CURRICULUM VITAE - CELIA WOLF-DEVINE
Emerita, Stonehill College, Easton MA
Previously taught at Tufts University, Simmons College, the University of San Francisco, St. Cloud State University, and College of St. Benedict.
EDUCATION:
B.A. Smith College
M.A. and Ph.D. in Philosophy, University of Wisconsin, Madison
GRANTS:
Carthage Foundation for work on affirmative action 1995-6
Earhart Foundation for work on affirmative action, summer 1996 and also Spring 2003
HONORS:
Interviewed by Smith Alumnae Quarterly on my work on prayer, Fall 2009
Listed in Who’s Who in America ,and Who’s Who of American Women since the year 2000
Who’s Who in American Education since 2003
Listed in the Independent Women’s Forum Media Directory of Women Experts
PUBLICATIONS:
BOOKS:
A New Companion to Prayer, 2011
The Heart Transformed: Prayer of Desire, Alba House/Society of St. Paul, 2009.
Sex and Gender: A Spectrum of Views, edited with Philip Devine, Wadsworth/Thomson, 2003
Diversity and Community in the Academy: Affirmative Action in Faculty Appointments, Rowman & Littlefield, 1997.
Descartes on Seeing: Epistemology and Visual Perception, Journal of the History of Philosophy Monograph Series, Southern Illinois University Press, 1993.
CHAPTERS IN BOOKS:
“Abortion: A Communitarian Pro-life Perspective” and “Response to Tooley and Jaggar” (with Philip E. Devine), in Tooley, et. al., Abortion: Three Perspectives. Oxford University Press, December 2008.
“Preferential Policies Have Become Toxic,” in Christopher Heath Wellman and Andrew Cohen, eds., Contemporary Debates in Applied Ethics, Basil Blackwell Publishers, 2004.
“Teaching Gender Issues Philosophically," (download PDF), in In the Socratic Tradition: Essays on Teaching Philosophy, 2nd ed.., edited by Tziporah Kasachoff, Rowman and Littlefield, 2004. Also in the APA Newsletter on Teaching Philosophy in Spring issue of 2004.
“The Hegemonic Liberalism of Susan Moller Okin,” (download PDF), in Christopher Wolfe, ed., Liberalism at the Crossroads, 2nd ed., Rowman & Littlefield, 2003.
“Descartes on Visual Spatial Perception,” in Descartes’ Natural Philosophy, edited by Stephen Gaukroger, John Sutton, and J. Schuster. (Routledge 2000). “The Role of Inner Objects of Perception” in the same volume.
“Rawlsian and Feminist Critiques of the Traditional Family,” in Christopher Wolfe, ed., The Family, Civil Society and the State. Rowman & Littlefield, 1998.
“B.F. Skinner: Texts and Commentary,” in Images of the Human, ed. Leonard Kennedy, Loyola University Press of Chicago, 1995.
“Proportional Representation of Women and Minorities,” in Affirmative Action and the University: A Philosophical Inquiry. Steven Cahn, ed., Temple University Press, 1993. Reprinted in Cahn, ed. The Affirmative Action Debate, Routledge, 1995 and also in the second edition, 2002.
“From New Age Christianity to the Catholic Church,” in The New Catholics. Ed. Dan O’Neil. Crossroad, 1987.
ARTICLES:
Placing the Burden of Proof, New Oxford Book Reviews, December 1993
The New Catholics: Contemporary Converts Tell Their Stories (download PDF)
"Descartes on Sex" (download PDF), entry from from Sex from Plato to Paglia: A Philosophical Encyclopedia, edited by Alan Soble.
“Countering the ‘Nothing But’ Argument.” (download PDF), Faith and Philosophy. Issue on epistemology of religious experience, edited by William Alston, October 2005.
“Fault Lines in the Feminist Infrastructure.” (download PDF), Chicago Tribune, Womannews, Feb. 11, 1999.
“Diversity is Diminished When It Discourages Dialogue.” Chicago Tribune, Womannews, Jan 11, 1998.
