Eduardo Mendieta (born 28 December 1963) is a Colombian-born

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 ...

Philosophy 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 ...

Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

, and former acting director of the

Rock Ethics Institute The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855 as Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Pen ...

. Mendieta's research focuses on

Ethics Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches inclu ...

Political Philosophy Political philosophy studies the theoretical and conceptual foundations of politics. It examines the nature, scope, and Political legitimacy, legitimacy of political institutions, such as State (polity), states. This field investigates different ...

, Latinx philosophy,

Latin American Philosophy The culture of Latin America is the formal or informal expression of the people of Latin America and includes both high culture (literature and high art) and popular culture (music, folk art, and dance), as well as religion and other customary prac ...

Critical Theory Critical theory is a social, historical, and political school of thought and philosophical perspective which centers on analyzing and challenging systemic power relations in society, arguing that knowledge, truth, and social structures are ...

(especially the

Frankfurt School The Frankfurt School is a school of thought in sociology and critical theory. It is associated with the University of Frankfurt Institute for Social Research, Institute for Social Research founded in 1923 at the University of Frankfurt am Main ...

Philosophy of Race Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, value, mind, and language. It is a rational and critical inquiry that reflects on ...

, and

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 ...

Education and career

Mendieta was born in

Pereira, Colombia Pereira () is the capital city of the Colombian Departments of Colombia, department of Risaralda Department, Risaralda. It is located in the foothills of the Andean natural region, Andes in a coffee-producing area of Colombia officially known as t ...

. He earned his BA in philosophy at

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

, his MA in

Systematic Theology Systematic theology, or systematics, is a discipline of Christian theology that formulates an orderly, rational, and coherent account of the doctrines of the Christian faith. It addresses issues such as what the Bible teaches about certain topics ...

Union Theological Seminary Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York (shortened to UTS or Union) is a Private college, private ecumenical liberal Christian seminary in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, affiliated with Columbia University since 1928. Presently, Co ...

, and his PhD in philosophy at the

New School for Social Research The New School for Social Research (NSSR), previously known as The University in Exile and The New School University, is a graduate-level educational division of The New School in New York City, United States. NSSR enrolls more than 1,000 stud ...

. He was assistant professor of philosophy at the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 1855, it has nearly 9,000 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees ...

from 1995 to 2001 before moving to

Stony Brook University Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public university, public research university in Stony Brook, New York, United States, on Long Island. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is on ...

, where he served as Director of the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Center from 2005 to 2008 and chair of the Department of Philosophy from 2012 to 2015. He also held visiting positions at the

Universidad Iberoamericana The Ibero-American University (), also referred to by its acronym ''UIA'' but commonly known as ''Ibero'' or ''La Ibero'', is a private, Catholic, Mexican higher education institution, sponsored by the Mexican province of the Society of Jesus ( ...

and the

European Humanities University European Humanities University ( (ЕГУ/EHU), (EHU), (ЕГУ/EGU)) is a private, non-profit liberal arts university founded in Minsk, Belarus, in 1992. Following its forced closure by the Belarusian authorities in 2004, EHU relocated to Viln ...

. Mendieta was executive editor of '' Radical Philosophy Review'' from 2003 to 2007, and a founding editor of the American Philosophical Association's ''Newsletter of Hispanics in Philosophy''. He is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board for ''Public Philosophy Journal''.

Research

Mendieta has investigated topics including animal rights, colonialism, globalization, mass incarceration, and torture, often by building on the conceptual resources of Frankfurt School-style Critical Theory. His publications include ''The Adventures of Transcendental Philosophy: Karl-Otto Apel's Semiotics and Discourse Ethics'' (2002), ''Global Fragments: Globalizations, Latinamericanisms, and Critical Theory'' (2007), and ''The Philosophical Animal: On Zoopoetics and Interspecies Cosmopolitanism'' (forthcoming). ''Global Fragments'' has been described as an "important" contribution to ways of thinking about globalization that are "too often ignored in Western European and North American philosophy." ''Abolition Democracy: Beyond Empire, Torture and War'' (2006) is a series of interviews between Mendieta and

Angela Davis Angela Yvonne Davis (born January 26, 1944) is an American Marxist and feminist political activist, philosopher, academic, and author. She is Distinguished Professor Emerita of Feminist Studies and History of Consciousness at the University of ...

on mass incarceration and torture, which was praised as "a much needed political intervention in mainstream discourse about the Abu Ghraib case." He has also translated the work of

Enrique Dussel Enrique Domingo Dussel Ambrosini (24 December 1934 – 5 November 2023) was an Argentine-Mexican academic, philosopher, historian and theologian. He served as the interim rector of the Universidad Autónoma de la Ciudad de México from 2013 to ...

and

Karl-Otto Apel Karl-Otto Apel (; ; 15 March 1922 – 15 May 2017) was a German philosopher and Professor Emeritus at the University of Frankfurt am Main. He specialized on the philosophy of language and was thus considered a communication theorist. He develo ...

, and co-edited ''The Power of Religion in the Public Sphere'' (2011), ''Reading Kant’s Geography'' (2011), and ''Habermas and Religion'' (2013). Mendieta has also been interviewed about the challenges and opportunities facing Latino/as in contemporary academic philosophy.

Distinctions

Mendieta's awards and honors include: 2013 SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching 2013 Faculty of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Steering Committee (FAHSS) award for research project: “Capital of the Cold War: La Havana After the Collapse of the Soviet Union” 2012 Faculty of Arts, Humanities, and Social Science Steering Committee (FAHSS) award for interdisciplinary initiative submitted with Paul Firbas and Victoriano Roncero-López : “The Latino/a Intellectual: A symposium” 2012 Institute for the History of Philosophy, Summer Workshop: “Peirce, James, and the Origins of Pragmatism” Emory University, Atlanta, 4–14 June 2012. 2011 Faculty of Arts, Humanities, and Social Science Steering Committee (FAHSS) award for research project: “The City of Black Gold: Caracas and The Geopolitics of Oil” 2011 Dean's Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching 2010 Honorary Member of the Golden Key International Association 2009 Institute of Advanced Study, Fellow, Durham University, England (January–March 2009) 2009 Hispanic Heritage Month Latino Faculty Recognition Award 2007 Hispanic Heritage Month Organizing Committee Faculty Award 2006 Certificate of Special Commendation for Graduate Mentoring by a Faculty Member

References

External links

Academia.edu

"Race and Racist Institutions"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mendieta, Eduardo Living people 1963 births People from Pereira, Colombia 20th-century Colombian philosophers Rutgers University alumni Pennsylvania State University faculty The New School alumni Scholars of feminist philosophy Colombian philosophers Colombian ethicists Animal ethicists Political philosophers Union Theological Seminary alumni Animal rights scholars 21st-century Colombian philosophers