Mary Townsend

Mary Townsend is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at St. John's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, St. John's University, Queens, NY. Her research spans political and moral psychology (ancient and modern), existentialism (from Kierkegaard to Simone de Beauvoir), and the history and politics of feminist philosophy.

Her work includes the monograph The Woman Question in Plato’s Republic (2017), which explores feminist interpretations of Plato’s political theory. She has contributed peer-reviewed articles to journals like Hypatia, Polis, and Social Philosophy Today, focusing on topics such as Socratic ethics, feminist thought, and the intersection of philosophy with contemporary social issues.

Dr. Townsend’s recent publications (2021–2023) highlight her engagement with classical philosophy, feminist theory, and modern political psychology. Her articles on Simone de Beauvoir, Socrates, and Julia Ward Howe demonstrate interdisciplinary connections between ancient thought and contemporary debates on justice, subjectivity, and gender.