ARMEN T. MARSOOBIAN

Department of Philosophy

Southern Connecticut State University

New Haven, CT 06515

203 392-6788

marsoobiana1@southernct.edu

 

EDUCATION:

 

State University of New York at Stony Brook, Ph.D., Philosophy, 1984.

 

University College London, Postgraduate, 1977-78, Classics & Philosophy.

 

Bucknell University, B.A. with honors, cum laude, History, 1973.

 

Areas of Specialization:  Aesthetics, American Philosophy, Metaphysics, Genocide Studies

 

Areas of Competence:  Logic, Ethics, Ancient Greek Philosophy, Philosophy of Education

 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

 

 Academic Teaching Appointments:

 

1995 - present   Professor, Southern Connecticut State University

2009                  Teaching Faculty, Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy, Summer

   Institute, University of Oregon

1994                   Visiting Lecturer, St. Martin’s College, Lancaster University (UK)

1990 - 1995       Associate Professor, Southern Connecticut State University

1985 - 1990       Assistant Professor, Southern Connecticut State University

1984 - 1985       Visiting Assistant Professor, Hofstra University.

 

  Other Professional Appointments:

 

2008 – present    Department of Scientists of the Armenian Diaspora, National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia

2007 - present     Foreign Member, Armenian Philosophical Academy, Republic of Armenia

2005 - present     Chairperson, Department of Philosophy, Southern Connecticut State University

1993 - present    Editor in Chief, Metaphilosophy (an international journal of philosophy),

                     Blackwell Publishers, Oxford (UK).

1994 - 1999        Visiting Fellow, Centre for Professional Ethics, University of Central

    Lancashire (UK)

 

RESEARCH AND SCHOLARSHIP:

 

Books edited:

 

with Claudia Card, eds., Genocide’s Aftermath:  Responsibility and Repair. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 2007.

 

with Joseph Margolis & Tom Rockmore, eds., The Philosophical Challenge of September 11. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 2004. (Forthcoming translation in Turkish and Korean.)

 

with John Ryder, ed., The Blackwell Guide to American Philosophy.  Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 2004. (Russian translation with new preface, Moscow: Idea-Press, 2008)

 

with Kathleen Wallace & Robert S. Corrington, ed., Nature's Perspectives: Prospects for Ordinal Metaphysics.  Albany: The State University of New York Press, 1991.

 

with Kathleen Wallace, Ed., 2nd Expanded Ed. of Justus Buchler, Metaphysics of Natural Complexes.  Albany: The State University of New York Press, 1990.

 

Journal Special Issue Editing:

 

with Claudia Card, “Genocide, Collective Responsibility and Reparations” Special Issue of Metaphilosophy, vol. 37, no. 4, (July 2006).

 

“The Philosophical Legacy of Roderick M. Chisholm,” Special Issue of Metaphilosophy, vol. 34, no. 5, (October 2003).

 

Book Series Editor:

 

Metaphilosophy Series in Philosophy: Published 11 books, with 3 more forthcoming titles. Titles include:

 

Virtue and Vice: Moral and Epistemic (forthcoming 2011), Heather Battaly, editor.

 

Cognitive Disability: A Challenge to Moral Philosophy (2010), Eva Kittay & Licia Carlson, editors.

 

Stem Cell Research: The Ethical Issues (2008), Lori Gruen, Laura Grabel & Peter Singer, editors.

 

Genocide's Aftermath: Responsibility and Repair (2007), Claudia Card & Armen T. Marsoobian, editors.

 

Global Institutions and Responsibilities: Achieving Global Justice (2006), Christian Barry  Thomas  W. Pogge, editors.

 

The Philosophical Challenge of September 11 (2005), Tom Rockmore, Joseph Margolis & Armen T. Marsoobian, editors.

 

The Range of Pragmatism and the Limits of Philosophy (2004), Richard Shusterman, editor.

 

Moral and Epistemic Virtues (2005), Michael Brady & Duncan Pritchard, editors.

 

CyberPhilosophy: The Intersection of Philosophy and Computing (2004), James H. Moor & Terrell Ward Bynum, editors.

 

Global Justice (2002), Thomas W. Pogge, editor.

 

The Philosophy of Interpretation (2001), Joseph Margolis & Tom Rockmore, editors.

 

Metaphilosophy Monographs

 

The Digital Phoenix: How Computers are Changing Philosophy (1998), Terrell Ward Bynum  & James H. Moor, editors.

