(Last Updated: May 2015)

Mélanie Victoria Walton, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Philosophy

Belmont University

1900 Belmont Boulevard

Nashville, Tennessee 37212-3757

melanie.walton@belmont.edu

Areas of Specialization:

Late Modern to Contemporary Continental Philosophy;  Late Antique to Medieval Neoplatonism.

Areas of Competency: 

History of Philosophy;  Philosophy of Religion;  Environmental Philosophy;  Aesthetics and Cultural Theory;  Eastern Philosophy and Comparative Religions;  Critical Philosophy on Gender and Race.

EDUCATION

Ph.D. Philosophy;   Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, December 2009.

Dissertation Title:  “Expressing the Inexpressible:  Bearing Witness in Jean-François Lyotard and Pseudo-Dionysius.”   Director: Lanei Rodemeyer, Ph.D.

M.A. Philosophy;   Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 2004.

B.A. Philosophy, Comparative Religions, Creative Writing;   Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, New York, 1999. 

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Assistant Professor, Belmont University,  Nashville, Tennessee, fall 2011-.

“The Inexpressible.”    Phi-4200.01;  advanced seminar with an online component.

“Phenomenology and Postmodernism.” Phi-3990; advanced undergraduate independent study.

“Gender Studies.” Phi-3990; advanced undergraduate independent study.

“Existentialism.”  Phi-3220; advanced undergraduate seminar.

“Problems of Gender.”   Phi-3015.02;  Junior Cornerstone Seminar with an online component.

“Aesthetics.”    Phi-2895 / Hum-2895;  online courses.

“Philosophy of Religion.”    Phi-2310;  seminars with online components.

“History of Philosophy: Medieval.”    Phi-2895;  historical seminars with online components.

“Existentialism.”    Phi-1895;  seminar with online and film components.

“Ethics.”    Phi-1520;  seminars with online components.

“Introduction to Philosophy.”  Phi-1600;  introductory seminars with online components; “Life and Suffering” Learning Community seminars linked with Religion’s “Understanding the Bible” course; and “Good and Evil” Maymester independent studies.

Adjunct Instructor, Kent State University,  Kent, Ohio, spring 2011, fall 2010, fall 2007.

“Introduction to Philosophy.”   Phil-11001;  five sections with online components.

Adjunct Instructor, Hiram College,  Hiram, Ohio, spring 2010, spring-fall 2008.

“Expressing the Inexpressible.” Fsem-191; interdisciplinary freshmen seminar, online component.

“Early Modern Philosophy.”   Phil-229;  two seminar sections with online components.

“Theories of Human Nature.”   Phil-212;  interdisciplinary seminar with an online component.

Adjunct Instructor, Kent State University,  Geauga Campus, Burton, Ohio, spring 2007.

“Introduction to Philosophy.”   Phil-11001.

Adjunct Instructor, Chatham College,  Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, spring 2005.

“Introduction to Philosophy.”   Phil-113;  with an online component.

Graduate Student Instructor, Duquesne University,  Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 2002-2004.

“Chinese and German Thought: On Nature and Convention.”   Phil-217;  writing-intensive seminar.

“Basic Philosophical Questions.” Core-132; five sections; historically based, introductory seminar.

“Plato’s Republic.”   Phil-325;  advanced undergraduate independent study.

“Buddhist Philosophy.”   Phil-325;  advanced undergraduate independent study.

Teaching Assistant to Dr. Charles Don Keyes, Duquesne University,  Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 2000-2001.

“Medical Ethics.”   Core-207.

“Early Christian Thought.”   Phil-203.

“Basic Philosophical Questions.” Core-132;  three sections, one of which was an online course.

PUBLICATIONS

Forthcoming:

“What Can Love Say?—Lyotard on Caritas and Eros.”  Chapter in Thinking about Love: Essays in Contemporary Continental Philosophy, eds. Diane Enns and Antonio Calcagno (Penn State University Press, forthcoming).

“From Automatons to Dopplegängers: A Spectrum from ‘Utterly Foreign’ to ‘Exactly Me,’” The Belmont University Humanities Symposium Journal, ed. John Paine (forthcoming).

Published:

“The Civil Self: Authenticity without Alienation,” The Belmont University Humanities Symposium Journal, ed. John Paine (2014).

Expressing the Inexpressible in Lyotard and Pseudo-Dionysius: Bearing Witness as Spiritual Exercise. (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, August 29, 2013).  ISBN: 978-0-7391-8341-0.

