NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS

AMMON ALLRED, PhD, is Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Toledo. He has also held visiting positions at York College of Pennsylvania, Shippensburg University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Villanova University, where he received his PhD. He researches and writes primarily in the areas of contemporary continental philosophy, aesthetics, and philosophy and literature. He is pretty sure that he used to have hobbies. Now he has two kids, Elena and Jasper, instead.

MICHAEL W. AUSTIN is an associate professor of philosophy at Eastern Kentucky University. His philosophical interests focus on issues related to morality and the good life. He has written two books on ethics and the family, Conceptions of Parenthood (2007) and Wise Stewards (2009). He has edited Football and Philosophy (2008) and Running and Philosophy (Wiley-Blackwell, 2007). Mike has decided that it is easier to write about parenting than to actually engage in the practice, though he does both.

ABIODUN OLADELE BALOGUN, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ogun State, Nigeria, where he currently serves as the Sub-Dean, Faculty of Arts Postgraduate Programs. His papers have appeared in international journals such as Nordic Journal of African Studies, Journal of Pan African Studies, and Philosophia. His research interests are in African philosophy, philosophy of education, and philosophy of mind. When not engaged in deep thought and writing, he enjoys hanging out with his marvelous children and with his lovely wife, Temitope.

MICHAEL BARNWELL, PhD, has been an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Niagara University since earning a dual doctorate degree in both philosophy and religious studies from Yale University in 2005. His primary interests are in medieval philosophy and philosophy of religion. He has a forthcoming book investigating the utility of medieval theories of the will for solving contemporary problems related to negligent omissions. While there are many things – such as cutting the grass and pulling weeds – he would (and sometimes does) negligently omit, fatherhood is not one of them.

JOSHUA BARON, MA, is a graduate student in the Department of Philosophy at Temple University and teaches in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at McDaniel College. His research interests are in aesthetics and ethics, particularly as they relate to violent imagery. As a new dad, Josh is learning to do all his work in between diaper changes, feedings, and temper tantrums – his son’s, that is.

ADRIENNE BURGESS (Research Manager at the Fatherhood Institute) writes widely on fatherhood. Her groundbreaking book Fatherhood Reclaimed: The Making of the Modern Father (1997) helped set a new agenda on fatherhood in the UK, and has been published in translation throughout the world – as has Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? (2002), in which she presented, in an accessible form, the huge body of research on couple relationships. Her main Fatherhood Institute research summary – The Costs and Benefits of Active Fatherhood – as well as smaller summaries on separated families; fathers, mothers, work, and family; maternal and infant health in the perinatal period; young fathers; anti-social behavior and fatherhood; and so on – are widely used by policy makers and practitioners alike. Adrienne is also co-author, with other Institute trainers, of its highly regarded Toolkit for Father-Inclusive Practice and Invisible Fathers: Working with Young Dads – a resources pack for practitioners. Adrienne speaks and trains on fatherhood in the UK, the US, and Australia.

ANTHONY CARRERAS received his BA from Drew University with honors in philosophy and his MA in philosophy from Georgia State University. He is now a PhD candidate at Rice University, specializing in ancient Greek philosophy and writing a dissertation on motivation and the self in Aristotle’s account of friendship. In addition, he loves teaching and has taught courses at Georgia State, Houston Community College, and Rice. In his spare time, which he tries to make as ample as possible, he enjoys being in his hometown of New York City, playing tennis, making music, spending time with his fiancée, Adrienne, and trying to make the gray hairs come early by being a diehard New York Mets fan.

DAN COLLINS-CAVANAUGH, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Art, Music and Philosophy at the Prince George’s Community College. His recent publications include “Does the Salary Cap Make the NFL a Fairer League?” in Football and Philosophy (2008). His philosophical interests include philosophy of sport and ethics. His advice to new fathers is simply this: love trumps competence.

SCOTT A. DAVISON earned BA and MA degrees from Ohio State University and MA and PhD degrees from the University of Notre Dame, before landing in Morehead, Kentucky. There he became Professor of Philosophy and Coordinator of the program of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Morehead State University, where he works in metaphysics, the philosophy of religion, and ethics. Most importantly, though, in Morehead he became the proud father of two boys and a girl, which makes everything else seem like straw.

