Shieva Kleinschmidt

Shieva Kleinschmidt is an Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Southern California. She holds a B.A. from Western Washington University and a Ph.D. from New York University, with prior graduate work at Rutgers University. Her research focuses on metaphysical topics including mereology, ontology, time, location, modality, and the philosophy of religion, with recent explorations into abuse. She is currently working on a book about parts across space and time, and organizing a conference on metaphysics and feminism.

• Education:
  • B.A., Western Washington University
  • Ph.D., New York University (2011)
• Professional Roles:
  • Director of Undergraduate Studies
  • Adjunct roles in philosophical linguistics and aesthetics

Her research interests include the nature of parthood, temporal ontology, divine simplicity in trinitarian theology, and the metaphysics of abuse. She critiques Humean spatial theories and explores four-dimensionalist accounts of persistence. Recent work applies metaphysical analysis to feminist concerns and interfaith dialogue through her conference initiatives.

Her publications analyze topics like the trinity's metaphysical coherence, time travel's causal implications, and the semantics of religious language. She actively engages in public philosophy through YouTube lectures and audio recordings of her talks.