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Sally Scholz, PhD - Villanova University. Villanova, PA, US

Sally Scholz, PhD

Professor of Philosophy | College of Liberal Arts and Sciences | Villanova University

Villanova, PA, UNITED STATES

Expert on solidarity, ethics/social movements, violence against women, Just War Theory and Catholic Social Thought (esp. women, war, work).

Media

Publications:

Sally Scholz, PhD Publication Sally Scholz, PhD Publication Sally Scholz, PhD Publication Sally Scholz, PhD Publication Sally Scholz, PhD Publication

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Areas of Expertise (6)

Solidarity

Social Movements

Ethics

Violence Against Women

Just War Theory

Catholic Social Thought

Biography

Sally Scholz, PhD, is professor and chair of the Department Philosophy at Villanova University. Her research is based in social and political philosophy and feminist theory. Dr. Scholz's scholarly articles focus on violence against women, oppression, and political philosophy. She teaches a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses at Villanova, including Philosophy of Women, Global Feminisms, Social and Political Philosophy, and Ethics of War.

Education (3)

Purdue University: PhD, Philosophy 1993

Purdue University: Master of Arts, Philosophy 1991

University of Portland: Bachelor of Arts 1989

Select Accomplishments (11)

Editor, Hypatia: A Journal in Feminist Philosophy (professional)

(July 2013-December 2017)

Co-Editor, Journal for Peace and Justice Studies (professional)

(August 2006-2011)

Editor-in-Chief, APA Newsletter on Feminism and Philosophy (professional)

(July 2003-June 2008)

President, North American Society for Social Philosophy (professional)

(2015-2019)

Board of Officers, American Philosophical Association (professional)

(July 2011-June 2014; July 2015-June 2018)

Distinguished Alumni Award (professional)

Purdue University's College of Liberal Arts, 2019

Outstanding Faculty Research Award (professional)

Villanova University, 2014

Villanova ICE Award for Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship (professional)

Villanova University, 2014

Gallen Faculty Service Award (professional)

Villanova University, 2011

Lindback Distinguished Teaching Award (professional)

Villanova University, 2006

Critical Incident Teaching Award (professional)

Villanova School of Business, 2004 and 2006

Affiliations (6)

  • 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 (4)

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.

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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."

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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."

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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.

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Research Grants (4)

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 (6)

Iris Marion Young on responsible intervention: reimagining humanitarian intervention

Journal of Global Ethics

Sally 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.

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Seeking Solidarity

Philosopher's Compass

Sally 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.

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Reconceptualizing Work and Building Ruddick's Feminist Solidarity Transnationally

Politics and Gender

Sally 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.

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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.

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Transnational feminist solidarity and lessons from the 2011 protests in Tahrir Square

Global Discourse

Sally 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.

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Political Solidarity and the More-Than-Human World

Ethics and the Environment

Sally 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.

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