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Constance Mui

Rev. Scott Youree Watson, S.J., Distinguished Professor of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Philosophy

Education

Ph. D., Brown University

Departments

  • College of Arts and Sciences
  • Philosophy

Expertise

  • Philosophy

Bio

Dr. Constance Mui is a Professor of Philosophy and holds the Rev. Scott Youree Watson, S.J., Distinguished Professorship in Arts and Sciences. She specializes in continental philosophy, and has published articles on phenomenology, Sartre, Strawson, Beauvoir, Marcel, the problem of embodiment, and feminist theory. 

Recent publications include Gender Struggles: Practical Approaches to Contemporary Feminism (with Julien Murphy, 2002);  “A Feminist-Sartrean Approach to Understanding Rape Trauma,” Sartre Studies International (2004); “Willing the Freedom of Others After 9/11: A Sartrean Approach to Globalization and Children’s Rights” (with Julien Murphy), Feminist Philosophy and the Problem of Evil, ed. Robin May Schott (2007); “Pornography, Objectification, and the Sartrean ‘Look’”, The Problems of Resistance: Studies in Alternate Political Cultures, ed. Steve Martinot and Joy James (2001); “Enduring Freedom: Globalizing Children’s Rights” (with J. Murphy), Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy (2003); “Sartre and Marcel on Embodiment: Reevaluating Traditional and Gynocentric Feminisms”, in Feminist Interpretations of Jean-Paul Sartre, ed. Julien Murphy (1999); “Rethinking the Pornography Debate: Some Ontological Considerations”, Bulletin de la Société Américaine de Philosophie de langue Française (1998).  Dr. Mui is recognized for her work in developing and adopting a viable philosophical framework for feminist theory based on Sartrean ontology.

Dr. Mui’s professional service includes leadership positions in many organizations.  She has held several offices in the North American Sartre Society, and was president of the society in 2003 to 2005.  She served on the Diversity Committee of the Society of Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy from 2001 to 2005. Currently, she is president of the Central Division Sartre Circle, as well as Reviews Editor for the journal, Sartre Studies International.

Classes Taught

  • Interpreting Sex/Constructing Gender
  • Feminist Theory
  • Seminar: Sartre & de Beauvoir
  • Existentialism
  • Philosophical Anthropology
  • Philosophical Perspectives on Women

Areas of Expertise

  • Phenomenology and existentialism
  • Sartre and de beauvoir
  • Feminist theory