Samantha Brennan

Samantha Brennan
Brennan in 2014
Born	1964 (age 60–61) Lancashire, England
Other names	Samantha Jane Brennan
Academic background
Alma mater	Dalhousie University University of Illinois at Chicago
Thesis	Thresholds for Rights
Doctoral advisor	Shelly Kagan
Academic work
Discipline	Philosophy women's studies
School or tradition	Feminist philosophy
Institutions	University of Western Ontario University of Guelph

Samantha Jane Brennan (born 1964) is a British-born philosopher and scholar of women's studies who is currently dean of the College of Arts and faculty member in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Guelph.^[1] She was previously a professor in the Department of Women's Studies and Feminist Research at Western University, Canada.^[2][3][4] Brennan was Department Chair of Philosophy at Western from 2002 to 2007, and 2008–2011. She is a past president of the Canadian Philosophical Association (2017–18).^{[2][5][failed verification]}

Education and career

Brennan received her BA in philosophy from Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, and her PhD from the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she wrote her dissertation, Thresholds for Rights, under the supervision of Shelly Kagan.^[6][7] Brennan grew up on the east coast of Canada, living in Newfoundland, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. She was born in Lancashire, England.^[8][9]

Brennan has been a Visiting Faculty Fellow in Philosophy, RSSS, the Australian National University and a Taylor Fellow in Philosophy and a visiting fellow in bioethics at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand.^[10][11]

Brennan co-founded Feminist Philosophical Quarterly, an online, open access, peer-reviewed journal dedicated to promoting feminist philosophical scholarship.^{[2][12][13][14][15]}

In 2018 Brennan began a new position as Dean of the College of Arts at the University of Guelph.^[16]

Research interests

Brennan's research focuses on contemporary normative ethics, applied ethics, political philosophy, and feminist philosophy.^{[8][17][18][19]} In work on children's rights and family justice, Brennan argues that adults should enter into parenting contracts rather than marriage contracts.^[20][21] In normative ethics, Brennan has developed a moderate deontological account according to which rights can be overridden on the basis of the amount of good that can be brought about by doing so.^[22][23] Brennan has also published on the topics of gender identity and fashion, bioethics, philosophy of sport, the moral significance of death, and on feminist approaches to fitness.^[24][25][26]

References

1. "Samantha Brennan | College of Arts". www.uoguelph.ca. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
2. Cleary, Skye (26 August 2016). "APA Member Interview: Samantha Brennan". Blog of the APA. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
3. Fracassi, Sabrina. "Western's recreation dress policy sparks debate on campus". The Gazette • Western University's Student Newspaper. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
4. Rahmati, Rita. "Study says more attractive women get better grades". The Gazette • Western University's Student Newspaper. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
5. "cpa-acp: officers and editors". www.acpcpa.ca. Archived from the original on 10 April 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
6. "Forwarding to Samantha Brennan's New Homepage". Publish.uwo.ca. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
7. "Samantha Brennan | The Rotman Institute of Philosophy". Rotman.uwo.ca. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
8. "Samantha Brennan - Department of Women's Studies and Feminist Research - Western University". www.uwo.ca. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
9. "Samantha Brennan (Author of Philosophy And Death)". Goodreads.com. 13 April 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
10. "Samantha Brennan". Carnegiecouncil.org. 9 February 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
11. "Otago Philosophy - Visitors". Otago.ac.nz. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
12. "A new open access journal: Feminist Philosophy Quarterly - New APPS: Art, Politics, Philosophy, Science". www.newappsblog.com. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
13. alpha (28 February 2014). "Feminist Philosophy Quarterly: coming soon to an internet near you!". Feminist Philosophers. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
14. KateNorlock (22 July 2015). "Feminist Philosophy Quarterly, launched". Feminist Philosophers. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
15. "Feminist Philosophy Quarterly | Western University". ir.lib.uwo.ca. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
16. Newsrelease. "University Names New Dean of Arts". University of Guelph. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
17. "Samantha Brennan". www.carnegiecouncil.org. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
18. "Analytic Feminism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)". Plato.stanford.edu. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
19. "8: To Be a Parent...Or Not". Examining Ethics. 30 March 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
20. "Parenthood and Procreation (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)". Plato.stanford.edu. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
21. Crispin, Jessa (27 April 2016). "The Not-So-Revolutionary Single Woman | Boston Review". Boston Review. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
22. Brennan, Samantha (1 June 1995). "Thresholds for Rights". The Southern Journal of Philosophy. 33 (2): 143–168. doi:10.1111/j.2041-6962.1995.tb00737.x. ISSN 2041-6962.
23. Rice, Eugene (2004). "Resolving Human Rights Conflicts: Evaluating Judith Jarvis Thomson's High-Threshold Thesis". The Journal of Value Inquiry. 38 (2): 203–216. doi:10.1007/s10790-004-4303-x. ISSN 0022-5363. S2CID 145189631.
24. University, Department of Communications and Public Affairs, Western (4 October 2012). "Western News - Professors redefining fitness, feminism and 50". Western News. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
25. "Samantha Brennan CV" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
26. Cacciola, Scott (26 September 2016). "Chris Bosh's Desire to Play Leaves Heat at an Ethical Crossroads". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 15 October 2016.

External links

• Samantha Brennan publications indexed by Google Scholar
• "Samantha Brennan on Microinequalities", Public Ethics Radio, Episode 16.
• "Thinking Philosophically about the Family"