Brianna Larson
PHILOSOPHY PH.D. STUDENT
University of Cincinnati
My research interests, while broad, are in philosophy of education and social-political philosophy. I'm particularly interested in how topics in these areas intersect with topics in feminist philosophy and the philosophy of science. Lately I've been working on projects related to...
Narrative identity and power, especially in the context of socioeconomic disparities in K-12 education.
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?"
Read here
February 1st, 2024
I'm happy to share that I've been appointed to the Graduate Council of the American Philosophical Association.
Read here
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