KIMBERLEY FINK-JENSEN has an MA from the Department of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia and a degree in physical therapy from the University of Manitoba. Her interest in fatherhood began with late-night musings with her partner following the births of their two children. For her graduate research, she interviewed first-time fathers about pregnancy, birth, and early parenthood. She currently spends most of her time explaining to friends and family what narrative analysis is and why anyone should care.

DAN FLORELL, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Psychology Department at Eastern Kentucky University with a specialty in school psychology. He is a licensed psychologist and nationally certified school psychologist (NCSP). His research interests focus on the use of technology by adolescents, specifically in regard to bullying and cyber bullying. In addition, he is a father of two little girls who continually teach him that parenting books don’t have all the answers.

ANDREW KOMASINSKI, MA, is working through ideas of human personhood, drawing from elements of contemporary ethics, Chinese philosophy, and Kierkegaard. He received his MA from Loyola Marymount and is presently pursuing his PhD in philosophy at Fordham University. Andrew and his wife will adopt in the future, by which point he plans to develop superhuman abilities: the patience of a Saint Bernard, the compassion of a Border collie, and the seeing eye of a German shepherd.

STEPHEN JOSEPH MATTERN, MA, is Instructor of Health Care Ethics at St. Francis Medical Center College of Nursing in Peoria, Illinois. He is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC, NCC) and a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant and has spoken to academic and ecclesial audiences extensively on such topics as marriage, relationships, and the nature of professional relationships. He enjoys planting and growing varieties of tomatoes and potatoes and is intensely engaged in the relentless search for the perfect cup of espresso. He is also known to play a fierce game of dodge ball with his children.

JEFFREY MORGAN, PhD, is at the University of the Fraser Valley, Canada. He teaches courses on ethics, Indian philosophy, and philosophy of education. Currently, he is writing on the ethics of private schooling. His two children keep him younger than he ought to be, but are his greatest source of philosophical wisdom.

LON S. NEASE is a PhD student in the philosophy department at the University of Cincinnati. He holds an MA in philosophy from the University of Kentucky where he studied phenomenology and existentialism. He has published on post-Kantian ethical theory and has previously done editing work for Hackett. Lon loves to travel, loves being with his daughter, and has managed to combine those passions by dragging her all over the world during their family vacations.

DAVID S. OWEN is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Director of Diversity Programs for the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Louisville. His research interests are mainly in social philosophy, including critical race theory, philosophy of social science, and the Frankfurt School. He has previously published Between Reason and History: Habermas and the Idea of Progress (2002) and is currently working on developing a critical theory of whiteness that will explain the structural and unconscious mechanisms by which racial oppression is reproduced. He is regularly awakened from his parental slumbers by his daughter’s continuous development – for as soon as he thinks he has parenting mastered, his daughter changes the rules of the game.

J. K. SWINDLER, PhD, is Professor and Chair of the Department of Philosophy at Illinois State University. He took all his degrees at the University of Kansas. His dissertation won the Review of Metaphysics Dissertation Essay Contest and led to publication of his book, Weaving: An Analysis of the Constitution of Objects. In recent years he has been at work on a book on collective responsibility and has published essays on many aspects of the problem in numerous journals. He has served as president of the Southwestern Philosophical Society and the Central States Philosophical Association and for 15 years as editor of Southwest Philosophy Review. He has two grown sons who by now cannot help but associate fatherhood with philosophy.

ANDREW TERJESEN is currently a visiting Assistant Professor at Rhodes College in Memphis. He has previously taught at Washington and Lee University, Austin College, and Duke University. His interests are in ethics and moral psychology, especially the role of empathy and sentiments in morality. He has explored those interests in his scholarly work as well as essays in Serial Killers – Philosophy for Everyone and in the Wiley-Blackwell Pop Culture and Philosophy series, including The Office and Philosophy (2008), X-Men and Philosophy (2009), and Heroes and Philosophy (2009). He dedicates this essay to his father in the hopes that it will make up for a lifetime of polo shirts, golf balls, pajamas, and other not very imaginative Fathers’ Day gifts.

STEFFEN WILSON, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Psychology Department at Eastern Kentucky University. She enjoys teaching courses on child and adolescent development, as well as a career development course for undergraduate students. Her current research interests include investigating the impact of a sense of belonging at the university on the success of college students. While she is not a father, she is the mother of a young son and daughter. She sees the positive impact that fathering has had on her children, and she hopes this book will inspire fathers to enjoy the ride of parenthood.