News and Events

“Suffrage Comes with Obligations. Voting is Only the First" by Prof. Naomi Zack, for The Forward news website
Prof. Zack argues that there is more to the right to vote than voting.

“Inequality in Snowpiercer and the Pandemic,” by Naomi Zack, for the Museum of the Moving Image
Prof. Zack explores how the inequalities depicted by the TNT show, Snowpiercer, relate to the way in which people are differentially impacted by disaster.

"The Big Question with Naomi Zack: Ethics and the COVID-19 Pandemic” on ScientificInquirer.com, a website dedicated to “exploring the junction where science and life meet" asks Prof. Naomi Zack about her new course, “Disaster and Corona: Theory Practice and Current Events,” which extends Prof. Zack’s work on the ethics and philosophy of disaster to examine the current coronavirus crisis.

Professor Naomi Zack Awarded 2019 Romanell-Phi Beta Kappa Professorship
The Romanell-Phi Beta Kappa Professorship is awarded annually to scholars in the field of philosophy, recognizing distinguished achievement and contribution to the public understanding of philosophy. Established in 1983, the endowment honors Patrick Romanell (ΦBK, Brooklyn College), H.Y. Benedict Professor of Philosophy at the University of Texas, El Paso, and his wife Edna. The recipient will give a series of three special lectures, open to the public, in March 2020 at Lehman College. Prof. Zack's Romanell lectures will be on March 18, 2020 in the East Faculty Dining Room in the Music Building 12-6PM — with breaks and refreshments.

For more information please see the ΦBK press release.

Philosophy Department Welcomes Professor Naomi Zack

Naomi Zack (PhD, Columbia University) joins Lehman College this Fall 2019 as Professor of Philosophy. She has taught at the University of Oregon and the University at Albany, SUNY. Her most recent book is Reviving the Social Compact: Inclusive Citizenship in an Age of Extreme Politics (2018). Other recent books are her edited 51-essay Oxford Handbook on Philosophy and Race (2017) and Philosophy of Race, An Introduction (2018). Her monographs include: The Theory of Applicative Justice: An Empirical Pragmatic Approach to Correcting Racial Injustice (2016), White Privilege and Black Rights: The Injustice of US Police Racial Profiling and Homicide (April 2015), The Ethics and Mores of Race: Equality after the History of Philosophy (2011/2015) and Ethics for Disaster, (2009, 2010-11), Inclusive Feminism: A Third Wave Theory of Women’s Commonality (2005), and Philosophy of Science and Race (2002). Her first book was Race and Mixed Race (1992).

Zack has begun work on an introductory philosophy of science text book, Philosophy And Science and a monograph critique of identity politics, Progressive Anonymity. She says,

"I am very happy and thrilled to join the faculty and community at Lehman College! I look forward to supporting students in current engagement with Philosophy and their future plans. My classrooms are very interactive, with an emphasis on student participation and writing. I look forward to teaching courses on race, feminism, disaster, homelessness, philosophy of science, ethics, existentialism (Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir), early modern philosophy (Locke and Descartes), and political philosophy."

Philosophy Students Visit Democracy Now!

On Tuesday, May 9, 2017, students from Professor Russell Dale's course PHI 221 Ethical Issues in Computing and Technology visited the studio where "Democracy Now!" is recorded and got to meet the host of the TV show, Amy Goodman.

Philosophy Department hosts Naomi Zack

Naomi Zack, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Oregon and author of numerous books including "White Privilege and Black Rights: The Injustice of US Police Racial Profiling and Homicide" (2015), gave a talk entitled "A New Paradigm of Anti-Racism: How Ideas of White Privilege, Justice, and Equality Do Not Work" to faculty and students on Wednesday, March 29, 2017.

Prof. Di Bello at the Institute for Advanced Study Princeton

Prof. Marcello Di Bello will be a Member of the School of Social Science at Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton for 2016-2017. His project "examines the use of statistics and probability in criminal trials as a lens to think about the fair trial, the right to a defense, and the requirement that guilt be established beyond a reasonable doubt." For his profile at the Institute, see here.

Philosophy Department Hosts Movie

On Wednesday, March 30, 2016, the Philosophy Department screened "Room," the Oscar-winning movie directed by the Irish director (and former philosopher) Lenny Abrahamson, based on the prize-winning novel of the same name by Irish writer Emma Donoghue, who wrote the screenplay. Starring Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay, the movie tells the story of a mother and son being held prisoner in a small room, and how she makes the child believe that the one room is the entire world. A large audience of students and faculty attended. Pizza and soft drinks were served before the screening, and afterwards there was a lively discussion about the movie and its implications. The discussion was chaired by Prof. Mahon, who overlapped with Abrahamson at Trinity College Dublin, where the director majored in philosophy.

Philosophers Judge High School Ethics Bowl

Profs. Cummins, Muniz, Di Bello, Mahon, and O'Neil acted as judges for the 2016 Long Island High School Ethics Bowl competition on Saturday, February 6, at Hofstra University. All professors were judges for the first four rounds of the competition, and Prof. O'Neil was a judge in the semi-final round. The competition was won by Bethpage High School. Farmingdale High School was the runner-up. Bethpage will proceed to the National High School Ethics Bowl at the UNC-Chapel Hill. For more on the Long Island High School Ethics Bowl, see here.