Janna Lea Thompson (1942–2022) was an American-born philosopher and

ethicist An ethicist is one whose judgment on ethics and ethical codes has come to be trusted by a specific community, and (importantly) is expressed in some way that makes it possible for others to mimic or approximate that judgment. Following the advice of ...

, who spent the majority of her academic career in Melbourne, Australia. She is best known for her work on reparative and

intergenerational justice Intergenerational equity in economic, psychological, and sociological contexts, is the idea of Social justice, fairness or justice between generations. The concept can be applied to fairness in dynamics between children, youth, adults, and Old a ...

Early life and education

Janna Lea Thompson was born on 12 November 1942 in Fairbault, Minnesota, USA. She graduated from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1964 and won a Marshall Plan scholarship which took her to the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

where she completed a Bachelor of Philosophy in 1966.

Career

Following her graduation, Thompson lectured at the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

from 1966 to 1970. Next, she moved to Melbourne, Australia to take up a lectureship at

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

in 1970. While there she undertook a Diploma of Education (tertiary studies). She then joined

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora. The university was established in 1964, becoming the third university in the state of Victoria an ...

as a lecturer (1975–1981) and was promoted to senior lecturer (1981–2000) and reader/associate professor (2000–2007), before being made professor (2007–2012). Thompson died in Melbourne on 24 June 2022, just months following diagnosis of brain tumours.

Honours and recognition

In 2001 Thompson was elected a Fellow of the

Australian Academy of the Humanities The Australian Academy of the Humanities was established by Royal Charter in 1969 to advance scholarship and public interest in the humanities in Australia. It operates as an independent not-for-profit organisation partly funded by the Australia ...

and of the

Australian Academy of the Social Sciences The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA) is an independent, non-governmental organisation devoted to the advancement of knowledge and research in the social sciences. It has its origins in the Social Science Research Council of Austr ...

in 2011. She was awarded the

Eureka Prize The Eureka Prizes are awarded annually by the Australian Museum, Sydney, to recognise individuals and organizations who have contributed to science and the understanding of science in Australia. They were founded in 1990 following a suggestion ...

for Research in Ethics in 2006.

Writing

In addition to her books and peer-reviewed journal articles, Thompson contributed to ''

The Conversation ''The Conversation'' is a 1974 American mystery thriller film written, produced, and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield, Cindy Williams, Frederic Forrest, Harrison Ford, Teri Garr, and Rober ...

'' and ''Inside Story'' and reviewed books for ''

Australian Book Review ''Australian Book Review'' is an Australian arts and literary review. Created in 1961, ''ABR'' is an independent non-profit organisation that publishes articles, reviews, commentaries, essays, and new writing. The aims of the magazine are 'to ...

''. She wrote her final book, ''Lockdown'', during the COVID-19 pandemic. A detective novel, it was launched posthumously.

As author

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As editor

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Janna 1942 births 2022 deaths Fellows of the Australian Academy of the Humanities Fellows of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia University of Minnesota alumni Alumni of the University of Oxford Academic staff of Monash University Academic staff of La Trobe University