Joan Callahan (March 29, 1946 – June 6, 2019)Joan Callahan
/ref> was a Professor Emerita of Philosophy at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

, an institution where she taught for more than twenty years and served in a variety of roles, including as director of the Gender and Women's Studies Program. Callahan's research has focused on feminist theory, critical race theory, ethics, social and political philosophy, the philosophy of law, and on the junctions of these topics.

Education and career

Callahan received a bachelor's degree in philosophy from the

University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (UMass Dartmouth or UMassD) is a public research university in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. It is the southernmost campus of the University of Massachusetts system. Formerly Southeastern Massachusetts Un ...

in 1976, before going on to receive a master's degree in the Humanities from

Simmons College Institutions of learning called Simmons College or Simmons University include: * Simmons University, a women's liberal arts college in Boston, Massachusetts * Simmons College of Kentucky, a historically black college in Louisville, Kentucky * Har ...

in 1977, and a master's and doctorate in philosophy from the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of Mary ...

, in 1979 and 1982, respectively. After receiving her doctorate, Callahan accepted a position as instructor in the Department of Philosophy at

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

in 1982, before being promoted to assistant professor in 1983. In 1986, she left Louisiana State University to accept an appointment as assistant professor in the Department of Philosophy at the

, the institution where she would spend the remainder of her career. She was promoted to associate professor in 1988, and full professor in 1995. She received emeritus status in 2011. From 1998 to 2003, and again from 2004 to 2006, Callahan served as director of the Women's Studies Program, going on to serve as director of the renamed Gender and Women's Studies program from 2006 to 2007. Callahan was also a member of the Graduate Faculty of the Social Theory Program from 1992 to 2011, a member of the Graduate Faculty of the Women's Studies Program from 1994 to 2011, and a Faculty Associate at the Center for Bioethics from 2005 to 2011. Besides for her regular appointments, Callahan also served as an instructor in the Department of Philosophy at

during summer sessions between 1977 and 1980, was a research associate at the School of Medicine,

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) is a health science university of the U.S. federal government. The primary mission of the school is to prepare graduates for service to the U.S. at home and abroad in the medical corps as ...

from 1979 to 1981, and as a lecturer in the Department of Philosophy at the

from 1979 to 1981. Callahan served on the editorial board of the American Philosophical Association's ''Newsletter on Feminism and Philosophy'' from 1990 to 1994 (and later served as editor of said newsletter from 1998 to 2003), the editorial board of '' Gender, Race, and Class'' from 1994 to 1998, the editorial board of '' Professional Ethics'' from 1993 to the present, the editorial board of '' The Florida Philosophical Review'' from 2000 to the present, the editorial board of '' The Journal of Social Philosophy'' from 2003 to the present, and was an associate editor of '' Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy'' from 2007 to 2011. Callahan has also served in a variety of roles in the American Philosophical Association and a large variety of professional associations related to philosophy and feminism. In 2007, Callahan received the U.S. Society for Women in Philosophy's Distinguished Women Philosophers award.

Research areas

Callahan's work has focused on social and political philosophy, the philosophy of law, and practical ethics, taken from a

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

critical theory A critical theory is any approach to social philosophy that focuses on society and culture to reveal, critique and challenge power structures. With roots in sociology and literary criticism, it argues that social problems stem more from soci ...

approach. She has investigated a wide variety of topics during her career, with an especial focus on professional ethics, social and political philosophy, the philosophy of law, and healthcare ethics and the ethics of care. She has additionally published in areas such as reproductive ethics, the ethical implications of disability laws, the ethics of care, and the ethics and implications of religious practices in healthcare ethics and many others.

Publications

Callahan has published a very large number of peer-reviewed papers, and has contributed a number of book chapters. She's also contributed to and edited four volumes, ''Reproduction, Ethics, and the Law: Feminist Perspectives'', ''Menopause: A Midlife Passage'', ''Preventing Birth: Contemporary Methods and Related Moral Controversies'', and ''Ethical Issues in Professional Life''. Callahan is currently producing, with

Nancy Tuana Nancy Tuana is an American philosopher who specializes in feminist philosophy. She holds the DuPont/Class of 1949 Professorship in Philosophy and Women's Studies at The Pennsylvania State University. She came to Penn State from the University of ...

, a collection of videos titled ''Feminist Philosophers: In Their Own Words'', that features interviews with many of the first philosophers to introduce feminist concerns in to North American philosophy. ''Reproduction, Ethics, and the Law'' was hailed in '' Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy'' as an "engaging, skilfully edited contribution to the literature on human reproduction" that represented "proof positive of the beyond-abortion sea change."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Callahan, Joan 1943 births 2019 deaths American women philosophers American feminist writers University of Kentucky faculty University of Maryland, College Park alumni University of Maryland, College Park faculty Kentucky women in education Deaths from liver cancer 21st-century American women