Category: Professional

1. Biography

My name is Jennifer Lee Lawson. I was a teen mom. I began my academic career at a community college, Daytona Beach Community College, then transferred to Stetson University (04). I went there because it was the highest ranking school I could commute to. I studied philosophy and psychology.  I tried my best and began carrying a philosophy encyclopedia with me so I could look up terms to this new language. I also studied psychology there.

For some reason I had a dream of going to grad school. I took a year off after undergrad and thought, read books and got ready.

I attended UNF for grad school. I’m glad they gave me a chance. I decided I’d try to make A’s. I did make A’s. I didn’t care about grades as an undergraduate. I only cared about learning course content. I still cared about course content—and way more than basic course content—in grad school.

While at UNF, I co-edited an academic blog, The Florida Student Philosophy Blog That’s how I really got opened up to the wide world of philosophy.  Thank you, Dr. Rico Vitz and fellow bloggers!

At UNF, they were kind enough to allow me to teach Intro to Philosophy. I really wanted to do it and loved it. I thought and read deeply and broadly on a variety of topics I taught.

I was also an RA for the book Reading Bernard Williams (Ed. Daniel Callcut). I don’t know if I did well. It was really my first time with academic publications, but I was called a “superb research assistant” in the acknowledgments.

Later, I was the infamous “Reviewer Two”  for several years for an international journal on logic, metaphysics, and language. I edited Saul Kripke, among other great philosophers.

I had some health issues. I had to take time off before finally graduating with my MA (2023).

I have my profile this way on purpose because upcoming students need to know they are not alone.

2. Graduate Courses Taken

GRADUATE COURSES AND READING GROUPS TAKEN

§ Ethics

§ Methods in Applied Ethics

§ Philosophy of Language

§ Contemporary Political Philosophy

§ Readings for Master’s

§ Virtue and Vice

§ Practical Philosophy in Culture and Society

§ Theory and Anti-Theory in Ethics

§ Lies and Self-Deception (Action Theory/Moral Psychology)

§ Mathematical Logic

§ Philosophy of Language/Wittgenstein

3. Resume

Jennifer Lee Lawson

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Ethics, Political Philosophy, Philosophy of War, Philosophy Language, Philosophy of Math, Philosophy of Logic.

Overview

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, and ABILITIES:

logic-based reasoning, communication, situational judgment assessments, child and adult psychology assessments, strategy, foundational knowledge creation, language and code understanding and application, physical flexibility, structure assessments, creativity, teaching, writing, editing

Experience

University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL

2008 to 2009

Research Assistant.

Research Assistant for the University of North Florida’s Department of Philosophy. Conducted research related to the work of Bernard Williams, a top philosopher in contemporary moral philosophy and political theory. Highlights:

·         Under the editorial guidance of Dr. Daniel Callcut, and in conjunction with Routledge Press, a top publisher in the field of philosophy, performed editorial functions during book production.

·         Conducted research to verify and ensure content accuracy, read and reviewed commissioned essays, reviewed copy to detect errors in spelling, punctuation, and syntax.

·         Prepared written material for publication.

·         Verified facts, dates, and other content, using standard reference sources.

·         Rewrote and/or modified copy to conform to publication’s style and editorial policy.

·         Was credited with being a “superb research assistant” in the book’s acknowledgments section.

University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL

2006 to 2008

Teaching Assistant.

Teaching Assistant for the University of North Florida’s Department of Philosophy. Handled the majority of course responsibilities for approximately 400 undergraduate students. Highlights:

·         Successfully taught, through discussion format and lecture format, approximately 100 undergraduate students per semester.

·         Developed and selected course materials and evaluation and assessment tools.

·         Adapted instructional content and/or delivery methods for different levels or types of learners.

·         Designed instructional aids.

·         Presented and made recommendations regarding course design, technology, and instruction delivery options.

·         Used instructional technologies, including Smart Rooms, BlackBoard, and MS applications, such as PowerPoint.

·         Consistently received outstanding evaluations from students, peers and superiors.

Professional Activities

Beta Tester: Test new features for PhilPapers, an open access database of academic philosophical scholarly research. Oct 15, 2010-Present.

