Brianna Larson

PHILOSOPHY PH.D. STUDENT

University of Cincinnati

My research interests, while broad, are in philosophy of education and social-political philosophy. More specifically, I'm interested in progressive education and the role of K-12 schools in shaping students' identities.

In my dissertation, I'm exploring three aspects of how social systems and institutions shape, enable, and constrain features of oneself. These features are (1) narrative identity, (2) civic empowerment, and (3) trust in science. Each chapter explores how educational practices and systems can either perpetuate or mitigate disparities in the three aspects discussed. I focus on the transformative power of progressive education to ameliorate the constraining impacts social systems and institutions have on the aforementioned three features.

Lately I've also been working on projects related to...

Trust in science, particularly what trust entails and how scientists and philosophers doing public engagement with science might attempt to build trust in their communities.

I'm also the Lab and Outreach Coordinator for UC's Philosophy for Children Group.

First-generation

News

February 20th, 2024

Check out my post for the American Philosophical Association's Blog on self-care and success as a graduate student."‘Publish or perish,’ a phrase many graduates are familiar with, embodies an ever-present dichotomy between success and failure. Perhaps a major contributor to poor mental health amongst graduates is the toxicity of such ideals. At the Eastern APA in January, panelists discussed “The State of Philosophy” and noted “that the demand for philosophers is declining.” Openings for a single tenure-track job may receive hundreds of applications, and expectations for applicants to have publications, teaching experience, and service experience seem like the bare minimum for consideration. With the immense pressure graduate students are under to succeed and become competitive applicants, it’s no surprise many graduates feel a sense of hopelessness. So, what should students do?"

February 1st, 2024

I'm happy to share that I've been appointed to the Graduate Council of the American Philosophical Association.

May 17th, 2024

I'm excited to announce that this summer, I'll be working with the Cincinnati Museum Center as a Graduate Fellow exploring how public engagement activities contribute to identity and well-being, particularly amongst underrepresented folks in science. Thanks to the Center for Public Engagement with Science for supporting this fellowship!

August 6th, 2024

I am delighted to serve as Series Editor for the Graduate Student Chronicles, a section of the Blog of the APA. If you are interested in contributing to the Blog, send me an email at larsonba@mail.uc.edu! This opportunity to publish is open to any graduate student in a philosophy MA or Ph.D. program in philosophy.

August 8th, 2024

Today was my final day at the Cincinnati Museum Center! This summer, I was on fellowship with UC's Center for Public Engagement with Science. I was able to pilot my floor program today, which engaged museum participants in a variety of ways. We learned about Trilobites native to Cincinnati, and guests created their own object labels based on their interpretation of the story of Cincinnati’s Trilobites. This object interpretation activity was grounded in co-curation, an approach that emphasizes community perspectives and prioritizes engagement from and the voices of participants over results or other performance benchmarks.

Interested in running a program like this in your community? Check out my Public Philosophy page for more information and packaged materials.

January 19th, 2025

Myself and fellow Cincinnati Philosophy PhD-er, Vanessa Lovato, are co-chairing the PSA Dei Caucus's Values In and Public Engagement with Science affinity group. If you have interests in anything related to values in science or public engagement with science, send Vanessa and I an email to join!

Brianna: larsonba@mail.uc.edu

Vanessa: lovatovt@mail.uc.edu

March 26th, 2025

Excited to share that I'm one of the recipients of the University of Cincinnati's University Research Council Graduate Student Stipend and Research Cost Program for Faculty-Student Collaboration for my project, "Narrative, Identity, and Philosophy for Children: Empowering Self-Understanding in Disadvantaged Schools."

June 12th, 2025

This summer I'm off to Honolulu to collaborate with two groups. I'll be working with a philosophy for children group out of the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa (p4cHI) at their summer camp, "'Ohana Summer 2025: Pulling Up Home." This summer camp is based on the book Hawaiki Rising: Hōkūle'a, Nainoa Thompson, and the Hawaiian Renaissance. This book tells the story of the building and sailing of Hōkūle'a, a replica of an ancient Polynesian voyaging canoe. It recounts Nainoa Thompson's journey learning wayfinding, a method of navigation where the sailor reads star position, ocean swells, and wind to find land without modern instruments.

In the book, we learn how Hōkūle'a helped revive indigenous Hawaiian culture after decades of oppression and subjugation in their own home. More than this, the book tells of the triumph and struggle encountered by the crew involved, most notably the struggle between academics, non-academics, haole (white people), and kānaka maoli (native Hawaiians).

I'll also be a scholar in residence at the Hanahau'oli School Professional Development Center and observe their workshop, "Big Ideas in Early Childhood Math." This workshop is for preschool through 2nd-grade educators.

I'm so excited to work with both groups and learn from and with them. This trip is supported through my University Research Council grant for my project, "Narrative, Identity, and Philosophy for Children: Empowering Self-Understanding in Disadvantaged Schools," which will be a chapter of my dissertation!