The Department of Philosophy

A big shout out to two of our School's majors (Amelia Harris and Dan Cushing) who were just elected President and Vice-President, respectively, of the Associated Students of Oregon State University (ASOSU). 

When their term begins on June 1, they will be working with budgets of many millions of dollars and managing all kinds of competing interests and voices.  Let's cheer them on and support them in the work ahead!

Click here to read their statement.

Sharyn Clough's recent paper, Gender and the Hygiene Hypothesis, continues to get media attention around the world.   Yesterday, Professor Clough was featured on The Richard Brown Show (CKOM 650 - Saskatoon, Canada) where she explained why parents who let their children play in dirt tend to have healthier kids!  

You can listen to the entire podcast here.  

This follows a flurry of media attention since the paper was published in the peer-reviewed journal Social Science and Medicine (Volume 72, Issue 4, February 2011, Pages 486-493) including this wonderful piece from National Public Radio entitled, "Why Keeping Little Girls Squeaky Clean Could Make Them Sick."

Professor Clough specializes in the philosophy of science and epistemology more generally, with a focus on the intersection between these areas and feminist theory.   You can learn more about her and her research here.