustrate" children's stories and hope to do more of it in the future. An interesting fact about my musical education is that my honors project advisor at Southwestern and music theory professor, Hseuh-Yung Shen, was Nadia Boulanger's last student.