Sally J. Scholz (born 1968) is an American Professor of Philosophy at

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinians in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Sa ...

and former editor of '' Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy''. Her research focuses on

social philosophy Social philosophy examines questions about the foundations of social institutions, social behavior, and interpretations of society in terms of ethical values rather than empirical relations. Social philosophers emphasize understanding the social ...

political philosophy Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them. Its topics include politics, l ...

, and

feminist theory Feminist theory is the extension of feminism into theoretical, fictional, or philosophical discourse. It aims to understand the nature of gender inequality. It examines women's and men's social roles, experiences, interests, chores, and feminist ...

. Her early work involves issues of violence against women,

oppression Oppression is malicious or unjust treatment or exercise of power, often under the guise of governmental authority or cultural opprobrium. Oppression may be overt or covert, depending on how it is practiced. Oppression refers to discrimination w ...

and peacemaking, and then progresses to ethics of advocacy and violence against women in conflict settings, including

war rape Wartime sexual violence is rape or other forms of sexual violence committed by combatants during armed conflict, war, or military occupation often as spoils of war, but sometimes, particularly in ethnic conflict, the phenomenon has broader so ...

and

just war theory The just war theory ( la, bellum iustum) is a doctrine, also referred to as a tradition, of military ethics which is studied by military leaders, theologians, ethicists and policy makers. The purpose of the doctrine is to ensure that a war is m ...

. Her recent research involves these issues in addition to solidarity. She has published four single-author books and edited three academic journals, among many other publications.

Education and career

Scholz received her Bachelor of Arts degree from

University of Portland , mottoeng = The truth will set you free , established = 1901 , type = Private university , religious_affiliation = Catholic (Congregation of Holy Cross) , endowment = $218 million , president = Robert D. Kelly , students = 3,731 (fall 20 ...

in 1989, with a double major in Philosophy and Theology and a minor in French. She received her Master of Arts in Philosophy in 1991 and her Ph.D. in Philosophy in 1993, both from

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

. Scholz worked as a legal advocate for victims of domestic violence during her time in Indiana. She served as an assistant professor at Villanova after she received her Ph.D., and then served as a visiting scholar at

Chiang Mai University Chiang Mai University ( CMU; th, มหาวิทยาลัยเชียงใหม่) is a public research university in northern Thailand founded in 1964. It has a strong emphasis on engineering, science, agriculture, and medicine. It ...

and

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

from 1997 to 1998. She was promoted to Associate Professor at Villanova in 2001, becoming professor in 2006. She served as the Faculty in Residence in the Center for Peace and Justice Education from 2005 to 2010. She is currently a member of the

American Philosophical Association The American Philosophical Association (APA) is the main professional organization for philosophers in the United States. Founded in 1900, its mission is to promote the exchange of ideas among philosophers, to encourage creative and scholarly ...

(APA) Board as Chair of the Committee of Lectures, Publications and Research and serves as vice president of the North American Society for Social Philosophy.

Research areas

Scholz's research specializes in

ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns m ...

and feminist theory. Her work is influenced by

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...

and

Simone de Beauvoir Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir (, ; ; 9 January 1908 – 14 April 1986) was a French existentialist philosopher, writer, social theorist, and feminist activist. Though she did not consider herself a philosopher, and even th ...

. Her other early work involves issues of violence against women, oppression and peacemaking, with many essays focusing on war rape and just war theory. Her later work addresses these issues along with

solidarity ''Solidarity'' is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. It is based on class collaboration.''Merriam Webster'', http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictio ...

, as explored in her book ''Political Solidarity'' (2008). Her work on solidarity involves research on collective movements for social change and global and transnational feminist accounts of solidarity.

Publications

Scholz served as Editor of ''APA Newsletter on Feminism and Philosophy'' from 2003 to 2008 and Co-editor for the ''Journal for Peace and Justice Studies'' from 2006 to 2011. She is the former Editor of ''Hypatia'', resigning in protest in 2017 due to the ''Hypatia'' transracialism controversy that took place under her stewardship. She has published four single-author books: ''On de Beauvoir'' (2000), ''On Rousseau'' (2001), ''Political Solidarity'' (2008) and ''Feminism: A Beginner's Guide'' (2010). She co-edited ''Peacemaking: Lessons from the Past, Visions for the Future'' (2000) with Judith Presler and ''The Contradictions of Freedom: Philosophical Essays on Simone de Beauvoir's Les Mandarins'' (2005) with Shannon M. Mussett. She has published 20 peer reviewed journal articles, 10 anthology contributions and 20 book reviews. She also contributed articles to the ''Encyclopedia of Global Justice'' (2011), edited by Deen Chatterjee.

''Political Solidarity''

In ''Political Solidarity'', Scholz argues for greater nuance in the meaning of solidarity and highlights three distinct types of solidarity: social solidarity, civic solidarity, and political solidarity. She finds all three types of solidarity importantly distinct, although they do have some unifying characteristics. Scholz goes to great efforts to avoid vagueness when discussing concepts, providing concrete articulations of concepts like 'injustice' and 'oppression,' rather than resorting to vague or demogogic treatments of such concepts. Scholz notes that effective political solidarity can only occur through a "genuine mutually shared commitment to a cause." Scholz argues that political solidarity is a moral relation among humans; political solidarity with non-human animals, then, is not possible but political solidarity on behalf of nonhuman animals is. Some ecofeminists have challenged her on this point, seeking to conceptualize solidarity with non-humans. Scholz has suggested that a more fruitful approach is to think of the moral relations of social solidarity with non-human animals.

References

External links

Sally Scholz on PhilPapers
* ''Hypatia'' transracialism controversy {{DEFAULTSORT:Scholz, Sally 1968 births Living people Feminist philosophers Villanova University faculty Purdue University alumni American women philosophers 20th-century American philosophers 21st-century American philosophers Social philosophers Political philosophers University of Portland alumni 20th-century American women 21st-century American women