About Professor Stewart

Lindsey Stewart joined the department in 2017. Previously, she was a Post Doctoral Mellon Fellow at Wellesley College. Her teaching and research interests are in black feminism, African American Philosophy, and social and political philosophy. Being a native Southerner (born and raised in Louisiana), her approach to research and teaching is particularly informed by an attentiveness to regional dynamics in the US. Her research focuses on developing black feminist conceptions of political agency, with special attention to the intersection of sexuality, region, religion, and class.

Lindsey Stewart is currently working on a manuscript, tentatively titled, The Conjuring of America, which tells the story of how black women drew upon conjure over centuries and across generations to navigate a hostile world they lived in. Conjure was a resource of empowerment that enabled black women to do something surprising-- to not only thrive in an impossible situation but also to make incredible cultural contributions to our nation. They were able to make these contributions because conjure also thrust them into the heart of national conflicts regarding race and gender. Looking at the history of black feminist thought through the lens of conjure invites us to consider what the conjuring tradition of black feminism can offer us today in these politically trying times.

Publications

The Politics of Black Joy: Zora Neale Hurston and Neo-Abolitionism (Northwestern University Press)

"'That's Why I Do What I Do': Southern Black Feminism in Philosophy" (Philosophy Compass)

"'An Inside Thing to Live By': Refusal, Conjure, and Black Feminist Imaginaries" (Hypatia) 

"'Count It All Joy': Black Feminist Interventions in the Abolitionist Tradition" (British Journal for the History of Philosophy) 

"'Something Akin to Freedom': Sexual Love, Political Agency, and Lemonade" (in The Lemonade Reader).

"'Tell 'Em Boy Bye': Zora Neale Hurston and the Importance of Refusal" (Signs).

"'I Ain't Thinkin' 'Bout You': Black Liberation Politics at the Intersection of Region, Gender, and Class" (in Philosophy In/Of the South).

"Work the Root: Hoodoo Love Rituals, Black Feminism, and Practices of Freedom" (Hypatia)