Jodi Newman

Philosophical Interests: Social Epistemology, Ethics, Feminist Philosophy, Political Philosophy

After completing my MA Philosophy (2024), I am pursuing a PhD in Cultural, Social, and Political Thought (CPST) with my home department remaining in Philosophy. Following my MA work which took a feminist approach to the dehumanization of women online, I am continuing to study dehumanization.

I am looking at the epistemic, social and political consequences of online manifestations of dehumanization. I am interested in how the rhetorical and visual practices of dehumanization may motivate or sustain epistemic injustices and social inequalities. I believe it is important to recognize and understand the impacts of the manifestation of dehumanization within our online social environments and the way this may be contributing to the deterioration of social and political trust, preventing or discouraging participation in the social exchange of knowledge, disrupting social cohesion, and contributing to political polarization. I have been fortunate to have Dr. Susan Dieleman, Associate Professor and Jarislowsky Chair in Trust and Political Leadership, fulfill the role of PhD Supervisor for this arguably important and timely project.

Why I love philosophy: I love philosophy because of the opportunity to ask questions about equality, fairness, and justice. Philosophy inspires us to employ careful reflection in the search for knowledge and truth and encourages us to challenge our own beliefs and assumptions when developing and analyzing arguments. Doing philosophy has taught me that there so much to study and learn and, unfortunately, time is a non-renewable resource.