Sharon M. Meagher

Sharon M. Meagher (pronounced "Marr') is Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty at Marymount Manhattan College, New York, NY 10023. Both Dr. Meagher's teaching and research focus on interdisciplinary connections in three areas: 1) philosophy and the city; 2) philosophy and literature; 3) contemporary social and political philosophy, with particular emphasis on feminist theory. What integrates these studies is a focus on ethics, public policy and social justice. While her work is grounded strongly in the history of philosophy, her research and courses tend to focus on contemporary social issues. As an expert in both public scholarship and in place-based learning, Meagher chose to move into higher education administration to facilitate both curriculum development and changes in higher education practices to foster university social responsibility. In her work away from the University, Dr. Meagher also has focused on public policy and social justice issues. From 1999-2001, she worked as Director of Education at The Union Institute's Office for Social Responsibility in Washington, DC, an academically based public policy center. There she worked on issues concerning university social responsibility, nonprofit organizations and democratic values, and women's issues. Dr. Meagher has been very active in theScranton community, serving as the founding president of Mulberry Central Neighborhood Development Corporation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to coordinating services and development activities in the city's hill section. As advocate for the public relevance of philosophy, Dr. Meagher served on the board of the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and was a founding member of the American Philosophical Association's Committee on Public Philosophy. She was also the co-PI on a creative placemaking project, "Boundaries and Bridges" in Chester, PA. The project utilized arts and humanities content and methodologies to build community and improve university-community relations in the City of Chester. Dr. Meagher published a book on feminist analyses of public policy (Women and Children First, Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 2005). Her anthology that collects the history of Western philosophical writings on the city is in press and will be available in January 2008; it is entitled Philosophy and the City: Classic to Contemporary Writings (Albany: SUNY Press). She is currently completing a monograph that entails her philosophical analysis of the relationship between Western philosophy and the city. She is co-editing a forthcoming volume with Routledge, A Handbook on Philosophy and the City. Although she no longer teaches regularly, she has taught Introduction to Philosophy, Ethics, various feminist philosophy courses, "Women and Development in Latin America," "Philosophy and the City," Philosophy of Education, a capstone course entitled "Working for Justice" and interdisciplinary courses on just and sustainable cities. Dr. Meagher was the co-facilitator of The University of Scranton's faculty sustainability workshop, a project that assists faculty in integrating sustainability issues in courses across the curriculum. She currently co-facilitates a faculty development workshop on place-based learning at Marymount Manhattan College. Meagher maintains a large website in support of her text PHILOSOPHY AND THE CITY, which can be found at: http://www.philosophyandthecity.org