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William Paris

Assistant Professor

Faculty of Arts and Science, Department of Philosophy

  • Assistant Professor
    Faculty of Arts and Science, Department of Philosophy

BIO

William Paris is an assistant professor in the Department of Philosophy. He received a Ph.D. in philosophy from Pennsylvania State University in 2018, and has served as the Frank B. Weeks Visiting Assistant Professor in Philosophy at Wesleyan University. From 2018-2020, he was a postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern University.

Paris’s research interests are in Africana philosophy, philosophy of race, political philosophy and critical theory. He seeks to demonstrate how the work of Africana scholars can lead to a deeper understanding of contemporary conflicts. His manuscript Black Critical Theory and the Epistemology of Utopia argues that utopia is an essential precondition for political critique and generating knowledge. He has recently published an article titled "'Socialism or Barbarism?: C.L.R. James and the Politics of Hope and Utopia" in HA: The Journal of the Hannah Arendt Center for Politics and Humanities.

Media availability: TV, Radio, Print/Online

MEDIA

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ACADEMIC POSITIONS

  • Frank B. Weeks Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy
    Wesleyan University, United States2020 - present

DEGREES

  • Ph.D., Philosophy and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
    Pennsylvania State University, State College, United States2012 - 2018
  • M.A., Interdisciplinary Studies
    New York University, New York, United States2010 - 2012
  • B.A., Philosophy and Creative Writing, summa cum laude
    Susquehanna University, United States2006 - 2010

POSTGRADUATE TRAINING

  • Postdoctoral Weinberg Fellow in Philosophy
    Northwestern University, Evanston, United States2018 - 2020

LANGUAGES

  • French
    Can read and write
  • German
    Can read

AVAILABILITY

  • Media enquiries

INSTITUTIONAL STRATEGIC INITIATIVES

  • Black Research Network (BRN)