معرفی
Margaret Watkins serves as Professor of Philosophy and Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences at Providence College, a position she assumed in July 2023. Previously, she held deanships at Seattle Pacific University (2021-2023) and St. Vincent College (2018-2021).
Her academic foundation includes a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Notre Dame (2002), with dissertation research titled "The Autonomous Hume: On the Search for the Kantian Moral Motive in Hume’s Moral Philosophy".
Dr. Watkins specializes in early modern ethics and aesthetics, with deep expertise in 18th-century Scottish philosopher David Hume. Her research critically examines race and gender dynamics in early modern philosophy, particularly through figures like Anton Wilhelm Amo and Mary Astell. She investigates Hume's phenomenology of passions, moral motivations, and concepts of virtue, while actively addressing contemporary implications of historical philosophical frameworks regarding race and racism.
Her recent publications (2021-2023) reveal concentrated scholarly engagement with Hume's moral philosophy, demonstrating evolving analysis of race, gender, and epistemological frameworks within Enlightenment thought. This body of work shows increasing interdisciplinary connections between historical philosophy and modern critical race/gender studies.
Notable recognitions include:
- Presidency of the Hume Society
- 2018 David Hume Fellowship at the University of Edinburgh's Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities
As both an academic leader and active researcher, Dr. Watkins bridges administrative responsibilities with substantive contributions to philosophical discourse, particularly through editorial engagements in critical guides to Hume's works and responses to scholarly critiques.
