Cara O'Connor
Associate Professor
Social Sciences, Human Services and Criminal Justice
EMAIL: coconnor@bmcc.cuny.edu
Office: N-655
Office Hours: Tuesdays 9-10 p.m., Wednesdays 7-8am and 12:30-1:30 p.m., Thursdays 5-6 p.m.
Phone: +1 (212) 776-6980
Assistant Professor O’Connor received her Ph.D. in Philosophy from Stony Brook University with the dissertation, “Empowerment Respect, Self-Respect, and Political Liberalism.” Working at the intersection of political theory, conceptual ethics, feminist care theory, and disability theory, O’Connor is interested in reconceptualizing respect for people with severe and profound intellectual disabilities. She is currently working on a book-length project tentatively titled “Unraveling Respect,” which includes chapters on amour-propre, respectability politics, primary goods, and disability rights. O’Connor currently co-directs the Society for Women in Philosophy-New York City (SWIP-NYC).
Expertise
Moral and political philosophy
Degrees
Ph.D., Philosophy, Stony Brook University
MA, Philosophy and the Arts, Stony Brook University
BFA, Visual Art, Cooper Union
Courses Taught
- This course will examine major historical and contemporary perspectives in moral philosophy. We will consider questions such as, 'Are there universal moral values??, Are ethical conduct and self-interest compatible?', 'What is the source of our ethical obligations (God? Society? Or Reason?) and how can we justify them?', and 'How does globalization impact ethical theory?' The course will look at what attributes and qualities make up a successful ethical theory and will compare competing approaches to ethical decision-making. Throughout the course, the emphasis will be on real-world ethical issues that arise in contemporary life and society.
- The study of philosophy helps students develop analytic skills and gain an appreciation of the general philosophical problems with which human beings have grappled throughout Western civilization. Basic philosophic problems such as free will and determinism, the criteria which justify ethical evaluations, the philosophical considerations which are relevant to belief or disbelief in God, and knowledge and illusion are examined during this course.
Research and Projects
My research concerns how concepts and conceptions of respect function in political discourse.
Publications
“Empowerment Respect: A Conception of Respect Suitable for People with Severe and Profound Intellectual Disabilities” (currently under review at Disability Studies Quarterly)
“Arendt, Jaspers, and the Politicized Physicists,” Constellations, Volume 20.1 (March 2013), pp. 102-120.
“Rousseau” (book review of Terence Irwin’s The Development of Ethics), The Philosophical Forum Vol. 42, Issue 3 [Fall 2011], p. 313.
“Why Arendt Matters (book review),” Shofar 26.3 (Spring 2008), pp. 163-166.
“Truth and Lies in an Arendtian Sense,” Cadernos de Filosofia: Hannah Arendt and the Political, Vol. 19-20 (2006), pp. 289-303.
“Cut Together: Jean-Luc Nancy’s On the Ground of the Image” (review essay), Film-Philosophy 10.2 (September 2006), pp. 55-66.
“Multichannel Memory: Notes on a Conversation with Duncan Roy,” Senses of Cinema, no. 31 (2004). www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/04/31/aka_duncan_roy.html.
When You Cut up the Frame: An Interview with Julie Talen,” Senses of Cinema, no. 30 (2004). www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/04/30/julie_talen.html.
“Ethics, Ambiguity, and Multi-frame Narrative in Julie Talen’s Pretend,” Film-Philosophy.com, vol. 7, no. 47 (2003). www.film-philosophy.com/vol7-2003/n47oconnor.
“A Certain Sense of the Absolute and the Desire to Control Things: Jane Campion: Interviews” (Review essay) Film-Philosophy.com, vol. 8, no. 14 (2004). www.filmphilosophy.com/vol8-2004/n14oconnor.
Honors, Awards and Affiliations
BMCC-CUNY Faculty Development Grant, 2019-2020
AAUW American Fellows Dissertation Completion Grant, 2012
Additional Information
To learn more about the Society for Women in Philosophy, visit SWIP-NYC!
