Archives: People

Kelly Hunter is a Ph.D. student with a concentration in political science at the Sanford School of Public Policy. Hunter’s research lies at the intersection of gender and international relations. Her current project frames access to family planning and reproductive health as a global public good and a human rights issue. Hunter investigates the impact of the US’s “Global Gag Rule” (a policy aimed at restricting abortions by limiting US foreign aid funding for family planning) on 1. Other donor countries’ family planning aid contributions and 2. Women’s outcomes in the recipient country (specifically: health, education, and labor force participation outcomes). Her research touches on a number of broader ethical themes, including the role of the US in promoting human rights norms, the implications of US hegemony and policies on the actions of other countries, the prospect of international cooperation for providing global public goods, and the security consequences of demographic shifts, such as a youth bulge.

Bryce Gessell is a fifth-year PhD student in the philosophy department, studying the relationship between the mind and the brain. His ethical work investigates characterizations of mental illness from both psychiatric and neurological perspectives, with a focus on how diagnostic categories drive decision-making in medical ethics as well as in the allocation of research funding.

Emily Dubie is a PhD student in the Graduate Program in Religion, with a focus in Christian ethics. Her research examines the moral perplexities and emotional fatigue of providing care within bureaucratic settings. She is especially interested in how Christian social workers draw upon religious beliefs and practices as they distribute social services across asymmetries of power. Emily received a MTS from the University of Notre Dame in moral theology and a BA from Saint Anselm College in international relations.

Eric Cheng is a PhD candidate in Political Science, specializing in Political Theory. His research contributes to a better understanding of the problems and possibilities of liberal democracy. He is currently working on his dissertation, entitled Hanging Together: A Liberal Democratic Theory of Political Friendship for Troubled Times. It argues for the importance of political friendship in liberal democratic societies. Specifically, the dissertation (1) argues that liberal democracies must take political friendship seriously in order to avoid the destabilizing consequences of excessive polarization and (2) thinks seriously about how political friendship might be reinforced. Beginning with an interpretation of Aristotle’s classic articulation of political friendship, the dissertation considers different ways in which political friendship might be realized in contemporary liberal democratic contexts: ‘political friendship as conceptual metaphor,’ ‘constitutional patriotism,’ ‘liberal nationalism.’ Through these conversations, the dissertation develops an understanding of what sorts of people citizens must be and what sorts of relations they must share, if stability is to be cultivated in a manner consistent with the core commitments of liberal democracy. A Canadian, Eric holds a A.B. in Government and Philosophy from Georgetown University and an M.A. in Legal and Political Theory from University College London.

Angela Bischof is a third-year PhD student in the Philosophy department. She holds a BA in Philosophy and a BA in Psychology from New Mexico State University. Her research concerns the moral standing of nonhuman animals. Specifically, she is focused on the cognitive abilities important for morality and whether or not animals have any of these abilities. This research approach led Angela to examine the relationship between rationality and morality. By examining the intersection of animal psychology, what it means to be moral, and what it means to be rational, she hopes to answer the following questions: “To what extent are animals worthy of moral consideration?” and “Are animals ever capable of acting morally?”