CONTACT INFORMATION:

• E-mail: Sophia[DOT]Wong[AT]liu[DOT]edu

CURRENT POSITION:

Long Island University, Brooklyn, NY

• Assistant Professor of Philosophy (tenure-track) since September 2003

EDUCATION:

Columbia University, New York, NY

Ph.D. in Philosophy 2006

• Dissertation: "Rawlsian Contractualism and Cognitive Disabilities"
• Committee: Thomas Pogge, Philip Kitcher, Jeremy Waldron, Eva Kittay, Katja Vogt

University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada

Master of Arts in Philosophy 1996

• Master's Thesis: "Kymlicka's Liberal Theory of Minority Rights"

Honours Bachelor of Arts with Distinction 1992

• Major - Philosophy, Minor - French

Albert-Ludwigs-Universitaet, Freiburg, Germany

Independent study of Philosophy, German Literature and Musicology 1992-93

• DAAD scholarship course in German as a Foreign Language 1992

AWARDS:

• Graduate Student Travel Stipend, American Philosophical Association 2003
• Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching, Columbia University 2002
• Toby Strober Memorial Fellowship, Columbia University 2001-02
• Dean's Summer Research Fellowship, Columbia University 2000
• Doctoral Fellowships, Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada 1995-98
• President's Fellowships, Columbia University 1995-1999
• Arthur Pigott Award, Canadian Scholarship Trust Foundation 1995
• Province of Alberta Graduate Scholarship 1994
• Errol T. Anderson Memorial Scholarship in Philosophy 1991

PUBLICATIONS:

Peer Reviewed Articles In Print:

• "Justice and Cognitive Disabilities: Specifying the Problem." Essays in Philosophy, 9:1 (2008).
• "The Moral Personhood of Individuals Labeled 'Mentally Retarded': A Rawlsian Response to Nussbaum." Social Theory and Practice, 33:4 (2007), 579-594.
• "At Home with Down Syndrome and Gender." Hypatia 17:3 (2002), 89-117.

Peer Reviewed Articles Accepted for Publication:

• "Cognitive Disabilities and the Scope of Contractualist Justice." Auslegung Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 29, No. 2 (forthcoming).

Peer Reviewed Presentations

• "Non-disabled Siblings as 'Interpreters' in Families with Developmental Disabilities," Annual Meeting of the Society for Disability Studies, New York, NY, June 20, 2008.
• "Strategies for Accommodating Students with Disabilities in the Classroom," Disability Studies in Education Conference, New York, NY, Mar. 22, 2008.
• "The Moral Personhood of Individuals Labeled 'Mentally Retarded': A Rawlsian Response to Nussbaum." Feminist Ethics and Social Theory Conference, Clearwater, Florida, Sept. 30, 2007.
• "The Moral Personhood of Individuals Labeled 'Mentally Retarded': A Rawlsian Response to Nussbaum." Annual Meeting of the Society for Disability Studies, Seattle, WA, May 31, 2007.
• "Cognitive Disabilities and Equal Opportunity," Joint Meeting of New Jersey Regional Philosophical Association and Long Island Philosophical Society, Brooklyn, NY, Apr. 8, 2006.
• "Disability and the Ethics of Choosing Non-Standard Families," Feminist Ethics and Social Theory Conference, Clearwater, Florida, Jan. 6, 2006.
• "How Can Being "Normal" Limit One's Autonomy?" Long Island Philosophical Society Meeting, Westbury, LI, Oct. 16, 2004.
• "Gender and Mental Retardation as 'Sibling' Concepts in the Family," Association for Practical and Professional Ethics Annual Meeting, Cincinnati, Ohio, Feb. 26-28, 2004.
• "Contractualism and Cognitive Disabilities," Eastern Division APA Meeting, Colloquium Paper, with commentator David Wasserman (University of Maryland), Washington, DC, Dec. 30, 2003.
• "Don't Finish My Sentences: Ethical Challenges of Conversing with the Cognitively Disabled," Association for Practical and Professional Ethics Annual Meeting, Charlotte, NC, March 1, 2003.
• "Is Life with Down Syndrome Intrinsically Bad?" Association for Practical and Professional Ethics Annual Meeting, Cincinnati, Ohio, March 2, 2002.
• "Justice for People with Cognitive Disabilities," Morality and Its Other(s): A National Conference on Moral Norms and Public Discourse, Albion, Michigan, November 11, 2000.

Invited Presentations

• Commentary on "The Experiential and Emotional Roots of Feminist Philosophical Papers" by Sandra Lee Bartky, New York Society for Women in Philosophy, New York, NY, Oct. 7, 2005.
• "Who Should Count as a Person? Beyond Particularism and Universalism," invited talk for the Dowling College Philosophy Department Speaker Series, Oakdale, NY, Oct. 21, 2004.
• "Strategies for Teaching Plato's Republic," Invited Speaker for the Columbia University Contemporary Civilization Lecture Series, New York, NY, Sept. 8, 2004.
• Invited Discussant, Georgia State University Conference on Disability, Jean Beer Blumenfeld Center for Ethics, Atlanta, GA, May 7-9, 2004.
• "A Difficult Conversation Between Disabled Women and Women, Disabled or Non-Disabled, Who Care for Persons With Disabilities," Panel at Feminist Ethics and Social Theory Conference, Clearwater, Florida, Oct. 17, 2003.
• "Teaching in the Core: Contemporary Civilization," Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Winter Teaching Conference, Columbia University, January 24, 2003.
• "Examining the Master-Apprentice Model of Teacher-Student Relations," Panel co-sponsored by the APA and the American Association for Philosophy Teachers, Eastern Division APA Meeting, Philadelphia, December 28, 2002.
• "Teaching Philosophy While Doing Philosophy," Panel co-sponsored by the APA and the American Association for Philosophy Teachers, Central Division APA Meeting, Chicago, Illinois, April 26, 2002.
• "The Use and Abuse of Technology in Teaching," Pedagogy Workshop, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Columbia University, April 20, 2001.
• "Teaching Academic Ethics at Columbia," National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellow Retreat, New York University, Oct. 11, 2000.

