Now an Associate Professor at Utica College, Chris Riddle is a two time grad of the Queen's Philosophy Department. He graduated with his honours BA from Queen's in 2004 . Then, after getting his MA in Critical Disability Studies at York, he returned to Queen's and completed his PhD in 2012. He has two books (with a third forthcoming) and a raft of articles on disability, rights and the capabilities approach. Chris has also served as the Director of the Applied Ethics Institute at Utica since 2012, and as the Chair of Philosophy at Utica College since 2013.

Professor Lisa Guenther's was one of only three successful proposals in the Principal's Dream Course competition. The program is to enhance existing undergraduate courses to encourage undergraduate research and inquiry. Funds are awarded for the development of sustainable courses that enhance the learning experience. 

Dial in to CFRC 101.9 and listen to Grad Chat Tuesday, May 15 at 4 pm – featuring our own Charlotte Blattner with Geography PhD student Lauren van Patter talking about Animal labour – Ethical, Legal and Political Perspectives on Recognising Animals’ Work. 

For more on Charlotte's work, see her website.

Professor Christine Sypnowich will be in Australia for a Visiting Fellowship at the Australian National University (ANU) for much of the spring and summer. The ​ANU School of Politics and International Relations awards a small number of paid fellowships for excellent scholars. While at the ANU, Christine will be formulating the outlines of a project on the political philosophy of cultural heritage, picking up on an under-represented area in discussions of human flourishing.

Udo Schüklenk contributed to a report by the International Women's Health Coalition on conscientious objection with respect to performing abortions and other services. 

Christine Sypnowich was interviewed for the program The Philosopher's Zone, on Australian Radio (ABC), on "Backyard Ethics". From the description of the episode: 

Suppose a new hospital or drug rehabilitation centre needs to be built. If you’re a NIMBY, then you’ll be fine with the project—as long as it doesn’t take place in your vicinity, or affect your property value. NIMBYism is often touted as the scourge of suburbia, and the 'not in my back yard' ethos attracts charges of selfishness and hypocrisy. But maybe there’s more to NIMBYism than meets the eye.

Lisa Guenther has an op-ed in the Globe and Mail, about plans to develop Kingston's Prison for Women (usually referred to as the P4W) site. The Prison for Women was Canada’s only federal penitentiary for women from 1934 to 2000. Queen's University owns the site, and is in negotiations to sell it to a developer.

An article in the Globe and Mail focuses on the Prison for Women and the work of the P4W Memorial Collective. The site was recently bought from Queen's University by a developer. The P4W Memorial Collective, which includes Philosophy Department members Jackie Davies and Lisa Guenther, is trying to ensure that there is a physical memorial to recognize the history of the site and the many women who were sentenced to terms in the prison.

Paul Fairfield’s two new edited collections —Relational Hermeneutics: Essays in Comparative Philosophy and Hermeneutics and Phenomenology: Figures and Themes—are now published by Bloomsbury. Both books are co-edited with Saulius Geniusas.

The School of Graduate Studies has announced the winners of the Queen's Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Supervision. The two winners are both members of the Department of Philosophy: Christine Sypnowich, current Head of the Department, and Ram Murty, Head of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics and cross-appointed into Philosophy.