Curriculum Vitae

wills_webcv_July2024-1Download

VANESSA CHRISTINA WILLS

The George Washington University
Department of Philosophy
Rome Hall, 801 22nd St. NW
Washington, DC 20052
vcwills [at] gwu.edu

Current Position

  • Associate Professor of Philosophy (and Affiliated Faculty in the Program in Africana Studies), The George Washington University, August 2023 – present

Previous Positions

  • Assistant Professor of Philosophy, The George Washington University, August 2015 – August 2023
  • Visiting Faculty Fellow, Dresher Center for Humanities at University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Spring 2022
  • German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) Visiting Chair in Ethics and Practice, Munich Center for Ethics at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Fall 2019 – Spring 2020
  • Assistant Professor of Philosophy, St. Joseph’s University, August 2012 – August 2015

Education

  • PhD in Philosophy, University of Pittsburgh, December 2011
    • Dissertation: “Marx and Morality”; Committee: Michael Thompson (Chair), John McDowell, Peter Machamer, Tommie Shelby
  • Fulbright Scholar, Institut für Philosophie, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Fall 2010 – Spring 2011
  • Dissertation Fellow, Department of Philosophy, University of Rochester, Fall 2009 – Spring 2010
  • A.B. in Philosophy, Princeton University, June 2002

Areas of Specialization

  • Moral Philosophy; Social and Political Philosophy; 19th Century German Philosophy (especially Karl Marx); Philosophy of Race; Philosophy of Gender

Areas of Competence

  • Epistemology; Applied Ethics; German Idealism

Publications

  • Marx’s Ethical Vision
    • New York: Oxford University Press, 2024
  • “The New Normals: Solidarity, Recognition, and Vulnerable Selves in the COVID-19 Pandemic”
    • in Gotlib, Anna (ed.) Responses to a Pandemic: Philosophical and Political Reflections, New York: Roman & Littlefield, 2022
  • “PPE in Marx’s Materialist Conception of History”
    • in Melenovsky, Chris (ed.) The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, New York: Routledge, 2022
  • “Racist Ideology as False Consciousness”
    • in Cholbi, Michael, Brandon Hogan, Alex Madva, and Benjamin Yost (eds.) The Movement for Black Lives: Philosophical Perspectives, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021
  • “The ‘We’ in a State of Becoming: Comments on Balibar”
    • Critical Times: Interventions in Global Critical Theory, Volume 4, Issue 1, 2021
  • “Marxism and White Privilege: Building on Du Bois”
    • Spectre: a journal of Marxist politics, strategy, and analysis, Spring 2020
  • “Towards a Theory of Revolutionary Admiration: Marx and the Commune”
    • Archer, Arthur and André Grahle (eds.), The Moral Psychology of Admiration, Rowman & Littlefield, 2019
  • “’Man is the Highest Being for Man’: Marx’s Radical Irreligion”
    • in Oppy, Graham (ed.), The Blackwell Companion to Atheism and Philosophy, Malden: John Wiley & Sons, 2019
  • “A Latent Conservatism? The Challenge of Marxian Revolution to Hegelian Social Ethics”
    • Syndicate, July 2019
  • “What Could it Mean to Say, ‘Capitalism Causes Racism and Sexism’?”
    • Philosophical Topics, Volume 46, Issue 2, 2018
  • “Bad Guys and Dirty Hands: ‘Ethical Policing’ in the Presence of Racial Injustice”
    • The Critique, July 2016
  • “’What are you doing around here?’: Trayvon Martin and the Logic of Black Guilt”
    • Book chapter in eds., Janine Jones and George Yancy, Pursuing Trayvon Martin: Historical Contexts and Contemporary Manifestations of Racial Dynamics, Lanham: Lexington Books, 2012.

