Sally Scholz, PhD
Professor of Philosophy | College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Villanova University
- Villanova PA
Expert on solidarity, ethics/social movements, violence against women, Just War Theory and Catholic Social Thought (esp. women, war, work).
Media
Areas of Expertise
Biography
Education
Purdue University
PhD
Philosophy
1993
Purdue University
Master of Arts
Philosophy
1991
University of Portland
Bachelor of Arts
1989
Select Accomplishments
Editor, Hypatia: A Journal in Feminist Philosophy
(July 2013-December 2017)
Co-Editor, Journal for Peace and Justice Studies
(August 2006-2011)
Editor-in-Chief, APA Newsletter on Feminism and Philosophy
(July 2003-June 2008)
President, North American Society for Social Philosophy
(2015-2019)
Board of Officers, American Philosophical Association
(July 2011-June 2014; July 2015-June 2018)
Distinguished Alumni Award
Purdue University's College of Liberal Arts, 2019
Outstanding Faculty Research Award
Villanova University, 2014
Villanova ICE Award for Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship
Villanova University, 2014
Gallen Faculty Service Award
Villanova University, 2011
Lindback Distinguished Teaching Award
Villanova University, 2006
Critical Incident Teaching Award
Villanova School of Business, 2004 and 2006
Affiliations
- American Philosophical Association
- North American Society for Social Philosophy
- International Association for Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy
- Concerned Philosophers for Peace
- Feminist Ethics and Social Theory
- Society for Women in Philosophy
Select Media Appearances
Learning to be Social
The American Scholar print
2025-03-03
"Rousseau’s wonderfully rich text—beginning before the birth of Emile and concluding when, as a young adult, he meets his perfect mate—teaches that human beings need to learn how to be social. The past few years have punctuated the importance of Rousseau’s lesson."
Debut Episode of “Pushback”
Philadelphia Magazine online
2017-03-16
Other guests on the debut episode, which is entitled “Sightings of Solidarity: A Movement or Moment?,” include Sally Scholz, a professor at Villanova University and author of the book Political Solidarity.
What does Hillary Clinton's loss mean for feminism and its future?
National Catholic Reporter online
2016-12-07
Sally Scholz, a philosophy professor at Villanova University, was not nearly as flabbergasted as Bee, noting that "sisterhood has actually long been more of a fiction than a reality," and that Clinton's lack of resounding support from white women is no referendum.
"If you put feminism all into one little category, and you say it's just those women, and tell other women that if they disagree, they're not being good sisters — then you make it an impossible movement. Women are going to disagree," Scholz said. "We're a vastly different and varied demographic, and we have a right to understand ourselves as varied and different."
How to Help Your Department Avoid the Ax
Chronicle of Higher Education online
2017-03-19
The midterm study breaks are aimed at building a sense of camaraderie and making majoring in a difficult subject seem more fun. They are just one thing on Sally J. Scholz’s long list of ways to bolster the philosophy major at Villanova and protect the department’s future.
"The university is committed to philosophy," says Ms. Scholz, chair of the department there, "but it is important that we take steps to cement the department within the university’s future."
A Conversation with Sally Scholz, Professor of Philosophy and Editor of Hypatia
Wiley Actual online
2016-09-08
Sally Scholz, Professor of Philosophy and Editor of Hypatia was kind enough to sit down with us for an in-depth conversation on how she initially became interested in philosophy, how she interprets the value of the humanities, and how Hypatia authors are pushing boundaries.
Research Grants
Villanova Faculty Grant
Villanova University
Received a Villanova Faculty Summer Research Grant in 2012.
Veritas Award
Villanova University
Received the Veritas Award, a Villanova Research Grant, in 2005.
Villanova Faculty Grant
Villanova University
Received a Villanova Faculty Summer Research Grant and Research Support Grant in 2003.
Purdue Research Foundation Grant
Purdue University
Awarded a Purdue Research Foundation Summer Grant in 1993.
Select Academic Articles
Iris Marion Young on responsible intervention: reimagining humanitarian intervention
Journal of Global EthicsSally J. Scholz
2016-10-14
Iris Marion Young took a strong stance against humanitarian intervention and other so-called legitimate instances of what she calls ‘official violence’. Nevertheless, she was also aware that there may be some situations for which military humanitarian intervention should at least be considered. Young was concerned that some states will use their obligation to defend against human rights violations as a mechanism in securing or maintaining global dominance.
Seeking Solidarity
Philosopher's CompassSally J. Scholz
2015-10-07
Using relations of solidarity in global contexts, this article explores some of the debates about what constitutes solidarity. Three primary forms of solidarity are discussed, with particular attention to the different nature of the solidaristic relations and their moral obligations.
Reconceptualizing Work and Building Ruddick's Feminist Solidarity Transnationally
Politics and GenderSally J. Scholz
2015-06-01
Theories of feminist solidarity often emphasize shared struggles rather than shared identities, and it is the shared struggle to work that Ruddick offers as the basis for expanding feminist solidarity across borders.
Solidarity as a Human Right
Archiv des Völkerrechts (a journal of international law)Sally J. Scholz
2014-03-03
After exploring the relationship between solidarity and human rights, I argue that, when considering civic solidarity, the right to solidarity as a human right may be understood as the negative right not to be hindered by social vulnerabilities in the exercise of citizen rights. I define social vulnerabilities as those vulnerabilities that result from structures of society.
Transnational feminist solidarity and lessons from the 2011 protests in Tahrir Square
Global DiscourseSally J. Scholz
2014-05-09
Transnational feminist solidarity can be and has been very effective at bringing about social change in local and regional contexts. Transnational feminist activists, however, must be attentive to cultural differences in the means and methods of protest employed to challenge unjust or oppressive social and political conditions. In this article, I offer a discussion of some of the key theoretical elements of a transnational feminist solidarity. I then use the protests in Tahrir Square in 2011 to problematize transnational feminist solidarity. This exercise reveals both the power of transnational alliances and some of the obstacles – cultural, political, and gender based – that must be addressed by feminist transnational solidarity efforts.
Political Solidarity and the More-Than-Human World
Ethics and the EnvironmentSally J. Scholz
2013-09-02
In Political Solidarity I argued that political solidarity requires a decision-making model that acknowledges differences in social and epistemological privilege while also seeking to understand the situation of oppression or injustice and grant “multiple, overlapping, and at times contradictory knowledge claims.” Such an argument raises questions about the possibilities for participation of the more-than-human world in political solidarity.