1. (See here at Lexington Press, or Amazon)
   

“Hardly Black and White: Racism and Sexual Stereotypes in Manderlay and Black Snake Moan.”  Chapter ten in Race, Philosophy, and Film, eds. Mary K. Bloodsworth-Lugo and Dan Flory (New York: Routledge, Routledge Studies in Contemporary Philosophy, 2013).  ISBN: 978-0415624459.

1. (See here at Routledge, or Amazon)
   

“Book Review: Jean-François Lyotard’s Sam Francis: Lesson of Darkness: ‘like the paintings of a blind man,’” The Journal for Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 70, 2 (Spring 2012): 249-51.

“Re-creation: Phenomenology and Guerilla Gardening.”  Chapter five in Placing Nature on the Borders of Religion, Philosophy and Ethics, eds. Forrest Clingerman and Mark Dixon (Surrey, United Kingdom: Ashgate Publishers, August 2011).  ISBN: 978-1-4094-2044-6.

1. (See here at Ashgate, or Amazon)
   

“Confession as Testimony of Existence: Reason and Myth in Augustine and Heidegger.”  EXISTENTIA ΜΕΛΕΤΑΙ ΣΟΦΙΑΣ: An International Journal of Philosophy XIX, 3-4 (2009): 309-316.

“The Challenges for its Future: Jean-François Lyotard’s Postmodernism.” Selected Conference Proceedings, Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities, Digital Publication, January 2009.  ISSN: 1541-5899. 

“Response to C. Rentmeester’s ‘Heidegger and the Founding of a Political State: How the Daoist Sage-ruler fits within the Heideggerian Framework.’” Online Conference Proceedings, Kent State University’s ‘May Fourth’ Philosophy Graduate Student Conference, Number 7 (2008).

“Collage Art: The Art of Construction or the Constructed Art.” Prologue in Annual Juried Exhibit of the National Collage Society Catalogue, The Philip and Muriel Berman Museum, Ursinus College, Collegeville, Pennsylvania, September 2006. 

“Miguel de Unamuno’s Ethic of Invasion: A Viable Alternative?” Online Conference Proceedings, Kent State University’s ‘May Fourth’ Philosophy Graduate Student Conference, Number 1 (2002). 

Currently Under Submission Preparation:

Jean-François Lyotard’s The Differend: A Reading Guide

“The Unspoken in Landscapes: Communication from the In-Between of Art and Wild.”

“‘I am the monster, my Beast!’: Classical and Kantian Dichotomies in Cocteau’s Beauty and the Beast.”

CONFERENCES

“Inclining Thought: Heidegger and Anselm,” The 39th Annual Midsouth Philosophy Conference, Rhodes College, Memphis, Tennessee, March 13-14, 2015.

“Self Knowledge for Divine Knowledge in al-Ghazzali and Attar,” 31st Annual Joint Meeting of The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy (SAGP) with The Society for the Study of Islamic Philosophy and Science (SSIPS), Fordham University, Lincoln Center, New York, New York, October 11-13, 2013.

“From Automatons to Doppelgängers: A Spectrum from ‘Utterly Foreign’ to ‘Exactly Me’,” 12th Annual Humanities Symposium, Belmont University, Nashville, Tennessee, September 23-30, 2013.

“Pseudo-Dionysius and the Possibility of Proportionate Privation,” 37th Annual Midsouth Philosophy Conference, Rhodes College, Memphis, Tennessee, February 15-16, 2013.

“Lyotard on Myth and Narration: A Solution for or Cause of the Inexpressible?,” 51st Annual Meeting of the Society for Phenomenological and Existential Philosophy, Rochester, New York, November 1-3, 2012.

“The Civil Self: Authenticity without Alienation,” Civility and its Discontents: The 11th Annual Humanities Symposium, Belmont University, Nashville, Tennessee, September 24-October 1, 2012.

“Hellenistic Philosophy,” The Parthenon 2012 Saturday Series, Nashville, Tennessee, February 25, 2012.

“Possibilities: A Response to C. Smith’s ‘Sliding Doors’,” Philosophy of Time Society Panel at the American Philosophical Association Annual Meeting of the Eastern Division, Washington D.C., December 27-30, 2011.