Selected Works in Progress

  • “Marxism and the Ends of Moral Philosophy” (draft available by request)
  • “The ‘White Privilege’ Concept in Marxism and Critical Race Theory” (draft available by request)
  • Lessons from Black Woman Marxists on Race, Gender, and Class (book manuscript in preparation)
  • “‘Species-Being’ and the Ethics of Human Enhancement” (in preparation)

Book Reviews

  • Review of Kate Manne’s Entitled
    • APA Newsletter on Feminism and Philosophy, Volume 20, Issue 3, Spring 2021
  • Review of William Clare Roberts’s Marx’s Inferno
    • Theory and Event, Volume 22, Issue 3, July 2019
  • Review of Terence Irwin’s The Development of Ethics
    • The Philosophical Forum, Volume 42, Issue 3, Fall 2011. (Due to the great length of Irwin’s three-volume history of ethics, the review of his work was a collaborative effort. I reviewed Irwin’s entry on Karl Marx’s moral philosophy.)

Selected Honors and Awards

  • Inclusion Imperative Visiting Faculty Fellow
    • Dresher Center for Humanities at University of Maryland, Baltimore County,
      Spring 2022
  • Visiting Chair in Ethics and Practice
    • Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst Fellowship Chair at the Ludwig
      Maximilians-Universität Munich Center for Ethics, 2019-20
  • Saint Joseph’s University
    • Faculty Research Grant, Summer 2014
  • Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (German Academic Exchange Service)
    • Short-term Grant for Research at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany, Summer 2012
  • J. William Fulbright U.S. Student Program
    • Grant for Research at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany, 2010-11
  • University of Rochester
    • Dissertation Fellow in the Department of Philosophy, 2009-10
  • University of Pittsburgh
    • Provost Development Fund Dissertation Fellowship, 2009-10
    • Department of Philosophy Departmental Fellowship, 2006-2007
    • Department of Philosophy Summer Research Grant, Summer 2005
  • K. Leroy Irvis Fund
    • Predoctoral Fellowship, 2002-2003