 

Peer-reviewed Journal and Periodical Articles:

 

“Acknowledging Intergenerational Moral Responsibility in the Aftermath of Genocide,” Genocide Studies and Prevention, vol. 4, no. 2, (Summer 2009).

 

“Metaphilosophy (expanded version),” International Academy for Philosophy: News and Views, no. 18 (April 2008).

 

“Metaphilosophy,” International Academy for Philosophy: News and Views, no. 17 (November 2007).

 

“The Path Not Fully Taken,” International Academy for Philosophy: News and Views, no. 8 (December 2005).

 

"Saying, Singing, or Sound: Prima la Musica e poi le Parole Revisited," The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, vol. 54, no. 3, (Summer 1996).

 

"Prima la Musica e poi le Parole: Explorations in Aesthetic Meaning," Peirce Seminar Papers: An Annual of Semiotic Analysis, vol. 1, New York & Oxford: Berg Publishers, 1993.

 

"Meaning in the Arts: Considerations for a General Theory," Texas A&M Studies in American Philosophy, vol. 1, no. 2, 1992.

 

"The Opening of the American Mind: An Unspoken Conversation," Connecticut Review, vol. XII, no. 1, (Winter 1990).

 

"Does Metaphysics Rest on an Agrarian Foundation?  A Deweyan Answer and Critique," Agriculture and Human Values, vol. 7, no. 1 (Winter 1990).

 

 

Other Periodicals:

 

“Breaking the Linguistic Stranglehold on Meaning:  The Case of the Arts,” Newsletter for the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy, no. 98 (June 2004).

 

 Anthologized Essays:

 

“Memorial Art, Modernity, and Identity: How Do We Memorialize Genocide?” in Identity and Social Transformation Alexander Kremer and John Ryder, eds. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2009.

 

“Metaphilosophy,” in Philosophy and Metaphilosophy, G. Brutian, ed., Yerevan, Armenia: International Academy for Philosophy, 2007. (Bilingual edition in English and Armenian.)

 

“Some Deweyan Lessons for Democratic Nation-Building,” in Education for a Democratic Society, John Ryder and Gert Wegmarshaus, eds., Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2005.

 

“Is There a Pragmatist Aesthetics?” in Deconstruction and Reconstruction, John Ryder and  Krystyna Wilkoszewska, eds., Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2004.

 

“Does Metaphysics Rest on an Agrarian Foundation? A Deweyan Answer and Critique.” (revised) in The Agrarian Roots of Pragmatism,  Paul Thompson, ed., Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press, 2000.

 

"Aesthetic Form Revisited: John Dewey's Metaphysics of Art," in Philosophy in Experience: American Philosophy in Transition, Richard E. Hart & Douglas R. Anderson, eds., New York: Fordham University Press, 1997.

 

"Art and Interpretation: Peirce and Buchler on Aesthetic Meaning," in Peirce and Value Theory: On Peircean Ethics and Aesthetics (Series: Semiotic Crossroads 6), Herman Parret, ed., Amsterdam/Philadelphia: J. Benjamins Publishing Company, 1993.

 

"Reference, Interpretation, and Articulation:  Rethinking Meaning in the Arts."  in Nature's Perspectives: Prospects for Ordinal Metaphysics, edited by Armen Marsoobian, Kathleen Wallace & Robert S. Corrington. Albany: The State University of New York Press, 1991.

 

 Solicited Book Reviews (full length):

 

"Raymond D. Boisvert, Dewey's Metaphysics, "The Journal of Speculative Philosophy, v.3, no. 4, 1989.

 

"Beth Singer, Ordinal Naturalism: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Justus Buchler," The Journal of Speculative Philosophy, v.1, n.2, 1987.

 

Introductions, Encyclopedia Articles, Guest Editing and Miscellaneous Publications:

 

“Horace Kallen,” “Metaphilosophy,” “Proception,” in American Philosophy: An Encyclopedia, John Lachs & Robert Talisse, eds.,  London: Routledge, 2007.

 

“Introduction” to “Symposium on Joseph Margolis,” Metaphilosophy, vol. 36, no. 5 (October 2005).

 

“Introduction” to “Symposium on Richard Kearney’s The God Who May Be,” Metaphilosophy, vol. 36, no. 5 (October 2005).

 

“Introduction” to “The Philosophical Legacy of Roderick M. Chisholm,” Special Issue of Metaphilosophy, vol. 34, no. 5, (October 2003).

