Undergraduate Institution: Sarah Lawrence College
Undergraduate Major: Concentrations in Science & History of Science
MAPSS Graduation Year: 2010
I showed up on MAPSS' doorstep hoping to prove my potential for graduate study after a lengthy absence from scholarly pursuits – I’d been considering graduate school for several years, but only on becoming enamored with the work of Hannah Arendt did my intellectual interests in action, judgment, and the political ramifications of our relationships to science begin coming into focus. The year was a whirlwind of incredible discussion. I still consider Robert Gooding-Williams’ seminar on Kierkegaard the best course I’ve ever taken, anywhere, and I have fond memories of going out with other students to Jimmy’s after Bernard Harcourt’s Foucault class to continue our disagreements well into the night. Although my primary interests are modern, ancient political thought is near to my heart and Sankar Muthu helped guide me through writing a thesis on the linkages between truth and virtue in the works of Marcus Aurelius and Cicero. I went on to earn an MA in political science from Indiana University in order to sharpen the methodological and theoretical chops I began developing in MAPSS. This methodological sensitivity, together with the commitment to creativity and interdisciplinarity that imbue the education at University of Chicago, were integral to my intellectual development, and in Fall 2015 I will be joining the Department of the History of Science at Harvard University in order to pursue my PhD.