Presentations

  • “Marxism from the Outside In?”
    • (Invited Keynote) Marxism and the Pittsburgh School, Berlin, June 2024
  • “Freedom and Determinism in the Thought of Karl Marx”
  • UCLA, February 2024
  • “Marxism and Philosophy”
    • Texas Christian University, November 2023
  • “Marx in the Thought of Charles Mills”
    • London Post-Kantian Society, October 2023
  • “Black Women Communists in/and the U.S. State”
    • Association for the Study of the Worldwide African Diaspora, Accra, Ghana, August 2023
  • “Towards an Ontology of the ‘Social Individual’ in Marxist Theory”
    • (Invited Keynote) Conference on Social Ontology, International Social Ontology Society, Stockholm University, August 2023
  • “On Marxist and Intersectional Theories of Race, Gender, and Class”
    • (Invited Keynote) Open Doors Philosophy Academy, University of Pittsburgh,
      July 2023
  • “The Exploitation Concept in Marx”
    • Workshop on Exploitation, University of Cologne, July 2023
  • “Marx’s Ethical Vision”
    • (Invited Keynote) Marx and Philosophy Conference, Berlin, June 2023
  • “The Place of Species-Being in Marx’s Later Thought”
    • (Invited) Workshop on Species-Being, University of Warwick, June 2023
  • “Marxism and the Ends of Moral Philosophy”
    • (Invited) Institute for Philosophy and Religion, Boston University, November 2022
    • (Invited) Department of Philosophy, Northwestern University, November 2022
    • (Invited) Nuffield Political Theory Workshop, Oxford University, October 2022
    • (Invited) Penn Philosophy Colloquium Series, University of Pennsylvania, October 2022
  • “Claudia Jones on Race, Gender, and Class”
    • (Invited) Brown Political Theory Workshop, Brown University, September 2022
  • “Marx’s Critiques of Rival Moral Theories”
    • (Invited) Power and Domination Workshop, McGill University, August 2022
  • “On Marx’s Critiques of Kantian Ethics”
    • Berlin Summer Colloquium on Kantian and Post-Kantian Philosophy, Freie Universität Berlin, June 2022
    • Department of Philosophy, University of Maryland – Baltimore County, April 2022
  • “Race, Gender, and Class in the Thought of Black Woman Marxists”
    • (Invited) Marx and Philosophy Society Conference, University College London, June 2022
  • “Labor as Sociobiological Human Essence”
    • Braga Meeting in Ethics and Political Philosophy, Centre for Ethics, Politics, and Society, University of Minho, June 2022
  • “Ideology Critique and the Critique of Morality”
    • (Invited) Workshop on Marxism and Critical Theory, Dartmouth College, May 2022
  • “Freedom and Determinism in Marx’s Thought”
    • (Invited Keynote) “Openness, Contingency, and Change” Conference, Gettysburg College, April 2022
  • “Martin Luther King and the Relevance of Labor Struggle Today”
    • (Invited Keynote) Workshop in Honor of Martin Luther King, Howard University, February 2022
  • “Claudia Jones and the Thesis of ‘Triple Oppression’”
    • (Invited) Department of Philosophy, University of Memphis, February 2022
    • Dresher Center for the Humanities Workshop Series, University of Maryland – Baltimore County, February 2022
    • (Invited) Department of Philosophy, Oxford University, February 2022
  • “Why Think Like a Revolutionary?” (UNESCO World Philosophy Day Lecture)
    • (Invited) Department of Philosophy, University of Toronto, November 2021
  • “Black Woman Marxists on Race, Gender, and Class”
    • (Invited) Department of Philosophy, University of Denver, October 2021
    • (Invited) Department of Critical Studies, George Mason University, October 2021
  • “Should Philosophers be (Climate) Activists?”
    • Philosophy and the Climate Crisis Conference, Yale-NUS, June 2021
  • “Marx and the ‘Abolition of Morality’”
    • (Invited) Stanford Political Theory Workshop, April 2021
  • “Reason, Reaction, and Black Rebellion”
    • (Invited) 36th Annual Alfred P. Stiernotte Lecture at Quinnipiac University, February 2021
  • Guest Lecture, “The Politics of Intersectionality”
    • Cambridge University, February 2021
  • Respondent, Comments on Meena Krishnamurthy’s “Lessons from King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail”
    • Eastern Meeting of the American Philosophical Association, January 2021
  • “’Go Cry About It’: What do Celebrities Owe the Public?”
    • Philosophy of Fame and Celebrity Conference, Tilburg University, December 2020
  • “The Concept of ‘Rich Individuality’ in Marx’s Moral Thought”
    • (Invited) Series in Contemporary Political Theory, Cambridge University, November 2020
  • “The ‘White Privilege’ Concept in Marxism and Critical Race Theory”
    • (Invited) Harvard University, November 2020
  • “Black Woman Marxists on Race, Gender, and Class”
    • (Invited) Claremont McKenna College, October 2020
    • (Invited) Minorities and Philosophy – Berlin, December 2019
    • (Invited) University of St. Andrews, October 2019
    • (Invited) Fillosophie Series, Université du Québec à Montréal, September 2019
    • (Invited) Minorities and Philosophy Conference, Stanford University, April 2019
    • (Invited Keynote) Minds of Our Own (Conference marking the 25th anniversary
      of Louise Antony and Charlotte Witt’s A Mind of One’s Own), Massachusetts
      Institute of Technology, November 2018
  • “Whiteness and Anti-Black Racism”
    • (Invited) Olmsted Workshop on Whiteness and Anti-Black Racism, Lafayette University, September 2020
  • “What Should ‘We’ Know About Race?”
    • (Invited) Social Epistemology Network Colloquium Series, June 2020
  • “What Can it Mean to Say, ‘Capitalism Causes Racism and Sexism?’”
  • “Philosophies of Race, Gender, and Class” Conference, Munich Center for Ethics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, January 2020
