Chloë Taylor (born 1976) is a Canadian

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and scholar of women's and

gender studies Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gendered representation. Gender studies originated in the field of women's studies, concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. The field n ...

. She is a

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of Women’s and Gender Studies at the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

, where she has worked since 2009. Her areas of research include

Michel Foucault Paul-Michel Foucault ( , ; ; 15 October 192625 June 1984) was a French History of ideas, historian of ideas and Philosophy, philosopher who was also an author, Literary criticism, literary critic, Activism, political activist, and teacher. Fo ...

prison abolition The police and prison abolition movement is a political movement, mostly active in the United States, that advocates replacing policing and prison system with other systems of public safety. Police and prison abolitionists believe that policing a ...

feminist philosophy Feminist philosophy is an approach to philosophy from a feminist perspective and also the employment of philosophical methods to feminist topics and questions. Feminist philosophy involves both reinterpreting philosophical texts and methods in ...

, and

critical animal studies Critical animal studies (CAS) (not to be confused with Animal Studies) is an educational field that critically examines human relationships with nonhuman animals, with a focus on social justice and animal liberation. Challenging the convention ...

Education and career

Taylor studied for a BA in philosophy at the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay, British Columbia, Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1903 as Victoria College, British Columbia, Victoria Col ...

from 1995 to 1998, before studying for a BA at

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

, majoring in the

history of art The history of art focuses on objects made by humans for any number of spiritual, narrative, philosophical, symbolic, conceptual, documentary, decorative, and even functional and other purposes, but with a primary emphasis on its aesthetics ...

and minoring in

German studies German studies is an academic field that researches, documents and disseminates German language, literature, and culture in its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies therefore often focus on German culture, German h ...

from 1998 to 2000. She remained at McGill to read for an MA in art history, graduating in 2002 having written a thesis entitled ''The Aesthetics of Sadism and Masochism in Italian Renaissance Painting''. From 2002 until 2006, she read for a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in philosophy at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

. Her thesis was entitled ''The Culture of Confession''. Taylor was supervised by Rebecca Comay, and her other

committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

members were Amy Mullin and Matthias Fritsch. After completing her studies, Taylor returned to McGill as a

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC; , CRSH), often colloquially pronounced 'shirk' (), is a Canadian federal research-funding agency that promotes and supports post-secondary research and training in the humani ...

and Tomlinson

Postdoctoral Fellow A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary academ ...

in the Department of Philosophy. In 2008, she published her first

monograph A monograph is generally a long-form work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, typically created by a single author or artist (or, sometimes, by two or more authors). Traditionally it is in written form and published a ...

, ''The Culture of Confession from Augustine to Foucault'', which was a revised version of her doctoral thesis. In the book, she interrogates

's account of

confession A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of people – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information that ...

. In the same year, she took up a

tenure track Tenure is a type of academic appointment that protects its holder from being fired or laid off except for cause, or under extraordinary circumstances such as financial exigency or program discontinuation. Academic tenure originated in the United ...

assistant professorship in the philosophy of race and

gender Gender is the range of social, psychological, cultural, and behavioral aspects of being a man (or boy), woman (or girl), or third gender. Although gender often corresponds to sex, a transgender person may identify with a gender other tha ...

at the

University of North Florida The University of North Florida (UNF) is a public university, public research university in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. It is part of the State University System of Florida and is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern ...

; the following year, she moved to the

as an assistant professor of philosophy. In 2011, she became an assistant professor in philosophy and women's and gender studies. ''Asian Perspectives on Animal Ethics'', which Taylor co-edited with Neil Dalal, was published in 2014. Taylor was promoted to

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...

in 2015. She published second edited volume, ''Feminist Philosophies of Life'', co-edited with Hasana Sharp, in 2016, as well as a guidebook to Foucault's ''

The History of Sexuality ''The History of Sexuality'' () is a four-volume study of sexuality in the Western world by the French historian and philosopher Michel Foucault, in which the author examines the emergence of "sexuality" as a discursive object and separate spher ...

''. Taylor became solely affiliated with women's and gender studies in 2017. In 2019, she was promoted to

full professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a 'person who professes'. Professors ...

. In the same year, she published ''Foucault, Feminism, and Sex Crimes'', in which she applies Foucault's analyses of sexuality and punishment to contemporary responses to

sex crimes Sex and the law deals with the regulation by law of human sexual activity. Sex laws vary from one place or jurisdiction to another, and have varied over time. Unlawful sexual acts are called sex crimes. Some laws regarding sexual activity are ...

. She went on to publish four further edited collections: ''Colonialism and Animality'' (with Kelly Struthers Montford) in 2020; ''Disability and Animality'' (with Stephanie Jenkins and Kelly Struthers Montford) in 2021; ''Building Abolition'' (with Kelly Struthers Montford) in 2022; and ''The Routledge Companion to Gender and Animals'' in 2024.

Selected works

Authored books

*Taylor, Chloë (2010). ''The Culture of Confession from Augustine to Foucault: A Genealogy of the 'Confessing Animal''. Abingdon: Routledge. *Taylor, Chloë (2016). ''The Routledge Guidebook to Foucault's The History of Sexuality''. Abingdon: Routledge. *Taylor, Chloë (2019). ''Foucault, Feminism, and Sex Crimes: An Anti-Carceral Analysis''. Abingdon: Routledge.

Edited books

*Dalal, Neil, and Chloë Taylor, eds. (2014). ''Asian Perspectives on Animal Ethics: Rethinking the Nonhuman''. Abingdon: Routledge. *Sharp, Hasana, and Chloë Taylor, eds. (2016). ''Feminist Philosophies of Life''. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press. *Montford, Kelly Struthers, and Chloë Taylor, eds. (2020). ''Colonialism and Animality: Anti-Colonial Perspectives in Critical Animal Studies''. Abingdon: Routledge. *Jenkins, Stephanie, Kelly Struthers Montford, and Chloë Taylor, eds. (2020). ''Disability and Animality: Crip Perspectives in Critical Animal Studies''. Abingdon: Routledge. *Montford, Kelly Struthers, and Chloë Taylor, eds. (2022). ''Building Abolition: Decarceration and Social Justice''. Abingdon: Routledge. *Taylor, Chloë, ed. (2024). ''The Routledge Companion to Gender and Animals''. Abingdon: Routledge.

References

External links

Personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Chloe Living people 1976 births University of Victoria alumni McGill University alumni University of Toronto alumni Academic staff of the University of Alberta Canadian academics of women's studies Canadian gender studies academics Scholars of feminist philosophy 21st-century Canadian philosophers Critical theorists Foucault scholars Prison abolitionists Animal ethicists