Rebecca E. Harrison

Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Binghamton University, State University of New York. Prior to this, I completed my PhD in Philosophy at the University of Michigan. My research interests are primarily in the philosophy of language, social philosophy, feminist philosophy, and epistemology.

My research explores how power shapes what we do with words—specifically, speech acts such as promises, apologies, jokes, orders, threats, compliments. I argue that speakers can unintentionally perform certain speech acts (like orders and threats), that audience uptake can determine which speech act a speaker performs (in both just and unjust ways), and that performing a speech act is a temporally extended process. The social contestation theory of speech acts I develop illuminates the ways that the speech acts we perform are not under our control and builds on efforts to identify and counter forms of speech-based injustice. More broadly, I'm interested in the ways oppression and power relations shape our agency as language users.

A second thread of my research is concerned with how power shapes our practices of knowing. I'm interested in whether, and under what conditions, suspending judgment is an appropriate epistemic response to a sexual violence claim and explore how participating in protests can generate moral learning.

For more information, see my website: https://www.rebeccaeharrison.com/