  • “’Heaven is a place on Earth’: The Abolition of Morality in Marxist Thought”
    • (Invited) Tilburg University, November 2019
  • “Historic-Geographic Perspectives on the Boundaries of Capitalism”
    • Third Annual Meeting of the Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Society, March 2019
  • “Marx on Justice”
    • Invited Panel Session on Justice, Central Meeting of the American Philosophical Association, February 2019
  • Discussant in Author-Meets-Critics session on Will Roberts’ Marx’s Inferno: The Political Theory of Capital
    • American Political Science Association, September 2018
  • Second Annual Meeting of the Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Society, March 2018
  • “Classing Race and Gender: Interactions between Economic Exploitation and Identity-Based Oppressions”
    • Second Annual Meeting of the Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Society, March 2018
  • “Race, Ethics, and Policing in the Context of Injustice”
    • (Invited), Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Department of Philosophy, October 2017
  • “Individual Action, Social Emergence, and ‘the Laws of History’”
    • First Annual Meeting of the Critical Social Ontology Workshop, Saint Louis University, June 2017
  • “Heaven is a Place on Earth: Marx’s call for the abolition of morality”
    • Eighth Braga Meeting on Ethics and Political Philosophy, University of Minho, June 2017
  • Discussant in session on Naomi Zack’s “Contemporary Claims of Political Injustice”
    • Res Philosophica Conference on Race and Gender, Saint Louis University, April 2017
  • Panelist, “Teaching Race in the Age of Trump”
    • The George Washington University, March 2017
  • “Fascism and Anti-Fascism”
    • (Invited Keynote) Conference on “Resisting, Organizing, and Building in the Age of Trump and Beyond, Georgetown University, January 2017
  • Discussant in “Author-Meets-Critics” session on John Murungi’s An Introduction to
    African Legal Philosophy
    • African Studies Association Conference, December 2016
  • “Race Thinking as Ideology”
    • (Invited Keynote) Conference on the Philosophy of ‘Race’ and Racism, Oxford University, June 2016
    • (Invited Keynote) Annual Meeting of the International Society for MacIntyrean Enquiry, July 2015
  • “False Consciousness”
    • Seventh Braga Meeting on Ethics and Political Philosophy, University of Minho, June 2016
    • (Invited) Georgetown University, Department of Philosophy, April 2016
    • (Invited) Wellesley College, Department of Philosophy, February 2016
  • “Human Nature as a Standard of Ethical Evaluation”
    • (Invited) Texas A&M University, Department of Philosophy,, October 2015
  • “Marx and Morality”
    • (Invited) Morgan State University, Department of Philosophy, April 2016
    • Department of Philosophy, Howard University, November 2015
    • (Invited Talk in the Ian Moore Memorial Lecture Series), Towson University, Department of Philosophy, April 2015
  • “The ‘White Privilege’ Concept in Marxism and Critical Race Theory”
    • (Invited) Department of Philosophy, University of Alabama, April 2015
    • California Roundtable on the Philosophy of Race, September 2014
    • Central Meeting of the American Philosophical Association (Group Session of the APA Committee for the Status of Blacks in Philosophy), February 2014
  • “Species-Being and the Ethics of Human Enhancement”
    • Central Meeting of the American Philosophical Association (Group Session of the Marx and Philosophy Association), February 2015
  • “Blaming Racists: Moral Responsibility in the Context of Social Control”
    • Central Meeting of the American Philosophical Association, February 2015
      • (Invited) Department of Philosophy, The George Washington University, February 2015
  • “Ideals of Ethical Leadership in ‘The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant’”
    • Central Meeting of the American Philosophical Association, February 2015
      • (Group Session Co-sponsored by Concerned Philosophers for Peace and the Committee on the Status of Black Philosophers)
  • “Human Nature as an Ethical Ideal in the Thought of Frederick Douglass”
    • (Invited) Annual Interdisciplinary Conference on Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass Institute at West Chester University, October 2014
  • “What’s Wrong with Human Rights Talk?”
    • Paper given in absentia at the Central Meeting of the American Philosophical Association, February 2013
  • “Human Nature, Human Rights, and the Struggle for Human Liberation”
    • (Invited Keynote) University of Memphis Ida B. Wells Conference, November 2012
  • “Ethics, Essence, and Objectivity in Radical Thought”
    • Radical Philosophy Association Conference, October 2012
  • “Democracy, Leadership, and Representation in Black Politics”
    • (Invited) Rock Ethics Institute, Pennsylvania State University, February 2012
    • Collegium of Black Women Philosophers Conference V, April 2012
  • “Freedom and Morality in the Thought of Karl Marx”
    • (Invited) City College of New York, Department of Philosophy, February 2012
    • (Invited) University of New Mexico, Department of Philosophy, February 2012
    • (Invited) St. Joseph’s University, Department of Philosophy, February 2012
    • (Invited) Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Department of Philosophy, November 2011
  • “Marx’s Moral Philosophy”
    • Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Social Philosophy Research Colloquium, May 2011 (Invited)
  • “Marx’s Critique of Natural Right”
    • York University, Historical Materialism Conference, May 2010

