Cirriculum Vitae
NIC COTTONE
Education
PhD, in Philosophy, 2025
Michigan State University
MA, in Philosophy
Miami University, 2018
BA, in Philosophy
with Departmental Honors, Latin Honors, and University Honors Program (with Distinction)
Miami University, 2016
Areas of Specialization & Competence
AOS: Social and Political Philosophy, Feminist Philosophy
AOC: Philosophy of Disability, Social Epistemology
Dissertation
Title: “Conceptualizing Misconceptions of Rape: Ideology and the Social Context of Sexual Violence”
Committee: Lisa Schwartzman (Chair), Megan Dean, Christian Lotz, John H. McClendon III
Publications
>Cottone, N. and Jessica Martínez-Cruz. (forthcoming 2026) “Remembering Pain Otherwise: Disability, Enclosed Surfacing, and Crip Memory.” Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal.
>Cottone, N. (forthcoming 2026) “Repeating to Refuse: Punk, Disability, and Curative Time” in Essays on the Ramones and Philosophy.
>Cottone, N. 2023. “Addressing the ‘Puzzle’ of Gray Area Sexual Violations” Hypatia 38 (2): 390-404. https://doi.org/10.1017/hyp.2023.19
>Cottone, N. 2023. “Grief and the Patience Required for Acceptance: Willfulness vs. Willingness.” Public Philosophy Journal 5 (1). https://doi.org/10.59522/XWPW8609.
Works-in-progress
Cottone, N. “Reification and the Historical Production of Disability” (chapter forthcoming, 2026)
Cottone, N. “The Dialectics of Sexual Violence and Social Reproduction: Rethinking Labour, Violence, and Subsumption” (under review)
Cottone, N. “Navigating Normality: Neuroalienation, Masking, and Feminist Critical Neurodiversity Studies”
Cottone, N. “Alienated Youth? Rethinking Childhood Mental Health Under Capitalism”
Conference Presentations
“Capitalism, Reification, and the Naturalization of Disability.” Philosophy, Disability, and Social Change, The University of Central Florida, FL (January 2026). (upcoming)
“Social Reproduction, Subsumption, and the Violation of Sexual Violence.” American Philosophical Association (APA) Eastern Division, Baltimore, MD, (January 2026). (upcoming)
“Rethinking Chronic Pain and Disability: Meaning, Embodiment, and Affect in the Medical Humanities.” (Co-presenting with Jessica Martínez-Cruz.) 15th Annual Midwestern Medical Humanities Conference. Western Michigan University, MI, (October 2025).
“Reification of Labor and the Historical Production of Impairment: A Marxist Intervention in Disability Studies.” Power of Marxist Thought, York University, CA, (September 2025).
“Social Reproduction of Neurodivergent Childhood: Alienation, Masking, and Autistic Burnout.” Critical Neurodiversity Studies: Directions/Intersections/Contradictions, Institute for Medical Humanities, Durham University, UK, (June 2025).
“Precarious Play and the Limits of Care: Examining Childhood, Social Reproduction, and Neurodivergence.” Radical Philosophy Association: Radical Philosophy Hour, (April 2025). (invited)
“Social Reproduction and Sexual Violence.” 16th Biennial Conference of the Radical Philosophy Association (RPA), University of Utah and Utah Valley University (October 2024).
“Labor Subsumption and Social Reproduction in Marx’s Grundrisse.” Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy (SPEP) 60th Meeting, Texas A&M University (October 2022).
“Epistemic Distortion and Effacing Trauma.” North American Society for Social Philosophy (NASSP) 37th International Conference: Respect, Social Action, and #MeToo, Neumann University (July 2020). *cancelled due to COVID-19
“Disability, Horizontal Orientations, and the Politics of (In)Visibility.” philoSOPHIA 14th Annual Conference, Vanderbilt University (May 2020). *cancelled due to COVID-19
“Against Splitting Worlds: Reconfiguring Respect, and Intersubjective Identification.” Discussions From the Borderlands, Michigan State University (March 2020).
“‘Forget What They Think’: Complexities of Epistemic Labor in Cases of Stereotype Threat.” U.S. Midwest Society for Women in Philosophy (SWIP) 2017 Conference, Cleveland State University (November 2017).
