Sofia Huerter (they/them)

Doctoral Candidate, Teaching Assistant
Sofia is posed with a bubble pipe in their hand, looking stoic and stern. The picture is an homage to similar portraits of Bertrand Russell.

Contact Information

SAV 361

Biography

B.A., Philosophy, University of Minnesota 2012
M.A., Philosophy, University of Colorado Boulder 2015
Ph.D., Philosophy, University of Washington 2023
Curriculum Vitae (115.63 KB)

 Primarily, my research examines the epistemic bases of inter-species oppression, specifically how the mutual implication of knowledge and power can make the former a weapon of the latter. My dissertation, for instance, considers the ethics of domestication through the lens of disability, revealing how the prevailing responses to domestication, both for and against, are organized by shared ableist anxieties that conflate dependency with indignity. Drawing on the work of Lori Gruen, I identify the principal harm of domestication as a dignitary wound which, despite its symbolic and material effects on animals, does its first harm to humans by distorting their perceptual abilities as moral agents. My dissertation culminates in a reparative call, the therapeutic effect of which is neither redress nor restoration but atonement, opening the doors to new forms of inter-species relationality between humans and the animals whose lives have woven together with our own.

I maintain a related interest in the philosophy of language, most especially to do with the nature of animal-based pejoratives, and, more recently, in film analysis, but I'll write about nearly any topic under the sun, provided it catches my attention. Frankly, I've got more ideas than I've got time to pursue them in my academic work, which is why I maintain a personal blog where you can read my more informal musings. 

Research

Courses Taught

Summer 2023

Summer 2022

Summer 2021

Additional Courses

2020 - 2023 Introduction to Ethics, Colorado Technical University

2018 Introduction to Philosophy, Washington Corrections Center for Women

2018 What Should I Do?  Robinson Center for Young Scholars

2017 The Right Thing to Do, Robinson Center for Young Scholars

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