 

Scholarly Papers Presented:

 

“At the Crossroads of Family and Institutional Memory: The Armenians of Marsovan (Merzifon) and Anatolia College, 1890 to 1922,” (revised version of November 3, 2009 lecture), The Armenian Institute, London, United Kingdom, December 9, 2009. Invited.

 

“At the Crossroads of Family and Institutional Memory: The Armenians of Marsovan (Merzifon) and Anatolia College, 1890 to 1922,” (expanded & revised version of April 7, 2009 lecture), National Association for Armenian Studies and Research, Project Save: Armenian Photograph Archive & Anatolia College, Belmont, Massachusetts, November 3, 2009. Invited.

 

“Memorials, Modernity and Art: How Do We Memorialize Genocide?,” American Society of Aesthetics, Annual Meeting, Denver, Colorado, October 24, 2009. Peer-reviewed.

 

“From Hutcheson’s Sense of Beauty to Danto’s Avant-Garde (with a detour through Dewey):
The Central Questions in the Philosophy of Art,” Two-day lecture and seminar. Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy, Summer Institute, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, July 17 & 18, 2009. Invited.

 

”Why Culture Matters: The Role of Cultural Genocide in Identifying Genocidal Intent and Genocide Denial,” International Association of Genocide Scholars 8th Biennial Conference at the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University, Arlington, Virginia., June 8, 2009. Peer-reviewed. 

 

“How Do We Memorialize Genocide? The Case of the Berlin Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe” (revised version), International Association of Genocide Scholars 8th Biennial Conference at the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University, Arlington, Virginia., June 10, 2009. Peer-reviewed. 

 

 “Armenian Golgotha, Understanding the Armenian Genocide and its Denial,” (discussion of Grigoris Balakian’s memoir), International Association of Genocide Scholars 8th Biennial Conference at the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University, Arlington, Virginia, June 8, 2009. Invited.

 

 

 

 

 

"How Do We Memorialize Genocide?: The Case of the Berlin Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe." Holocaust Remembrance Week, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, Connecticut, April 20, 2009. Invited.

 

“Memorials, Modernity and Art: How Do We Memorialize Genocide?,” Invited lecture, American College of Thessaloniki, Greece, April 7, 2009.

 

“At the Crossroads of Family and Institutional Memory: Marsovan (Merzifon) and Anatolia College, 1890 to 1922,” Invited lecture, American College of Thessaloniki, Greece, April 7, 2009. Invited.

 

“Acknowledging Intergenerational Moral Responsibility in the Aftermath of Genocide,” Invited lecture, American College of Thessaloniki, Greece, April 9, 2009.

 

 “Memorials, Modernity and Cultural Identity: How Do We Memorialize Genocide?,” First Global Conference by the International Network of Genocide Scholars, University of Sheffield, UK, January 2009. Peer-reviewed.

 

“Acknowledging Intergenerational Moral Responsibility in the Aftermath of Genocide,” Invited lecture, Worcester State College, Massachusetts, December 3, 2008.

 

“Memorials, Modernity and Self-Identity: How Do We Memorialize Genocide?,” Central European Pragmatist Forum, Fifth International Conference, Identity and Social Transformation, Brno, Czech Republic, May 29, 2008. Invited.

 

“The Aesthetics of Suffering:  Art, Memory and Memorials,” Art and Experience: Assorted Experiments in American Aesthetics Conference, University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio, April 4, 2008. Invited plenary speaker.

 

“Metaphilosophy,” The Third Conference of the International Academy of Philosophy, Glendale, California, November 2007. Invited.

 

“The Path Not Fully Taken:  Some Thoughts on the Future of Philosophy,” The First Conference of the International Academy of Philosophy, Yerevan, Armenia, August, 2005. Invited.

 

“The Transcultural Range of Pragmatism: A Response,” The Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy Annual Meeting, Bakersfield, California, March 2005. Peer-reviewed.

 

“Reconstructing Aesthetic Meaning from a Pragmatist Perspective,” XVIth International Congress of Aesthetics, Federal University of Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 2004. Peer-reviewed.

 

“Some Deweyan Lessons for Democratic Nation-Building,” The 3rd Central European Pragmatist Forum, “Education for a Democratic Society,” Potsdam, Germany, June 2004. Invited.

 

“Breaking the Linguistic Stranglehold on Meaning:  The Case of the Arts,” Celebrating Thirty Years of Stony Brook Philosophy Doctorates, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York, October 2003. Invited.

 

“Global Institutions and Global Responsibilities,” XXIst World Congress of Philosophy, Istanbul, Turkey, August 2003. Peer-reviewed.