Teaching Experience

  • At The George Washington University
    • Thesis Committees
      • (Chair) Shawky Darwish, Undergraduate Honors Thesis: “Capitalism ad Absurdum: Re-entangling Race and Class in the Work of Charles Mills” (Spring 2022)
      • (Chair) Qiunyang Wang, Undergraduate Honors Thesis: “On the Right to Strike” (Spring 2020)
      • (Committee Chair) Albert Anaim, Master’s Thesis: “Inner-City Justice: Universal Basic Income, Capabilities, and Inner-City Black Men” (May 2017)
      • (Reader) Vance Whitesides, EdD Dissertation: “The Large Ensemble/European Classical Music Paradigm and African American Originated Dance-Musicking: A Dispositival Analysis of U.S. Secondary Music Education” (May 2017, Graduate School of Education and Human Development)
      • (Reader) Derek S. Lee, Master’s Thesis: “Saving Libertarian Paternalism” (May 2016)
    • Independent Study
      • (Advisor) Jarrod Grammel, “Independent Study on Rosa Luxemburg” (Spring 2019)
    • Graduate Courses
      • Philosophy of Fascism and Anti-Fascism
      • Economic Justice
      • Hegel and Post-Hegelian Philosophy
      • The Idea of the Individual: Independence and Selfhood in the Political
      • Philosophies of Locke, Rousseau, Marx, and Mill
      • Marx and Ethics
  • At Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
    • Graduate Courses
      • The Ethics of Human Enhancement
    • Undergraduate Courses
      • Race, Gender, and Class
  • At Saint Joseph’s University
    • German Idealism
    • Freshman Seminar on Race and Racism
    • Philosophy of Race (Writing Intensive)
    • Philosophy of Human Nature
    • Philosophy of Karl Marx (Writing Intensive)
  • At the University of Rochester
    • Marx and Morality (upper-level seminar for advanced undergraduates)
  • At the University of Pittsburgh
    • Thesis Advisor (one-on-one advising of an undergraduate research project)
    • Directed Study on Georg Lukács
  • Instructor (classes designed and taught independently)
    • Introduction to Social Philosophy
    • Topics in Social Philosophy: Philosophy of Race
    • Concepts of Human Nature
    • Introduction to Ethics: Applied Ethics
    • Introduction to Ethics: Ethics and Class Society
    • Introduction to Philosophical Problems
  • Teaching Assistant
    • Philosophy and Public Issues (Writing Intensive)
    • Introduction to Philosophical Problems (Writing Intensive)
    • History of Ancient Philosophy (Writing Intensive)
    • Introduction to Ethics (Writing Intensive)
    • Concepts of Human Nature (Writing Intensive)
    • Introduction to Philosophical Problems
    • Political Philosophy