Fellowships and Awards
Varg-Sullivan Endowed Graduate Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Letters, Graduate School, Michigan State University (MSU), 2024.
https://cal.msu.edu/news/philosophy-ph-d-candidate-recognized-for-outstanding-achievement-in-the-letters/
Dissertation Completion Fellowship, College of Arts and Letters, MSU, 2024.
Broader Impact Fellowship, Department of Philosophy, MSU, 2022.
College of Arts and Letters Summer Fellowship, College of Arts and Letters, MSU, 2021.
Philosophy Scholars Fellowship, Department of Philosophy, MSU, 2020.
College of Arts and Letters Summer Fellowship, College of Arts and Letters, MSU, 2020.
Iris Marion Young Scholar, Philosophy In an Inclusive Key (PIKSI), Pennsylvania State University, 2016.
Altman Fellow, The Humanities Center, Miami University, 2015-2016.
Hall Prize (Department Best Essay Award), Department of Philosophy, Miami University, 2015.
The Humanities Center Research Apprenticeship, The Humanities Center, Miami University, 2014-15.
Linda Singer Scholarship in Philosophy, Department of Philosophy, Miami University, 2014.
Professional Service
Journal Peer Reviewing:
Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy
Public Philosophy Journal
Feminist Philosophy Quarterly
Social Media:
Radical Philosophy Association, Social Media Manager, May 2025-present.
Mentorship:
Neurodivergent Humanities Network (NDHums), Mentorship Scheme, 2025-26.
Committees:
Graduate Committee Representative, Department of Philosophy, MSU, 2022-2025.
Advisory Policy Committee, Department of Philosophy, MSU, 2020-2021.
Committee of the Whole, Department of Philosophy, MSU, 2019-2020.
Teaching And Assistantships
(IAH: Integrative Studies in Arts & Humanities; PHL: Philosophy)
PHL 101: The Body, Emotion, and Artificial Intelligence, MSU, Spring 2025.
IAH 206: Technology, Self, Others, and Values, MSU, Spring 2021.
PHL 354: Philosophy of Law, MSU, Spring 2020.
IAH 206: Social Media and Democracy, MSU, Fall 2020.
IAH 206: Self, Society, and Technology, MSU, Fall 2019.
PHL 105: Theories of Human Nature, Miami University, Spring 2018.
PHL 104: Chance and Purpose in the Universe, Miami University, Fall 2017.
PHL 103: Society and the Individual, Miami University, Spring 2017.
PHL 105H: Theories of Human Nature (Honors Section), Miami University, Fall 2016.
Research Assistantship
Editorial Assistant, Public Philosophy Journal, Chris Long, Fall 2021-2024.
Graduate Courses Taken
At Michigan State University. Miami University graduate courses noted with an asterisk.
Metaphysics, Epistemology, Philosophy of Language
Metaphysics & Epistemology, Nelson & Godden
Philosophy of Mind, Bluhm
Mind, Action and Normativity, Alonso*
Action Theory, Alonso*
Epistemology (independent study), Pohlhaus Jr.*
Philosophy of Language, Hicks*
Feminist Epistemology, Pohlhaus Jr.*
History of philosophy
Hellenistic Philosophy, Massie*
Early Modern Philosophy, Fennen*
Kant, Miller*
Nineteenth Century Philosophy, Miller*
Wittgenstein (audited), Pohlhaus Jr.*
Marx’s Grundrisse, Lotz
Marxist Philosophies, Lotz
Adorno’s Social Philosophy and Critical Theory of Society, Lotz
Foucault, Zakin*
Value Theory
Philosophy of Population Health, Valles
Philosophy of Disability (independent study), Pohlhaus Jr.*
Value Theory, Whyte
Freedom, Sovereignty, Decolonization, Peters
Queer Theory, Annur*
Political Philosophy (independent study), McClendon III
Feminist Perspectives on Oppression, Autonomy and Choice, Schwartzman
Professional Development Seminars
Proseminar, Whyte
Teaching Philosophy, Katz
Teaching Philosophy, Pohlhaus Jr.*
Research Seminar, Pohlhaus Jr.*
Research Seminar, Zakin*
Nic Cottone 