ABOUT CCEC
The Center for Canon Expansion and Change (CCEC) was founded in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities in 2021 by Dwight K. Lewis, Jr., Jessica Gordon-Roth, and Bennett McNulty with the goal of effecting meaningful change in the way that philosophy is done, understood, organized, and – especially – taught.
In particular, CCEC focuses on supporting instructors who want to teach neglected figures or a new canon of early modern philosophy, but otherwise lack the resources to do so. CCEC aims to teach instructors how to create a safe and vibrant learning environment that speaks to a multitude of perspectives and allows students to learn about philosophers with voices like their own.
The idea behind this is that we tend to teach as we have been taught, and this is the way (at least in part) the canon is maintained or upheld. This also means that this is where we can best effect change: if instructors are taught to think of the canon in a more broad and inclusive way, their students will, too.
Moreover, it’s only through changing the canon and understanding the way in which our respective positionalities affect learning in the classroom that we can be in a better position to change the face of philosophy--which is of the utmost importance since the field remains alarmingly homogenous.
CCEC Co-Founders
Dwight K. Lewis, Jr.
Dwight K. Lewis, Jr is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Minnesota. His research interrogates philosophy through a historical lens; he focuses on the Early Modern Period, Africana Philosophy, the philosophical canon, and the discipline of Philosophy. He attempts to live his life as James Baldwin says, “larger, freer, and more loving”— for himself and in relation to his community…both locally and globally.
Jessica Gordon-Roth
Jessica Gordon-Roth is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Minnesota. Her area of specialization is in the history of Early Modern Philosophy, with a focus on Locke, women philosophers of the period, and feminist history of philosophy. As of late, she’s especially interested in bringing historical philosophical texts to bear on lived experiences and helping students see the power of engaging in this process.
Bennett McNulty
Bennett McNulty is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Minnesota with a focus on the history of philosophy of science in the Early Modern period. His work especially describes Kant’s views on the special sciences as they were influenced by the science of his day, and the way Margaret Cavendish leverages the notion of order in her natural philosophy and her criticisms of the experimental philosophy.