Linda Martín Alcoff

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Linda Martín Alcoff
Born
Panama
NationalityAmerican
Other namesLinda Alcoff
Education
EraContemporary philosophy
RegionWestern philosophy
School
Institutions
Doctoral advisorErnest Sosa
Main interests

Linda Martín Alcoff is a philosopher from Latin America and teaches philosophy at Hunter College, City University of New York. She works on social epistemology, feminist philosophy, philosophy of race, decolonial theory, and continental philosophy, particularly Michel Foucault's work.[1] Alcoff has written or edited over a dozen books, including Visible Identities: Race, Gender, and the Self (2006), The Future of Whiteness (2015), and Rape and Resistance (2018). Her writings on public philosophy have appeared in The Guardian and The New York Times.[2][3]

Alcoff supports for greater inclusion of groups that have always been represented less in philosophy. She claims the contributions of philosophers from these groups create new fields of research, such as feminist philosophy, critical race theory, Latino philosophy, and LGBTQ philosophy.[4][5] She worked as president of the American Philosophical Association, Eastern Division from 2012 to 2013. In February 2018, she became president of the board of directors of Hypatia, Inc., the organization that manages the feminist philosophy journal Hypatia.[6][7][8]

Early life and education[change | change source]

Alcoff was born in Panama,[9] the younger of two daughters to an Irish mother, Laura, and Panamanian father, Miguel Angel Martín, who met while studying at Florida State University.[10] Her father became a professor of history at the Universidad de Panama.[11] When her parents separated, Alcoff moved with her mother and sister to Florida when she was three.[9] In 1980 she got a degree in philosophy from Georgia State University and in 1983 an MA, also in philosophy. She did her doctoral work at Brown University, completed her dissertation under the direction of Ernest Sosa, Martha Nussbaum, and Richard Schmitt and got her PhD in 1987.[12]

Career[change | change source]

Positions held[change | change source]

After spending a year as assistant professor of philosophy at Kalamazoo College, Alcoff moved to Syracuse University. There, she taught for the next ten years. She became associate professor in 1995 and full professor in 1999. She worked in several positions at Cornell University (1994–1995), Aarhus University (November 1999), Florida Atlantic University (Fall 2000), and Brown University (Spring 2001). She took a position as professor of philosophy and women's studies at Stony Brook University in 2002. In 2009 she became professor of philosophy at Hunter College and the City University of New York Graduate Center.[12]

Alcoff supported making philosophy more diverse. To tackle these challenges, she started the "Pluralist's Guide to Philosophy" with Paul Taylor and William Wilkerson.[13] From 2010 to 2013, she worked as co-editor-in-chief of the feminist philosophy journal Hypatia alongside Ann Cudd.[14] She also managed its board of associate editors during the Hypatia transracialism controversy in 2017.[15][16] Following the debates, a task force was formed to address governance issues within the journal. In February 2018, Alcoff became president of the board of directors of Hypatia, Inc.[7][8]

Research[change | change source]

Alcoff has explored various topics, including Foucault's ideas, sexual violence, epistemology politics, gender, race identity, and Latino issues.[12] She has authored four books: Real Knowing: New Versions of Coherence Theory (1996), Visible Identities: Race, Gender and the Self (2006), The Future of Whiteness (2015), and Rape and Resistance (2018).[12] Additionally, she has edited ten volumes, written numerous peer-reviewed articles, and contributed to many book chapters and encyclopedia entries.[12] Her article "The Problem of Speaking for Others" (1991) in Cultural Critique has been widely cited, with nearly 3000 citations according to Google Scholar.[17]

In her book Visible Identities: Race, Gender and the Self, Alcoff tried to give a detailed understanding of social identity by integrating her previous work in epistemology, metaphysics, and ethnic, racial, and gender politics.[18] She told that geographic location significantly influences social identity beyond other factors, although she doesn't see it as deterministic.[18]