Non-Peer Reviewed Presentations

• Commentary on "Teaching the Introductory Philosophy Course" by James P. Friel, SUNY-Farmingdale, Long Island Philosophical Society, Brooklyn, NY, Oct. 13, 2007.
• "Rights for People with Disabilities," Long Island University Faculty Forum, Brooklyn, NY, Mar. 26, 2007.
• "The Perfect Embryo: The Ethics of Single Embryo Transfer," panelist along with Samantha Brennan (University of Western Ontario) and Carolyn McLeod (University of Western Ontario), Canadian Society for Women in Philosophy Annual Meeting, London, Ontario, Oct. 4, 2003.
• "The Moral Relevance of Cognitive Disability," NEH Summer Seminar on "Justice, Equality and the Challenge of Disability," Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY, June 24, 2002.
• "The Paradox of Individual Choice: Long-Term Consequences of Sex Selection and Selective Abortion for Down Syndrome," Hastings Center for Bioethics, Garrison, NY, October 17, 2001.
• "Constructivist Listening: How Has Racism Affected Your Life?" Roundtable at Feminist Ethics and Social Theory Conference, Clearwater, Florida, October 5, 2001.
• Commentary on "Sex Selection: Non-Sexist Reasons and the Pursuit of Equality" by Russell Daley, Columbia-NYU Graduate Conference in Philosophy, New York, NY, March 30, 2002.
• "Participatory Citizenship for People with Cognitive Disabilities," Society for Women in Philosophy (SWIP) Ethics and Social-Political Theory Research Group, New York, NY, June 27, 2000.
• "Defining the Community: A Dialogue," Columbia Philosophy Forum, New York, NY, March 1997.
• "Three Aspects of Japanese Heritage," Nikkei Heritage in Transition Conference sponsored by the National Association of Japanese Canadians, Toronto, Canada, November 1994.

TEACHING:

Long Island University

"Health Care Ethics" 2004-current

• Elective seminar examining ethical approaches and issues of justice in the health care professions.

"Philosophical Explorations" 2003-current

• Required two-semester core course in the history and methods of philosophy.

Columbia University

"Contemporary Civilization" 1999-2001

• Required two-semester core course in the history of philosophy.
• Also served on the Contemporary Civilization Steering Committee, revising the syllabus.

"Self and Society" Spring 1999

• Introductory course in moral and political philosophy for non-traditional students.

"Ethical Dimensions of Research and Teaching" May-Dec 1998

• (Co-creator, Research Assistant and Teaching Assistant). Did literature review, selected all readings, and assisted Prof. Thomas Pogge in developing syllabus for this pilot seminar, a graduate interdisciplinary course sponsored by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

"Philosophical Classics" Spring 1998

• History of philosophy course for non-traditional students.

"Philosophical Writing Workshop" Fall 1997

• Compiled a teaching manual used by subsequent instructors of the course.

University of Alberta

• Teaching Assistant, "Hume to Kant" Spring 1995
• Instructor, Summer Youth University Summer 1994
• Developed and taught a five-day course introducing philosophy to high school students in grades 8 through 12.

LANGUAGES:

• French
• German

MEMBERSHIPS IN PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS:

• American Philosophical Association
• American Association for Philosophy Teachers
• Society for Disability Studies
• Long Island Philosophical Society
• New York Society for Women in Philosophy
• Canadian Society for Women in Philosophy
• Association for Feminist Ethics and Social Theory
• International Association of Bioethics
• International Network for Feminist Approaches to Bioethics

ACADEMIC SERVICE:

Long Island University

• Departmental Advisor for Pre-Law Students 2007-current
• Committee to Develop Programs in Criminal Justice 2006-current
• Academic Advisor for Philosophy Majors 2004-current
• Departmental Outreach Coordinator for Prospective Philosophy Majors 2004-current
• Organizer, Brooklyn Campus New and Not-so-New Faculty Network 2003-current
• Library Liaison for Philosophy Department 2003-current

Columbia University

• Departmental Associate Educational Technologist 2000-01
• Contemporary Civilization Steering Committee 1999-2001
• Philosophy Department Graduate Student Representative 1995-96

University of Alberta

• Graduate Students' Association, Departmental Representative 1994-95
• Rutherford Teaching Award Committee 1994
• Philosophy Department Council, Student Representative 1990-91

COMMUNITY SERVICE:

• Daily Writing and Research Electronic Forum: Co-organizer 2006-current
• Support group for women in philosophy and political theory: Organizer 1995-2002
• Educational/Recreational Centre for the Mentally Retarded: Board Member 1993-94
• Edmonton Japanese Canadian Association: Secretary and Youth Director 1993-94
• Edmonton Jazz Society: Yardbird Suite Volunteer House Manager 1991-94