University of Tennessee Department of Philosophy

06/07/2026

Congratulations to Dr. Laura Cupples! This weekend the UT Alumni Association recognized Laura with the Alumni Outstanding Teaching Award!
One of Laura's super powers is engaged learning. She enables her students to participate in research. While we wait on pics of the awards ceremony, here's an awesome pic of Laura with her former student and coauthor Keenan James at the 2025 American Society for Bioethics & Humanities conference in Portland, Oregon. They are posing with local celebrity Cesar the No-Drama Llama.
Congratulations to Dr. Laura Cupples on this award, which recognizes her excellence in the classroom and beyond!

06/07/2026

This weekend UTK Philosophy PhD students Kaeleigh Damico and Andrew Ertzberger presented their research at the International Society for Military Ethics conference.
Huge congratulations to Kaeleigh, who was presented with a Public Service Commendation Medal "for outstanding achievement and exceptional public service as a contributing author, guest panelist, and active participant in every aspect" of the conference.
Denbo Center for Humanities and the Arts University of Tennessee College of Arts & Sciences

06/04/2026

Engaged learning is the name of the game in Dr. Judith Carlisle's classes. Check out this super article about her students' work in PHIL 244 Professional Responsibility and PHIL 400/585 Trauma and Art!
https://artsci.utk.edu/philosophy-as-a-professional-skill/

05/27/2026

Seen here: UTK grad student Hunter Kallay presenting his research on AI achievements at the 2026 Central APA.

We need philosophers because when the world faces crises we need people trained to question, critique, and imagine better alternatives.

05/27/2026

Registration is open for the June Faculty Writing Challenge! Arts and humanities faculty may register here: tiny.utk.edu/JuneChallenge

The Denbo Center for Humanities & the Arts invites arts and humanities faculty to join Director Amy Elias and Associate Director Katie Burnett for a (free) 2-day writing challenge June 25 and 26!

We will meet daily at the Denbo Center from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm to work on our writing together.

The Denbo Center will provide coffee breaks and snacks, lunch each day from 12:00-1:00 for Challenge registrants, and free parking. Faculty can write together in our KitchenCafe with background music, or in our quiet reading room, conference room, or seminar room.

Denbo Center for Humanities & the Arts
2230 Sutherland Avenue (Cherokee Mills Building)
Suite 223

University of Tennessee College of Arts & SciencesUniversity of Tennessee Department of HistoryUniversity of Tennessee Department of EnglishUniversity of Tennessee Department of Religious StudiesUniversity of Tennessee Department of AnthropologyUniversity of Tennessee Department of PhilosophyWLC World Languages and Cultures of Tennessee Department of TheatreUniversity of Tennessee Classics

05/24/2026

Congratulations to 2026 Philosophy grad Anja Shull!

Recent graduate Anja Shull came to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville with a desire to help animals and let her drive serve as an ongoing inspiration on her academic journey.

Her goal was to channel her passion into a meaningful career path. Shull found a place to focus her efforts within her philosophy major and minor in animal behavior.

Through her academic and extracurricular activities, Shull realized that her background in philosophy, animal behavior, and environmental ethics was the perfect foundation for what comes next.

Up next, she will pursue a master's degree in landscape architecture with the long-term goal of designing landscapes that work better for animals, ecosystems, and the humans who share space with them.

Congratulations! Welcome to the alumni family, Anja! 🎓


UT Knoxville Alumni
University of Tennessee Department of Philosophy

05/17/2026

Turns out it's hard to get a good photo when people are walking across the stage...
But thankfully Second Lieutenant Michael Osmanski '26, an Outstanding Graduate of the Philosophy of Science and Medicine concentration, stood still while receiving his Air Force commission, so we could get this photo.
Congratulations to Michael and all our grads who crossed the stage today and became Volunteers For Life!

05/17/2026

Philosophy is one of the few majors where job prospects for majors have improved after the AI revolution.

Recent discussion in _The Economist_ mentions — “We found that graduates in fields more exposed to ai have suffered markedly worse outcomes. Between 2022 and 2024 graduates in the least-exposed quintile—studying subjects such as education, philosophy and civil engineering—saw their average full-time employment rate fall by just 1.5 percentage points. Those in the most exposed quintile—including computer science, computer engineering and information science—suffered a 6.6 percentage-point drop (see chart 1).“ Full article here: https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2026/05/13/is-ai-putting-graduates-out-of-work-already

04/26/2026

This weekend three Philosophy grad students presented their work in Long Island, NY. Congrats to Hashem, Brant, and Dario on a successful conference!

04/26/2026

Today the American Philosophical Association and over 50 other academic associations issued a joint statement on academic freedom violations in Texas.