Julia M. Morgan

Julia M. Morgan is Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Environmental Studies Program at the University of Pittsburgh. She previously taught at the University of Hawaiʻi, including Kauaʻi Community College, and spent a year at Mercyhurst University before joining Pittsburgh in August 2021.

Education:

• PhD, Philosophy, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, May 2016
• MA, Philosophy, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, December 2006
• JD, The George Washington University Law School, Washington, D.C., 1998
• MA, East Asian Studies, Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University, Washington, D.C., 1993
• BA, Philosophy, St. Mary’s University, Winona, Minnesota, 1985

Research Interests: Dr. Morgan specializes in Environmental Ethics and Indigenous Epistemologies, focusing on how Indigenous ways of knowing reshape our understanding of nature. Her work also spans Bioethics, Philosophy of Science, and Activism, consistently challenging dominant assumptions about humanity’s relationship with the environment.

Her scholarly output interrogates the intersections of Western legal frameworks and Indigenous environmental relationships, as seen in her analyses of ocean governance and land rights protests. Through conference presentations and critical reviews, she advances dialogues on ethical responsibility, feminist legal theory, and the moral dimensions of environmental activism.

Public Engagement & Panels:

• Panelist, “Individualism, Community, and the Power of Symbols,” Mercyhurst University Evelyn Lincoln Institute for Ethics and Society, February 8, 2022
• Panelist, “Contemplating Afghanistan: The Past, The Present, The Ethical Challenges,” Mercyhurst University, October 21, 2021
• Commentator, American Philosophical Association Pacific Division Meeting, April 2020

Labs & Teams: Dr. Morgan directs the Environmental Studies Program, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration across behavioral and social sciences to address pressing environmental challenges through philosophical inquiry and Indigenous perspectives.