About
Kate Kirkpatrick is a Senior Lecturer and Tutorial Fellow in Philosophy at Regent's Park College, University of Oxford. Her research focuses on feminist philosophy, moral philosophy, philosophy of religion, and post-Kantian thought, with a particular emphasis on Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre. She teaches undergraduate courses on post-Kantian philosophy and feminist theory, as well as a postgraduate module on Beauvoir's philosophy within the MSt in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Oxford's Humanities Division.
Education
- BA in Philosophy and Theology, Regent's Park College, Oxford
- DPhil in Philosophy, St Cross College, Oxford
Research Interests
Kirkpatrick’s work explores existentialist thought through feminist and theological lenses, examining themes such as freedom, ethics, and the intersection of gender with philosophical systems. Key areas include Beauvoir’s critique of femininity, Sartre’s existentialism, and the mystical underpinnings of existentialist ideas. She has authored influential books like Becoming Beauvoir: A Life (2019) and co-edited The Mystical Sources of Existentialist Thought (2018), which critically engage with existentialist philosophy’s historical and cultural contexts.
Recent Articles
Her recent publications analyze Beauvoir’s The Second Sex, Sartre’s ethical frameworks, and existentialist pedagogy. Notable works include discussions on Beauvoir-Sartre disagreements, existentialist exemplars in education, and the philosophical implications of love and sin.
Grants and Academic Roles
- Prior academic positions at St Peter’s College (Oxford), University of Hertfordshire, and King’s College London
- Contributions to encyclopedias and edited volumes on modern French philosophy and feminist thought
Labs/Teams
Active in interdisciplinary collaborations at Oxford, focusing on existentialism’s relevance to contemporary ethics and gender studies.