 

“Is There a Pragmatist Aesthetics?” The 2nd Central European Pragmatist Forum “Deconstruction and Reconstruction,” Krakow, Poland, June 2003. Invited.

 

“What I Learned on my Summer Bourgeois Holiday, or Watch Out for those Scare Quotes,” National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Seminar, “Opera: Interpretations between Disciplines,” Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, July 2000.

 

"Aesthetic Meaning Reconsidered; or What's New with the Old Pragmatism?" Philosophy Department Seminar (Colloquium), Lancaster University, United Kingdom, May 1994. Invited.

 

"Prima la Musica e poi le Parole:  Explorations in Aesthetic Meaning,"  American Society for Aesthetics, Philadelphia, PA, October 1992.  Earlier versions read at XIIth International Congress of Aesthetics, Madrid, Spain, September 1992 & Semiotic Society of America, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, October 1991. Peer-reviewed.

 

"Reconstructing Aesthetic Meaning Within the Context of Human Communication," Eastern Division, American Society for Aesthetics, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, March 1992. Peer-reviewed.

 

"John Dewey and Formalist Esthetics: A Metaphysical Critique," American Society for Aesthetics annual meeting, University of Texas, Austin, Texas, October 1990. Peer-reviewed.

 

"Socrates on the Tube:  The "Ethics in America" Television Program," American Association of Philosophy Teachers, Panel, American Philosophical Association, Eastern, Atlanta, Georgia, December 1989. Invited.

 

"Art and Interpretation:  Peirce and Buchler on Aesthetic Meaning," Charles Sanders Peirce Sesquicentennial International Congress, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Sept. 1989. Peer-reviewed.

 

"The Limits of Representation:  Goodman, Danto, and Buchler on Meaning," Philosophy Dept. Colloquium, SUNY at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY, October 1988. Invited.

 

Conference and Panel Organizer, Sponsor or Moderator

 

“The Future of Philosophy: Metaphilosophical Directions for the 21st Century. A Symposium Marking the 40th Anniversary of the Founding of the Journal Metaphilosophy, Yale University, April 23, 2010 (forthcoming) (Different invited speakers than the London version of the symposium). All-day symposium, 4 speakers and panel. Organizer, sponsor and moderator.

 

“The Future of Philosophy: Metaphilosophical Directions for the 21st Century. A Symposium Marking the 40th Anniversary of the Founding of the Journal Metaphilosophy. Institute of Philosophy, School of Advanced Study, University of London, London, United Kingdom, December 11, 2009. Podcast: http://backdoorbroadcasting.net/2009/12/the-future-of-philosophy-metaphilosophical-directions-for-the-21st-century/. All-day symposium, 4 speakers and panel. Organized, sponsored, and moderated.

 

“The Aftermath of September 11:  The Moral and Legal Challenges of the War on Terrorism,” All-day symposium, 4 speakers and panel at Southern Connecticut State University, September 2005. Organized, sponsored and moderated.

 

‘The Transcultural Range of Pragmatism,” panel at the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy Annual Meeting, Bakersfield, California, March 2005. Organized and moderated.

 

“Global Institutions and Global Responsibilities,” Two panels, 8 speakers. XXIst World Congress of Philosophy, Istanbul, Turkey, August 2003. Peer-reviewed. Organized, sponsored and moderated.

 

“Philosophy and the U. S. Constitution:  A Bicentennial Symposium,” Half-day symposium, 3 speakers and commentators, at Southern Connecticut State University, April 1988.

 

TEACHING:

 

Courses Taught:

 

Philosophy:

Introduction to Philosophy, Ethics, Logic, Problems in Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy: Pre-Socratics to Plotinus, Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy: Augustine to Machiavelli, Philosophy of Education, Business Ethics, Bio-Medical Ethics, Aesthetics, American Philosophy, Metaphysics, Selected Philosophical Classics: (Separate courses on Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, John Dewey’s Experience and Nature), Independent Studies (Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason, Issues in Business Ethics), Analytic Philosophy, Ethics in America.

 

Honors: Critical Inquiry, Idea of the Self in the Ancient World, Language of Art

 

FYE: Intellectual and Creative Inquiry

 

New Courses Developed:

 

Ancient Philosophy: Pre-Socratics to Plotinus, Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy: Augustine to Machiavelli, Business Ethics, Ethics in America, Logic (4 credit course with computer lab), Genocide and the Arts, The Language of Art: The Orpheus Myth.  

