About

I am a philosopher and biographer working on women who rethought the world, with a focus on intellectual history, feminist thought, and public engagement.

I am the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Professor of Philosophy at Colby College in Waterville, Maine.

My work spans academic research, biography, and public writing. Most recently, I am the author of Lydia Maria Child: A Radical American Life. My writing and commentary have appeared in both scholarly and public-facing venues, including essays, reviews, podcasts, and interviews.

I have received research support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Council of Learned Societies, the German-American Exchange Service, and the American Academy in Berlin. In 2025, I was a German Fulbright Fellow at Freie Universität Berlin.

In 2026-27, I will be a Visiting Scholar with the Transcendentalism Initiative at Harvard University. I am currently developing a new book project on women’s pacifist thought in the interwar years.

I live in Maine with my husband, the historian James Johnson. The best thing I did on my last sabbatical was to take trapeze lessons.

You can reach me at [email protected].