“Which Side are the Angels On?” (download PDF), Academe, Jan-Feb 1997.
“Abortion and the ‘Feminine Voice’” (download PDF), Public Affairs Quarterly, July 1989. This article has been very frequently reprinted. E.g. in Beckwith and Pojman The Abortion Controversy, Wadsworth/Thomson, 1998.
“An Inequity in Affirmative Action”, Journal of Applied Ethics, May 1988.
Postscript to "Abortion and the 'Feminine Voice'" 1993. The Gutting of the Ethics of Care by Carol Gilligan and Nel Noddings" - by Celia Wolf-Devine, (download PDF), from Life and Learning III: Proceedings of the Third University Faculty for Life conference, 1993.
ESSAYS:
"A Moderate Traditionalist Approach to Curriculum", (download PDF), delivered at the World Congress of Philosophy.
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES:
Appeared on three different cable TV stations in Rhode Island during the Spring of 2009 concerning my work on prayer and on abortion.
Appointed to the Philosophy Panel by the National Endowment for the Humanities to evaluate applications for NEH fellowships to be awarded to college teachers and independent scholars.
Served as a grant proposal evaluator for the National Science Foundation.
Publisher’s reader for Prentice Hall and Wadsworth, 1999 and 2001.
Interviewed, “Here and Now,” WRNI/WBUR, May 24, 1999 on the dispute between Mary Daly and Boston College
Referee for International Philosophical Quarterly, 1995-2001 (four different papers)
Invited participant in Public Conversations Project, sponsored by the Cambridge Family Institute, Spring 1992.
Interviewed by Rev. Mark Moore for a cable TV series entitled “Church in Crisis”, Summer 1988.
PRESENTATIONS:
Professional
Talk on prayer to Catholic Student group at Brown University, 2010.
Prayer in the Christian Tradition” delivered to Religious Studies students at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. 2010.
Presentation "The Failure of Boonin's Internal Critique" delivered at the APA meeting in December 2009.
"A New Advent of Prayer" delivered at the Catholic and Dominican Studies Center at Providence College, December 2, 2009.
Lectures on abortion and feminism at:
1) a conference at Yale in June 1991
2) Connecticut College, May 1993
3) Society of Christian Philosophers, Merrimack College, April, 1993
4) Boston College, September 1988
5) Brown University, November 1996
6) Providence College,
7) Smith College, May 2007
Popular and Media
Two workshops on prayer at the Annual Diocesan Religious Education > Workshop Day in March 2010
Workshops on prayer at several local parishes, most recently at > Immaculate Conception in Cranston, RI. (February 2013)
She teaches the prayer segment of the catechetical program at The > Institute for the New Evangelization in Brighton, Massachusetts.
Radio Interviews: She has also been interviewed on Catholic radio > stations – mainly about her work on prayer, but also once on > transexualism. Most recently she has been on The Son Rise Morning > Show with Matt Swain and Relevant. Radio with Doug Thompson (EWTN). > She has also done an abortion debate on a radio talk show.
Panelist at an “Author meets critics” session, discussing Carl Cohen’s and James Sterba’s book Affirmative Action and Racial Preference, Oxford University Press
Presentation on affirmative action delivered to session organized by the Hispanic and Latino Philosophy Association, at the Central Division Meeting of the American Philosophical Association in April 2003.
Comment on Joseph Shaw (Oxford), “Revelation, Religious Experience, and Natural Theology.” Gifford Bequest International Conference, Aberdeen, Scotland, May 2000
“Pluralism and the Philosophical Curriculum.” Panel organized by Steven Cahn, for World Congress of Philosophy, August 1998.
Participated in a symposium on affirmative action at Brown University.
“Does Multicultural Diversity Have EducationalValue?” National Association of Scholars Annual Meeting in New Orleans, December 1997.