“Beauty, Monstrosity, Sublimity: Classical and Kantian Dichotomies in Cocteau’s La Belle et La Bête,” Society for the Philosophical Study of the Contemporary Visual Arts Panel at the American Philosophical Association Annual Meeting of the Central Division, Minneapolis, Minnesota, March 30-April 2, 2011.

“When Difference Becomes Differend: Lyotard’s Compendium of Impossible Communications,” Cultures of Differences: National, Indigenous, Historical, 34th Annual Meeting of the International Association of Philosophy and Literature, University of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, May 24-30, 2010.

“Mapping the Myths of Babylon,” Fields of Dreams: Landscapes of Myth and Imagination, Annual Conference for Greenscapes: Sense and Meaning, Brock University, Saint Catherines, Ontario, Canada, October 1-3, 2009. 

“The Daydream and its Failure in the Cartography of the Sexes: Lyotard, Deleuze, and Guattari,” Double Edges: Rhetoric, Rhizomes, Regions, 33rd Annual Meeting of the International Association of Philosophy and Literature, Brunel University, London, England, June 1-7, 2009.

“Elaborating the World with the World: A Phenomenology of Guerilla Gardening,” Recreate, Replace, Restore: Exploring the Intersections Between Meanings and Environments, Ohio Northern University Working Group on Religion, Ethics, and Nature, Ada, Ohio, April 17-19, 2009.

“The Mystic versus the Ascetic: Erotic Consummation or Postponement?”  Sexuality, Eroticism, and Gender, Louisiana State University Department of French Studies Third Annual Graduate Student Conference, Bâton Rouge, Louisiana, January 30-31, 2009.

“The Challenges for its Future: Jean-François Lyotard’s Postmodernism,” Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities, Honolulu, Hawaii, January 9-12, 2009. 

“Response to C. Rentmeester’s ‘Heidegger and the Founding of a Political State: How the Daoist Sage-ruler fits within the Heideggerian Framework,’” Kent State University’s ‘May Fourth’ Graduate Student Philosophy Conference, Kent, Ohio, March 8, 2008. 

“Heeding Postmodernism: A Philosophy of the Event,” Philosophy and the Event Conference, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, February 29-March 1, 2008. 

“Expressing the Inexpressible,” Kent State University’s Philosophy Club, Invited Guest Speaker, Kent, Ohio, February 22, 2008.

“The Liberal Arts Education: Derailment at the Intersection of Theory and Practice,” Duquesne University’s Ninth Annual Graduate Student Interdisciplinary Conference, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 2002.

“Miguel de Unamuno’s Ethic of Invasion: A Viable Alternative to Socio-Political Ethics?” Kent State University’s ‘May Fourth’ Philosophy Graduate Student Conference, Kent, Ohio, 2002. 

Currently Under Consideration or Under Submission Preparation:

“Listening to Landscapes: the In-Between of Artifice and Wilderness.”

“The Productivity of Failure: Lyotard and the Perseverance of Faith in Philosophy.”

ACADEMIC SERVICE

Journal Editorial Service:

Founder and Managing Editor, Philologoi: Belmont University’s Undergraduate Journal of Philosophy, fall 2011-; Editorial Board, Philosophy Study, 2012-; Outside Reviewer, PhaenEx, Journal of Existential and Phenomenological Theory and Culture / Revue de Théorie et Culture Existentialistes et Phénoménologiques, summer 2010.

Conference Organizing Service:

Committee Member, “Global Asia,” ASIANetwork 2013 annual conference, spring 2012-spring 2013; Head Organizer, Belmont University’s Philosophy Spring Speaker Series, spring 2013; Committee Member, “Encountering Otherness,” The 12th Annual Belmont University Humanities Symposium, spring-fall 2013; Committee Member, “Civility and Its Discontents,” The 11th Annual Belmont University Humanities Symposium, spring-fall 2012; President, Duquesne University’s Graduate Students in Philosophy Organization, 2002-2003; Head Organizer, Graduate Students in Philosophy Graduate Student Colloquium, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 2002.

