Romy Opperman
Assistant Professor of Philosophy
Email
romyopperman@newschool.edu
Office Location
D - 6 East 16th Street
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Profile
Please see my for more about me and my work听https://romyoppermanphilosophy.cargo.site/
My research bridges Africana, continental, decolonial, environmental, and feminist philosophy to foreground issues of racism and colonialism for environmental ethics and justice. Specifically, my work is oriented by eco-philosophies that trouble theories of justice inherited from liberal political philosophy, and by ontological politics and practices of freedom operative in racial ecologies, place-based movements, and struggles over land. My research also contributes to continental philosophy and critical theory by examining how Africana and decolonial philosophy repurpose aspects of the former traditions for their own ends.
I understand philosophy as the practice of asking questions that we rarely get to ask either in everyday life or in other disciplines. It enables us to critically reflect on common sense and features of our world that present themselves as necessary and natural. For me, philosophy is a way of challenging hierarchy, domination and socio-ecological destruction, since it allows us to fundamentally question the conditions of the present, and to imagine alternative futures. As a teacher, I aim to empower students by helping them to cultivate the capacity to question themselves and their world; to think, read and write rigorously and critically; and to reflect on what a good life and society might mean.
Degrees Held
PhD 2020, The Pennsylvania State University
MPhil 2013, University of Cambridge
BA 2012, University of Warwick
Recent Publications
I am working on a book manuscript tentatively titled Groundings: Black Ecologies of Freedom.听The book develops the concepts of听racist environments听补苍诲听ecological freedom听and asks how established topics within environmental and climate justice are transformed when considered from the radical philosophical traditions of the Black diaspora.听
"," Critical Philosophy of Race, 2024听
"," OPP (Oxford Public Philosophy) 2024听
鈥淪ylvia Wynter鈥檚 Caribbean Critical Theory鈥 鈥撎 in听Creolizing Critical Theory: New Voices in Caribbean Philosophy 2024听听
" Blog of the APA (American Philosophical Association), November 1st 2023听
" Malcom Ferdinand with Romy Opperman in What Matters Most: Conversations on the Art of Living, edited by Anthony Morgan, Agenda Publishing, Newcastle upon Tyne, 2023听
e: A Case of Haunting Ecology and Eco-Deconstruction"听CR: The New Centennial Review, Volume 22, Number 1, Spring 2022, pp. 59-93 (Article)听
he New Basics: The Planet,"听The Philosopher,听2022
Research Matters 2021
- Gender and its Discontents 2020
- Black Perspectives 2020听
鈥,鈥 Critical Philosophy of Race, Volume 7, Issue 1, 2019, pp.57-80 2016.
鈥,鈥 Another Gaze: A Feminist Film Journal, 2016听
Research Interests
Africana Philosophy, Black Studies, Black Feminist Philosophy, climate migration, climate justice, Continental Philosophy, Decolonial Philosophy, environmental justice, Environmental Philosophy, Feminist Philosophy, Indigenous Philosophy and Native Studies, Postcolonial thought, Social and Political Philosophy
Awards And Honors
Fellow, Mellon Initiative for Inclusive Faculty Excellence (2021-3)听
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