“Affirmative Action: The Argument from Diversity,” Providence College, 1997
“Race and Social Justice Perspectives on Affirmative Action,” Conference on ‘Debating Affirmative Action’ at Brown University, March 1996
“Rawlsian and Feminist Critiques of the Traditional Family,” Clark University, 1995
Upcoming
REVIEWS:
I have reviewed the following books for various journals:
John J. Conley, S.J. The Suspicion of Virtue;
Prudence Allen, R.S.M. The Concept of Woman;
JohnSutton, Philosophy and Memory Traces;
Stephen Heaney, ed., Abortion: A New Generatioin of Catholic Responses;
JoanTronto, Moral Boundaries: A Political Argument for an Ethics of Care;
Jean Bethke Elshtain, Democracy on Trial;
Christina Hoff Sommers, Who Stole Feminism? How Women Have Betrayed Women;
Sylvia Hewlett, When the Bough Breaks;
Agneta Sutton, Prenatal Diagnosis: Confronting the Ethical Issues;
William Alston, Perceiving God: The Epistemology of Religious Experience;
Debra Evans, Without Moral Limits: Women, Reproduction and the New Medical Technology;
Uta Ranke-Heinemann, Eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven;
Gabriella Fiori, Simone Weil: An Intellectual Biography;
Marcel Gueroult, Descartes Interpreted According to the Order of Reasons.
MEMBERSHIPS:
American Philosophical Association
American Catholic Philosophical Association
Society of Christian Philosophers
OFFICES HELD:
Secretary, Rhode Island Association of Scholars 1999-2005
ENDORSEMENTS:
"As an Episcopal priest serving various churches over the past twenty-five years and a trained spiritual director in the Ignatian tradition, I have witnessed the yearning so many Christians have for a deeper prayer life. Resources that are both accessible to the average person, yet deep and comprehensive enough to be meaningful are rare. Now in Celia Wolf-Devine's excellent book, we have a unique resource that Christians can use to enter more deeply into this rich and fruitful life of prayer. Our lives, and our church, are richer for it."
- The Rev. Mark R. Moore, B.A., M.Div., M.Ed., J.D.
"There are many books on prayer, but this one stands out for its warm encouragement and for its reflection on how prayer relates to desire. Drawing on her training as a professional philosopher and many years of seeking God in prayer, Celia Wolf-Devine talks about prayer in a way that is accessible and engaging and very practical. She makes it easier to see how prayer fulfills desire and how prayer changes us in ways that we rarely expect but always make us more human and more ourselves. In my ministry as a priest, I know many young adults who are looking for guidance about prayer that is both solidly rooted in Christian tradition and tailored to the circumstances of contemporary culture. This could be the book for them."
- Nicholas E. Lombardo, O.P.
"There are many books on prayer. But Celia Wolf-Devine's is unique -- and uniquely necessary. Not only is it filled with sound practical advice about all aspects of the life of prayer; but it is also written by a gifted philosopher, uniquely capable of recognizing the role of mind as well as heart in the life of the spirit. The whole person prays. And it is the whole person -- mind, heart, intellect and will -- to whom Prof. Wolf-Devine speaks in this inspiring book."
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Ronald J. Tacelli, S.J., Boston College.
"As an instructor on prayer for the Oakland, CA diocese's School for Pastoral Ministry and Serra Catechetical Insititute, I highly recommend Celia Wolf-Devine's book as a practical guide on prayer, suitable for the classroom. The book is full of insightful descriptions of the process of spiritual growth that will help a teacher illustrate what occurs when we allow God's grace to penetrate our psyches. For instance, Celia describes spiritual wounds as healing, like physical wounds, "from the bottom up." Her discussion of the difficulties we all encounter in prayer, and her suggestions on how to counteract them, display a depth of understanding that can only have come from one who has honestly faced herself in an ongoing conversation with God. Useful analogies such as comparing God's judgment to "a light flooding into a dark place" give the reader easily remembered images of how to distinguish between correction from God and demonicially inspired self-condemnation. This book will have a great appeal to anyone who wants to grow more deeply in an intimate but honest relationship with the Being we are called to love above all others."
- Edith Black