Invited Lecturer: “New Frontiers for Indigenous Rights.” Invited lecture for an Honors Global Justice class at Stetson University on the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Guest speaker at Stetson’s Philosophy Club on political philosophy and indigenous issues. Spring, 2009.

Credited In Sequoyah Rising by Steve Russell. Spring, 2008.

Referee: Conference referee for the Northeast Florida Student Philosophy Conference. Fall, 2008.

Guest Lecturer: Guest lecturer for Reasoning and Critical Thinking on Confirmation Bias. University of North Florida, Jacksonville, Florida, 2008.

Guest Lecturer: Guest lecturer for Reasoning and Critical Thinking on Informal Fallacies. University of North Florida, Jacksonville, Florida, 2008.

Co-Editor and Contributor: Co-editor and contributor for the Florida Student Philosophy Blog, an electronic resource for philosophy undergraduate and graduate students hosted by the University of North Florida’s Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, 2006-2010.

Workshop Co-Developer: Developed a workshop on the topics of governmental integrity and transitional justice, Spring 2007.

Guest Lecturer: “Martha Nussbaum’s Capability Approach and the Colonization of American Indians.” Lecture delivered to students in Feminist Ethics (Upper-level undergraduate philosophy course). Stetson University, DeLand, Florida, 2004.

Guest Speaker: “Questioning the Metanarratives: An Explanation of Postmodernism with Emphasis on Social and Cultural Movements.” The Chiles Academy, Port Orange, Florida, 2004.

Guest Motivational Speaker: “High School and Beyond.” Presentation delivered to middle and high school students at risk for dropping out of school. The Chiles Academy, Port Orange, Florida, 2004.

Select Community Service

Active in securing funding for the alternative school Teen Parent East (now The Chiles Academy) in Port Orange, Florida, a school for pregnant and parenting teens. Activities included meeting with the Volusia County School Board, appearing on local news stations and meeting with local political officials to discuss the unique needs of parenting and pregnant teens and their children. 1994-1998.

Met with former governor Lawton Chiles in Daytona Beach, Florida to discuss the needs of at-risk children, families and women, to ensure the continuance of and increase in governmental funding of relevant programs. 1994.

Met with former First Lady and current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Tallahassee, Florida to advocate for the needs of at-risk children and women. 1997.

In conjunction with Healthy Start Florida, met with former governor Lawton Chiles in Tallahassee, Florida to discuss the needs of at-risk pregnant women and infants and secure funding of needed programs. 1997.

Met with former governor Jeb Bush in Daytona Beach, Florida to discuss the needs of pregnant and parenting teens and at-risk populations to secure funding of relevant programs. 1998.

Active in the transition of Teen Parent East from being a public school to becoming a public charter school; wrote op-eds for local newspapers on the transition, met with the executive director of Teen Parent East (The Chiles Academy) to discuss the transition. 2002.

Wrote Op-Ed about Native American mascots for the Daytona Beach News Journal.

Wrote to the White House is support of stopping building of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Received a reply from President Obama.

Wrote an Op-Ed for the Daytona Beach News Journal about the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Organized a peaceful rally in Orlando, Florida for DACA recipients. Rally was televised across central Florida. I made sure the rally was peaceful and encouraged it to be legal. It turned out to be very educational for those who attended.

Was a Field Organizer for Working America AFL-CIO. I knocked on over 100 doors per day. I spoke with all kinds of people, learned about them, tried to find out about their lives, what they cared about, and so on.

Received 2 letters from President Joe Biden, one on religious freedom, and one on Native American issues.

Honors

Induction into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. March, 2009.

Awards

First Prize in Poetry and Prose in the Ann Morris Essay and Creative Writing Contest for “Round and Round,” Stetson University Honors Convocation, 2004

First Prize in Poetry in the Ann Morris Essay and Creative Writing Contest for “America II: A Tribute to Allen Ginsberg and Other Beautiful Minds,” Stetson University Honors Convocation, 2003

First Prize in Poetry in the Ann Morris Essay and Creative Writing Contest for “I Heard the Stories,” Stetson University Honors Convocation, 2002

Education

STETSON UNIVERSITY, DeLand, FL

2004

B.A., Majors: Philosophy and Psychology

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH FLORIDA, Jacksonville, FL

2023

M.A., Practical Philosophy and Applied Ethics