Chairing Conference Panels / Presentations:

“Civility Roundtable:” Stephen L. Carter, Fred Evans, Clifford Lee, and Remziya Suleyman, “Citizenship and Public Art: The Political Aesthetics of New York’s 9/11/01 Memorial:” Fred Evans, “Ethical Cultivation for Contemporary Citizenship:” Clifford Lee, “American Gadflies: The Shadow of Socrates in the Philosophies of King and Peirce:” Clancy Smith, Civility and its Discontents: The 11th Annual Humanities Symposium, Belmont University, September 24-October 1, 2012; “Educating the Poor in India:” Andrew Davis and Francesca, Liberating Voices: The 10th Annual Humanities Symposium Panel, Belmont University, Nashville, Tennessee, September 16, 2011; “Mereology,” Colloquium Panel X-H, American Philosophical Association Annual Meeting of the Pacific Division, San Francisco, CA, April 2010; “Channeling Goodness and Evil: Discursive Practices that Marginalize and Liberate,” Duquesne University’s 11th Annual Graduate Student Interdisciplinary Conference, Pittsburgh, PA, 2004.

Academic Committee Work:

Alpha Chi National Honor Society Faculty Co-Advisor, 2014-; Philosophy Graduate School Advisor, 2012-; CAS/CLASS Policy and Procedures Committee, 2013-15; Belmont University Budget and Faculty Compensation Committee, 2014-; CLASS Identity Committee, 2014-; Honors Tutorial Director and Committee Member work, 2012-14; The Belmont University Humanities Symposium Organizing Committee, 2012-13; Philosophy Spring Speaker Series Organizer, 2012-13; Scholarship in the Humanities Committee, 2012-13; AsiaNetwork Conference Steering Committee, 2012; Philosophy of Religion Joint Major Development, 2012.

Teaching Development:

Development and maintenance of an independent website for previously and currently taught philosophy courses, available at www.aquestionofexistence.com; participation in teaching development workshops: Belmont University New Faculty Orientation, teaching workshop on “Making Good Teaching Great,” Teaching Center Symposium on “Creativity and Invention in Teaching,” Junior Cornerstone Workshops, Learning Community Workshops, Belmont University, Nashville, Tennessee, 2011; invited speaker and participant at Philosophy Department Teaching Seminars, Duquesne University’s Center for Teaching Excellence Workshop for New Instructors, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 2002-2004; experience with design and implementation of online course components in Blackboard, iWeb, WebCT, Sakai, and LiveText.

Professional Memberships:

American Philosophical Association, 1999-; The International Association of Philosophy and Literature, 2004-; Society for Phenomenological and Existential Philosophy, 2008-; American Society for Aesthetics, 2009-; Society for the Philosophical Study of the Contemporary Visual Arts, 2010-2011; and the Golden Key International Honour Society, 2008-.

LANGUAGES

French, advanced reading and moderate speaking proficiency; independent study and study abroad at The Language Institute, Strasbourg, France, summer 1994.

German, reading proficiency; graduate courses at Duquesne University, fall 2000, spring 2003.

Latin, beginner level; independent study.

ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE

Education Outside Academia Experience: Education and Communications Consultant, Smithers-Oasis Company, Kent, Ohio, 2006-2007, research on new technology for education and communications for the floral industry; organization and subsequent analysis of two Education Summits on the state of floral education in the United States and abroad; Educational Consultant, Instituto Mexicano Técnico Floral, Mexico City, Mexico, 2006, research on online education design and aided implementation of a distance education floral program.

Editorial Assistant: To Dr. Bettina Bergo, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 2002, bibliography transcription and translation and general editing of her translation of Marlène Zarader, La Dete Impensée: Heidegger et l’Héritage Hébraïque.

Research Assistant: To Dr. Wilhelm Wurzer, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 2002, research, compilation, and analysis of material on educational theory for department reference; to Dr. Charles Don Keyes, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 2000-2001, manuscript research and editorial work on philosophy’s interplay with cognitive science.

Publishing Experience: Internship, American Floral Services, Inc., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 1998, publication of a monthly column and general editorial work; Editorial Positions at Floral Design Magazine, Dialogue Magazine, Sarah Lawrence Review, 1996-1998; Awards and Publications, The Ohio National Poetry Day Association, Best of 1996, Best of 1997.

REFERENCES

Lanei Rodemeyer, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, Duquesne University.

Bettina Bergo, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, Université de Montréal.

David Odell-Scott, Ph.D., Chair, Professor, Department of Philosophy, Religious Studies Coordinator, Kent State University. 

Lee Braver, Ph.D., Chair, Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, Hiram College.

James Swindal, Ph.D., Dean of Humanities, Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, Duquesne University. 

Ron Polansky, Ph.D., Chair, Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, Duquesne University.