alexandra plakias  

associate professor of philosophy, hamiton college, clinton ny

contact: aplakias at hamilton.edu

About me

I am Associate Professor of Philosophy at Hamilton College, where I've taught since 2014. Before that, I did my MA at UC Santa Cruz (Banana Slugs!), my PhD at the University of Michigan, and a postdoc at the Northern Institute of Philosophy as part of Crispin Wright's Relativism and Rational Tolerance project. I grew up in New York City.  When I'm not working, I'm usually wondering what's for dinner.

My Research

I work in a few different areas: moral psychology, philosophy of food, and more recently, issues in social epistemology. What unifies my work is an interest in issues that intersect with the more mundane parts of our everyday lives: awkward moments, or figuring out what to eat. 

Currently, I'm thinking a lot about the role of technology in the food industry, and how that intersects with issues in the epistemology of food. I'm also continuing to work on the norms around publishing work you don't believe.

You can find some of my academic papers here.  My writing has also appeared in Aeon and my work has been featured on NPR. 


My Books:

Thinking Through Food is a comprehensive overview of the philosophy of food. Written for students and researchers alike, the book includes chapters on the metaphysics, epistemology, aesthetics, and ethics of food. You can find out more & read a sample here; order your copy here.

Awkwardness investigates the psychology and social implications of a familiar phenomenon.  It discusses everything from the nature of awkwardness and how it's different from embarrassment and shame, to the ways awkwardness is used to leverage power and silence others.  The Times Literary Supplement calls it "warmly and well-written."  Available now from Amazon or OUP.