{"id":178,"date":"2020-02-24T16:07:37","date_gmt":"2020-02-24T21:07:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/academics\/faculty\/ecox\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T11:52:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T15:52:21","slug":"ecox","status":"publish","type":"faculty","link":"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/academics\/faculty\/ecox\/","title":{"rendered":"Cox, Ellen"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In addition to her history of philosophy courses, Cox also teaches special topics courses whose material might seem controversial to some: Advanced Feminist Philosophies, Queer Theory and Culture, Unruly Bodies: Constructing and Deconstructing Sex, Philosophy and Disability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her current research addresses the emergence of a \u201cfat identity,\u201d which philosopher Michel Foucault would argue indicates that society has taken notice and wants to assert some control over those whose bodies are classified as “overweight” or “obese” according to current norms. Cox hopes to develop a course that will address, in part, the political fallout from the nascent \u201cwar on obesity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In these sometimes emotionally-charged classes, Cox works hard not to let her personal opinions direct the discussion. Everyone in the room looks to the original source\u2014the text they\u2019re reading\u2014as the authority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe students and I, regardless of our ideological positions, we\u2019re trying to crack this text together. I\u2019m not trying to tell them anything. I\u2019m trying to help them read this text with me and see where it might be right, where it might help us think about things, where it calls attention to beliefs we may have, or where it might be problematic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Philosophy is kind of a secret weapon. Students who figure it out realize it\u2019s training them to think. And that\u2019s a non-discipline specific skill they\u2019ll be able to use in law school, medical school, or the business world.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy primary goal as an educator is to teach students to read.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cox finds the courses she teaches in women\u2019s studies or sexuality studies the most rewarding. She values the chance to help students consider the \u201cbiases or privileges that might make their points of view alienating to those with different life experiences.\u201d Sometimes she finds it necessary to remind students of ways they may be disenfranchised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Teaching these subjects has been a learning experience for her, too. She now feels \u201ca sort of political responsibility, an ethical commitment to the things that I\u2019m teaching in those areas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students leave Cox\u2019s classes ready to tackle all sorts of contemporary issues. Philosophy students typically enjoy academic challenges, and many decide to pursue advanced studies in medical school, law school, or other graduate programs. Others will prepare for careers in business, teaching, or public policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cox appreciates that her academic and personal interests are sometimes folded into new courses at Transylvania. In 2011 she and philosophy professor Peter Fosl took a group of students to Paris to study the philosophy of food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students looked at how where you live and what you eat affect your life philosophically. They also discussed how cultures, cities, historical figures, and even philosophical theories have become consumable commodities. \u201cWe talked about consumption both as a metaphor and also in the literal sense of French cuisine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given Cox\u2019s affection for French literature and French food, it seems likely the students had the opportunity to savor some petites madeleines<\/em>, those magical treats that made writer Marcel Proust reflect so eloquently on consciousness and memory and the philosophical state of one\u2019s mind. For Cox, that would result in the perfect melding of academic enlightenment and gustatory joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n

Academic History<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  • Ph.D., Philosophy, DePaul University<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • M.A., Philosophy, DePaul University<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • B.A., Philosophy and History, Miami University of Ohio<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Courses Taught at Transy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    • Introduction to Philosophy<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Introduction to Politics, Philosophy and Economics<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Political Theory II<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Feminist Philosophies<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Major Thinkers: Foucault<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Philosophy and Disability<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Philosophy and the City<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Ethical Theory<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Senior Seminar<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • California or Bust: Identity and the American Dream
      with Spanish professor Jeremy Paden<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • The Philosophical Gourmet
      with philosophy professor Peter Fosl<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      Areas of Research<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
        \n
      • Political Philosophy<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Poststructuralism<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Cultural Studies<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • City Studies<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Women\u2019s, Gender and Sexuality Studies<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        Professional Memberships<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
          \n
        • Union for Radical Political Economists<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Women’s and Gender Studies South<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Southeast Educational Philosophy Society<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honorary<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Phi Beta Kappa<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

          Awards<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
            \n
          • Bingham Innovation Award 2026<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Dean\u2019s Award for New Program Development: Urban Studies, 2022
            (with Paul Duffin, Biology)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Jones Sabbatical Grant, 2012, 2019, 2026<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Jones Fund for Student Research 2016, 2017, 2019, 2023<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Bingham Fellowship for Excellence in Teaching<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
            \n

            Recent Publications<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

            \u201cThe Cost of the \u2018Lesbian Obesity Epidemic\u2019: Pathologizing Sexuality in Public Health.\u201d in The Politics of Gender (Sense Publishing: Trier-Biernek ed.) 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u201cDon\u2019t Try This At Home: Men on TV, Women in the Kitchen\u201d in Food, Masculinities, Home (Bloomsbury, Szabo and Koch eds.) 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Recent Papers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

            \u201cThe impossible possibility of \u2018class culture\u2019: thinking through the legacy of the recognition\/redistribution debate for American politics today,\u201d Union of Radical Political Economists, Albuquerque, NM. March 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u201cWhat\u2019s Left of Neoliberalism? Feminism, Capitalism, and the Cultural Turn,\u201d WGS South, Wake Forest University. March 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u201cValuing the Humanities: Elitism, Neoliberalism and the Cultural Turn,\u201d Southeast Educational Philosophy Society, Birmingham, AL. February 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u201cSelf-Care is For Others: Philosophy, Black Women\u2019s Self-Love, and the Neoliberal Sellout,\u2019 WGS South, Spartanburg, SC. March 2024<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u201cYou\u2019re Not Crazy: Anxiety as Cultural Compliance,\u201d Popular Culture Association National Meeting, San Antonio, TX. March 2024<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u201cCritical Fat Studies and Neoliberalism,\u201d University of Florida Marxist Reading Group, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. April 2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u201cEating It Up: Body Positivity, Woke Capitalism, and Neoliberalism\u2019s Appropriation of Resistance,\u201d Popular Culture Association National Meeting, Virtual; April 2022<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":3752,"template":"","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"academic_division":[5,13,45,46],"class_list":["post-178","faculty","type-faculty","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nCox, Ellen - Transylvania University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/academics\/faculty\/ecox\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cox, Ellen\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In addition to her history of philosophy courses, Cox also teaches special topics courses whose material might seem controversial to some: Advanced Feminist Philosophies, Queer Theory and Culture, Unruly Bodies: Constructing and Deconstructing Sex, Philosophy and Disability. 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