Department of Philosophy hosting Eastern Pennsylvania Philosophical Association Meeting

Dr. Klaver is director of the Philosophy of Water Project and professor of philosophy at the University of North Texas. Her specialization is environmental philosophy, particularly the philosophy of water. Her research and teaching focus on social-political and cultural dimensions of water from the global to local level. Her theoretical interests focus on river cultures, including urban renewal projects around rivers and the role of infrastructural features in raising awareness of watershed functions. 

 

Dr. Klaver is an UNESCO Water and Cultural Diversity Advisor. She is leading co-editor of the UNESCO book, “Water, Cultural Diversity & Global Environmental Change: Emerging Trends, Sustainable Futures,” (Springer, January 2012). She is part of an international team that teaches a short course for the UNESCO International Hydrological Program on World History of Water Management through UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education.

 

She is member of the Editorial Team of “WIREs Water,” Wiley’s Interdisciplinary Review on Water, and has made various documentaries on water issues. Both “River Planet” (2011) and “The New Frontier: Sustainable Ranching in the American West”(2010) have won prestigious awards, including selection for American Documentary Showcase of the Department of State, the CINE Award, BEA Award and Telly Award.

 

She holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree from State University of New York (SUNY) at Stony Brook, N.Y., and master’s degrees in philosophy from the New School for Social Research, New York City, N.Y., and the University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

 

Mark Painter, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Philosophy at Misericordia University, is coordinating the event. This is the second straight year Misericordia has hosted the EPPA conference. More than 60 philosophers attended the daylong conference last year. “The mission is to encourage faculty and students to work together on philosophical research and to illuminate philosophical issues as they arise out of the living world of human affairs and concerns,” Dr. Painter explains. “Students have the opportunity to present alongside professional philosophers from across the region.”

 

The EPPA has accepted research papers from professors and students from regional colleges and universities. The following will be making presentations during the annual meeting: Maria Balcells, Misericordia University, Dallas, Pa.; James Gillespie, University of Scranton, Scranton, Pa.; Daniel P. Haggerty, University of Scranton, Scranton, Pa.; Joshua W. Schulz, DeSales University, Center Valley, Pa.; Eugene V. Torisky, Jr., Saint Vincent College, Latrobe, Pa.; Melanie Shepherd, Misericordia University, Dallas, Pa.; Kirstin Waldkoenig, Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, Pa.; Ryan Coyne, Saint Vincent College, Latrobe, Pa.; Evan Hrobak, Saint Vincent College, Latrobe, Pa.; Michael Parisi, Saint Vincent College, Latrobe, Pa.; David Johnson, King’s College, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.; Debra Gross, King's College, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.; Meghan Masto, Lafayette College, Bethlehem, Pa.; Bill Irwin, King’s College, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.; Lissa Skitolsky, Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, Pa.; Alexandra Romanyshyn, DeSales University, Center Valley, Pa.; Martin Weatherston, East Stroudsburg University, East Stroudsburg, Pa.; Greg Bassham, King’s College, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.; Nathan Oseroff, University College London, London, England; and Donna Castelblanco, Misericordia University, Dallas, Pa.

 

The presentations are open to the general public, but registration is required. The registration fee is $25 for adults and $10 for students with a valid ID. Lunch will be provided. For reservations or additional information, please contact Dr. Painter at mpainter@misericordia.edu or (570) 674-6738. The deadline for reservations is March 28.

 

For more information about the Department of Philosophy at Misericordia University, please call (570) 674-6400 or log on to www.misericordia.edu. Founded and Sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy in 1924, Misericordia University is Luzerne County’s first four-year college and offers 34 degree programs on the graduate and undergraduate levels in full- and part-time formats. Misericordia University ranks in the top tier of the Best Regional Universities – North category of U.S. News and World Report’s 2014 edition of Best Colleges and was designated a 2014 Best Northeastern College by the Princeton Review.