 

ACADEMIC HONORS AND AWARDS:

 

The Michael S. Dukakis Chair in Public Policy and Service Visiting Professor, American College of Thessaloniki, Greece, April 2009.

 

Connecticut State University Research Grant, 2008-2009 & 2009-2010 Project:  Collaborative book project, “Moral Repair After Genocide.”

 

Connecticut State University Research Grant, 2005-2006 & 2006-2007 Project:  Book preparation,

Reconstructing Meaning: A Pragmatist Approach to Philosophical Aesthetics.

 

Connecticut State University Research Grant, 2003-2004 Project:  Book preparation,

The Philosophical Challenge of September 11.

 

Connecticut State University Research Grant, 2002-2003 Project:  Book preparation,

Readings in Classic American Philosophy.

 

Connecticut State University Research Grant, 1998-99, 2000-2001 Project:  Book preparation, The Blackwell Guide to American Philosophy.

 

National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Seminar, “Opera: Interpretations between Disciplines,” Director: Carolyn Abbate, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, Summer 2000.

 

Yale/Mellon Visiting Faculty Fellowship, Department of the History of Art, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, 1991-92.

 

Connecticut State University Research Grant, 1991-94, Project:  Article or Book preparation, Artworks as Signs: A Semiotic Approach to Aesthetic Meaning.

 

Connecticut State University Curriculum Grant, Summer 1993, 1988, Project: Computer Logic.

 

National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Seminar, "Semiotic Perspectives on Language and Verbal Art," Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, Director: Michael Shapiro, Summer 1990.

 

National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute, "Classic Texts in Early American History," University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, Summer 1989.

 

Connecticut State University Research Grant, 1989-90, Project:  Book preparation, Nature's Perspectives: Prospects for an Ordinal Metaphysics.

 

Connecticut State University Research Grant, 1988-89, Project:  Articles and presentations on John Dewey's Aesthetics.

 

Connecticut State University Research Grant, 1987-88, Project:  Articles and presentations on John Dewey's Metaphysics.

 

National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute, "Metaphysics and the Modern World," University of Santa Clara, Santa Clara, CA, Summer, 1986.

 

Sabbatical Leaves for Research:

 

Sabbatical Leave Fall 2006,  “Reconstructing Meaning:  A Pragmatist Approach to Philosophical Aesthetics.”

 

Sabbatical Leave 1998-1999,  “A Companion to Classic American Philosophy.”

 

Sabbatical Leave 1991-1992,  “A Semiotic Theory of Art.”

 

Reassigned Time for Research: Spring 2004, Fall 2002, Fall 2000, Fall 1997, Spring 1995, Spring 1990, Fall 1988, Spring 1987.

 

 

Professional Service:

 

Board of Book Consultants, Metaphilosophy. 1988 - 1990.

 

Board of Directors, Research Center for Computing and Society, Southern Connecticut State University, 1990 - .

 

Planning Committee, National Conference on Computing and Human Values, sponsored by the National Science Foundation and Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, August, 1991.

 

Professional Memberships:

 

American Philosophical Association

The Metaphysical Society of America

The Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy

The American Society for Aesthetics

The Charles S. Peirce Society

Central European Pragmatist Forum

International Association of Genocide Scholars

International Network of Genocide Scholars

Committee on Publication Ethics

Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences

 

UNIVERSITY SERVICE:

 

Current Service:

University Curriculum Forum, at-large representative, 2007 – present.

University-Wide Impact Subcommittee of UCF, 2007 – present.

General Education Task Force, 2009 – present.

Critical Thinking Coordinator, Liberal Education Program, 2009 – present.

Council of Academic Chairperson, Co-Facilitator, 2008 – present.

Faculty Leadership Council, 2009 – present.

Intellectual Property Committee, 2005 – present.

Connecticut State University Professorship Committee, 2008 – present.

Coordinator, Greece Summer Abroad Program 2008 – present.

Special Assessment Committee, Western Connecticut State University, 2010.

 

Past Service:

University Promotion and Tenure Committee, 1999 – 2005.

University Curriculum and Instruction Committee, 1986 – 1993.

Mediation Committee, 1986 -1989.

 

DEPARTMENTAL SERVICE:

 

Current Service:

Chairperson, Department of Philosophy, 2005 – present.

Assessment Coordinator, 2007 – present.

Colloquia Series Coordinator, 1986 – present.

 

Past Service:

Department Evaluation Committee, various dates.

Sabbatical Leave Committee, various dates.

Library Liaison, 1996 – 2009.

Department Personnel Committee, various dates.