Public Philosophy

  • “Philosophy in Times Like These”
    • LA Review of Books, November 2023
  • Interviewed by David Camfield on the topic of “Moralism”
    • Victor’s Children podcast, August 2022
  • Panelist on the topic of “Freedom” as a concept in radical theory
    • Red May TV, May 2022
  • Co-Organized and Appeared in discussion with Cornel West on the Legacy of Charles Mills
    • Program in Africana Studies, George Washington University, October 2021
  • Interviewed by Peter Adamson for podcast episode, “Vanessa Wills on Africana Marxism”
    • History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps, April 4, 2021
  • Interviewed for The Guardian: “What the arrests of Beverly Hills residents say about the US Capitol attack”
    • The Guardian, February 25, 2021
  • Panelist on the topic, “No Human Being is Illegal: Organizing for a World Without Borders”
    • Spectre Journal in association with Haymarket Books, February 2021
  • “From the Lockdown Protests to the Capitol”
    • n+1 magazine, January 29, 2021
  • “On Setbacks”
    • Night of Philosophy and Ideas, Brooklyn Public Library, January 28, 2021
  • “Black Life Under COVID-19 Capitalism”
    • “The Fire This Time: We Can’t Breathe” Democratic Socialists of America Afrosocialists Caucus, June 2020
  • Interviewed by philosopher Peter Bloom on Another World is Podable, “Vanessa Wills on Morality, Revolution, and White Privilege”
    • Another World is Podable, June 21, 2020
  • “‘Black Lives Matter’ as Identity Politics and Class Struggle”
    • Women in Philosophy – Blog of the APA, June 17, 2020
  • “Ask a Philosopher w/ Vanessa Wills and Colleen Murphy”
    • Brooklyn Public Philosophers, June 14, 2020
  • Interviewed for the documentary film, End of Daze: A Manifesto for Socialism
    • Directed by Matt Pillischer (2019)
  • Interviewed for documentary film on the concept of “truth” in the work of women researchers
    • Directed by Alex Strada (2019)
  • Featured interview subject on the topic of Marxism and Philosophy
    • in Cherry, Myisha, Unmuted: Conversations on Prejudice, Oppression, and Social Justice. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019
  • Opening remarks, “Short Films from East Germany,” installment in the Cinemarx film series presented by the Goethe Institut, Washington, DC, May 2018
  • Presenter on Marx’s concept of “History,” Dictionary of Marx: A Multimedia Birthday Anniversary, presented by the Goethe-Institut at Capital Fringe, Washington, DC, May 2018
  • “Philosophy as a Virtuous Irritation: Can there be ‘ruthless criticism’ in safe spaces?,” PoliticalPhilosopher.Net, September 2016
  • “Democracy and the Range of Options,” DailyNous.com, July 2016
  • “’Where Do We Go From Here,’ An Inter-Generational Teach-In on the Triple Evils of Militarism, Economic Exploitation, and Racism,” WPFW 89.3 radio, January 2016
  • “Vanessa Wills on Marxism,” The Un-Mute Podcast, August 2015

Professional Activities and Memberships

  • Member, Marx and Philosophy Society, 2023-present
  • Editorial Board Member, The Journal of Social Ontology, 2023-present
  • Instructor, Open Doors Summer Institute in Philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh, August 2023
  • Founding member, Editorial Board, Spectre: a biannual journal of Marxist theory, strategy, and analysis
  • Founding Co-Chair, “Ethics of Blackness” Dissertation Workshop, Villanova University, April 2022
  • Director, Philosophies of Race, Class, and Gender Conference at Ludwig Maximilians-Universität München, January 2020
  • Member, Organizing Committee of the Diverse Lineages of Existentialism II Conference
  • Member, Working Group on Slavery and Its Legacies, The George Washington University
  • Board member, Critical Social Ontology Workshop
  • Co-Chair, Sophia Lecture Committee, Department of Philosophy at The George Washington University
  • Member, Program Assessment Committee, Department of Philosophy at The George Washington University
  • Board member, The Job Candidate Mentoring Program for Women in Philosophy (2016-2018)
  • Referee: Political Theory, Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy, Ethics, Radical Philosophy Review, Rethinking Marxism, Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal, Evental Aesthetics, Journal of Legal Philosophy, Oxford University Press
  • Committee on the Status of Blacks in Philosophy, American Philosophical Association
  • Administrator, Society of Young Black Philosophers
  • Member, Marx and Philosophy Association
  • Advisory Committee of the Africana Studies Program, St. Joseph’s University (2013-2015)
  • Planning Committee of Thea Bowman Society Lecture Series, St. Joseph’s University (2013-2015)
  • Organizer, Panel Session on “Marx and Human Nature,” Central Meeting of the American Philosophical Association (Group Session of the Marx and Philosophy Association), February 2014
  • Faculty commentator, University of Pennsylvania Philosophy Graduate Student Conference, November 2012
  • Member, Collegium of Black Women Philosophers
  • Member, American Philosophical Association

Languages

  • English (native speaker); German (proficient); Spanish (good)