In her article "The Problem of Speaking for Others," Alcoff studied the difficulties of representation when someone speaks on behalf of others, using concepts from social epistemology like social location and identity. She proposes "four sets of interrogatory practices" to guide speaking for others across different social positions: firstly, individuals should question their own motives to ensure they aren't driven by a desire for control. Secondly, they should be aware of the importance of context and location, and they should know how shifting words to another context alters their meaning. Thirdly, accountability and openness to criticism are important. Lastly, individuals must consider the real effects of their words on the discourse and material conditions of those represented.[19]

Awards and recognitions[change | change source]

Alcoff has received with various awards, including an honorary doctorate from the University of Oslo in September 2011. She received the Frantz Fanon Prize for her book Visible Identities: Race, Gender and the Self from the Caribbean Philosophical Association in 2009. In 2005, she was recognized as a Distinguished Woman in Philosophy by the Society for Women in Philosophy. Additionally, she held the Meredith Professorship for Excellence in Teaching at Syracuse University from 1995 to 1998.[12] Her contributions to philosophy were further acknowledged when she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2023.[20]

Selected works[change | change source]

  • Alcoff, Linda Martín (1996). Real Knowing: New Versions of the Coherence Theory. New York: Cornell University Press. ISBN 9780801430473.
  • Alcoff, Linda (1997). "Cultural feminism versus post-structuralism: the identity crisis in feminist theory". In Nicholson, Linda (ed.). The Second Wave: A Reader in Feminist Theory. New York: Routledge. pp. 330–355. ISBN 9780415917612.
  • Alcoff, Linda Martín (2006). Visible Identities: Race, Gender and the Self. Oxford University Press.
  • Alcoff, Linda; Kittay, Eva (2007). The Blackwell Guide to Feminist Philosophy. Malden, MA, and Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 9780631224273.
  • Alcoff, Linda Martín (2015). The Future of Whiteness. Cambridge and Malden, MA: Polity Press.
  • Alcoff, Linda Martín (2018). Rape and Resistance. ISBN 9780745691916.


References[change | change source]

  1. ↑ "CUNY Graduate Center Faculty Bio". City University of New York. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  2. ↑ "The Guardian Author Page". The Guardian. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  3. ↑ "NYTimes Opinionator Author Page". The New York Times. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  4. ↑ Mann, Bonnie (2013). "Three White Men Walk into a Bar". Radical Philosophy Review. 16 (3): 733–746. doi:10.5840/radphilrev201316354.
  5. ↑ Wilson, Robin (January 18, 2013). Women Challenge Male Philosophers to Make Room in Unfriendly Field. Vol. 59. pp. A1–A6. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  6. ↑ "APA Divisional Presidents & Addresses". American Philosophical Association. Retrieved February 22, 2014.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Announcement from Hypatia's Board of Directors and Task Force Co-Chairs". Hypatia. February 23, 2018. Archived from the original on March 1, 2018.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Weinberg, Justin (July 24, 2017). "Hypatia's Associate Editors Resign". Daily Nous.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Yancy, George; Alcoff, Linda Martín (February 4, 2015). "Philosophy's Lost Body and Soul". The New York Times.
  10. ↑ Alcoff, Linda Martin (2015). The Future of Whiteness. Cambridge and Malden: Polity Press. pp. 30–31, 34.
  11. ↑ Alcoff, Linda Martín (2006). Visible Identities: Race, Gender and the Self. Oxford University Press. pp. vii, 8.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 Alcoff, Linda Martín. "Curriculum Vitae". alcoff.com. Archived from the original on January 29, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Pluralist Guide to Philosophy Home". Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Editorial board". Hypatia. March 1, 2018. Archived from the original on March 1, 2018.
  15. ↑ Brubaker, Roger (May 18, 2017). "The Uproar Over 'Transracialism'". The New York Times.
  16. ↑ Alcoff, Linda Martin (May 4, 2017). "Here's my take". Archived from the original on May 15, 2017 – via Facebook.
  17. ↑ "Google Scholar". Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Sundstrom, Ronald (June 22, 2006). "Visible Identities: Race, Gender and the Self (Review)". Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews.
  19. ↑ Alcoff, Linda (Winter 1991–1992). "The Problem of Speaking for Others". Cultural Critique. 20 (20): 5–32. doi:10.2307/1354221. JSTOR 1354221. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  20. ↑ "New Members". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 2023-04-23.
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