About
Agnes Callard is an Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Chicago, serving as Director of Undergraduate Studies for the 2025-26 academic year. She has taught at UChicago since 2008 following her PhD from Berkeley.
Her academic credentials include a BA from the University of Chicago (1997) and a PhD from UC Berkeley (2008).
Callard specializes in Ancient Philosophy and Ethics, with deep expertise in Socratic intellectualism, moral psychology, and transformative experience. Her research examines desire, rational agency, anger, and value change through classical frameworks applied to contemporary dilemmas. Her books Aspiration (2017) and Open Socrates (2025) have garnered significant attention in major publications including The New Yorker and The New York Times.
Her publication trends reveal sustained engagement with Plato and Aristotle to address modern ethical questions, particularly how individuals navigate value transformation and moral emotions. This work bridges ancient texts with current debates in moral psychology and philosophical methodology.
As Director of Undergraduate Studies, Callard oversees the philosophy major curriculum and mentors seniors through the BA essay program. She regularly teaches intensive history sequences on Plato and Aristotle, senior seminars, and interdisciplinary courses like Human Heterogeneity exploring race, gender, and cultural differences through philosophical, sociological, and literary lenses.
