We are proud to have an active Minorities and Philosophy (MAP) chapter supporting such events as colloquia, film screenings, peer groups and other social events, inclusivity and sensitivity training for instructors, and reading groups. Information on the anti-racism reading group can be found here.
We are also pleased to support the Matthews Memorial Lecture Series, in honor of our late colleague Gary Matthews. In 2015, we established the Gary Matthews Endowment in Philosophy, which enables us to bring to campus, biennially, an eminent philosopher whose research honors the memory of Gary’s academic achievements and social engagement.
Question Everything (starting Summer 2021) is a residential summer philosophy program targeting students from lower-income families and underrepresented groups. Participants spend two weeks on the UMass Amherst campus to learn about philosophy and develop a college-going mindset, increase intellectual curiosity, improve critical thinking skills, and understand the college application process.
Founded in 2018, the Eileen O’Neill Workshop for Women in Philosophy is a gathering of local women in philosophy, including faculty and graduate students from the five colleges. We are proud to name this group after our late colleague Eileen O’Neill, in the spirit of Christine de Pizan’s allegorical City of Ladies, to provide a place for women to think without fear or apology, and with pride in their work. We gather twice a year to share work in progress, dinner, and conversation. For more information, contact Maya Eddon.
We are also making efforts to address diversity and inclusion in out graduate admissions process. We no longer consider GRE scores in assessing applications, and ask that all members of the graduate admissions committee attend implicit bias training.