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Department of Philosophy & Religion

Faculty & Staff

Meet the Department of Philosophy & Religion faculty and staff.

Faculty

Eric Smaw

Department Chair | Professor of Philosophy | Debate Team Faculty Advisor | Pre-Law Advisor

French House – Room 202

T. 407.691.1752

B.A. Pennsylvania State University
M.A. Ohio University
M.A. University of Kentucky
Ph.D. University of Kentucky

Research Interests: Philosophy of Law, Political Philosophy, Ethics, and Human Rights.

Courses: Logic, Philosophy of Science, African Philosophy, History of Philosophy (17th-19th Century).

Tom Cook

Tom Cook

Professor of Philosophy

French House – Room 103

T. 407.646.2518

B.A. Johns Hopkins University
M.A. Vanderbilt University
Ph. D. Vanderbilt University

Research interests: 17th century philosophy (esp. Spinoza); Philosophy of Mind; Moral Psychology.

Courses: Philosophy of Mind, History of Modern Philosophy; Logic; Philosophy in Literature.

Todd French

Todd French

Assistant Professor of Religion

French House – Room 204

T. 407.691.1237

B.A. Lipscomb University
M.Div. Union Theological Seminary
Th.M. Princeton Theological Seminary
Ph.D. Columbia University.

Research interests: Early Christianity, Byzantine Hagiography, Syriac, Islam, Mysticism, Gender, Poverty, and Extremes in Religion.

Courses: Christianity: Thought and Practice; Islam: History and Beliefs; New Testament; Sex, Violence, and Religion; Food, Poverty, Social Justice; Mysticism: East and West.

Yudit K. Greenberg

Yudit K. Greenberg

George D. and Harriet W. Cornell Chair of Religion | Professor of Religion | Coordinator of Jewish Studies Program

French House – Room 205

T. 407.646.2176

B.A. California State University at Hayward
M.A. San Francisco State University
Ph.D. Graduate Theological Union

Research interests: Modern and Contemporary Jewish Thought; Cross-Cultural Concepts of love, eros, the body; Feminist philosophy and theology; Comparative Religion; Comparative Studies of Hindu and Jewish Philosophy and Religion.

Courses: Jewish Life and Thought; Religion and the Body; Women and Religion; Modern and Contemporary Jewish thought. 

Greenberg has lectured nationally and internationally, has served as co-chair of the studies of Judaism section of the American Academy of Religion and is on the editorial board of the Journal of the American Academy of Religion. A native of Israel, she has been a very active voice and presence in the religious and spiritual life of the Central Florida community. She has been a visiting scholar at the Center for Jewish Studies at Harvard and, in spring 2001, was a visiting scholar at the Centre for Jewish Studies at Oxford University.

Robert McDonald

Visiting Assistant Professor

French House – Room 206

T. 407.691.1096

B.A. Rollins College
M.A. University of Virginia

Research Interests: Indian Philosophy, Hindu narrative literature, Sanskrit poetry and linguistics, Hindu-Buddhist Debates, Dharma and religious ethics.

Courses taught: Asian Religions, Mind and Meditation, Buddhist Ethics

Margaret McLaren

Margaret McLaren

George D. and Harriet W. Cornell Chair | Professor of Philosophy

French House – Room 102

T. 407.646.1508

B.Phil. Miami University (Ohio)
M.A. Northwestern University
Ph.D. Northwestern University

Research interests: Human Rights and Globalization: Feminist Theory and Gender Issues; 20th Century French Philosophy.

Courses: Women and Globalization; Gender, Rights, and Relativism; Feminist Theory; Foucault Seminar.

L. Ryan Musgrave

L. Ryan Musgrave

Associate Professor of Philosophy

French House – Room 104

T. 407.646.2177

B.A. Mary Washington College
M.A. Purdue University
Ph.D. Purdue University

Research Interests: Philosophy of Law, Social and Political Philosophy, Aesthetics, Feminist Theory, American Philosophy, and Philosophy of Education.

Courses: Ethics (theoretical and applied); Aesthetics; Sociopolitical and Legal Philosophy; Feminist Philosophy.

Serving as Senior Fellow for AAC & U 2017-18

 

Scott Rubarth

Scott Rubarth

George D. and Harriet W. Cornell Scholar in Classical Studies | Associate Professor of Classical Philosophy

French House – Room 203

T. 407.691.1062

B.A. Los Angeles Baptist College
M.A. San Diego State University 
Ph.D. University of Toronto

Research interests: Ancient Philosophy and Science, Stoicism, Philosophy of Media.

Courses: Early Western Philosophy, The Pursuit of the Good Life (Classical Ethics), Argumentation and Media Manipulation.