Megan Craig, associate professor of philosophy and art at Stony Brook University in New York, will be the featured speaker for Southwestern College’s Smith-Willson lecture on Thursday, Feb. 8, at 4 p.m. in Messenger Recital Hall in the Darbeth Fine Arts Center. There is no admission charge and the public is invited to attend.

Craig’s lecture is titled, “When is a Child? William James and the Varieties of Education.

Craig teaches courses in aesthetics, phenomenology, and 20th-century continental philosophy at Stony Brook University. Her research interests include autism, color, embodiment, psychoanalysis, and synesthesia. She is the author of “Levinas and James: Towards a Pragmatic Phenomenology” (Indiana University Press 2009) and is currently at work on a book on Levinas, Derrida, and palliative care in America.

“Reading Megan Craig's book ‘Levinas and James: Towards a Pragmatic Phenomenology’ was a life-changing experience for me, both as a person and as a scholar,” says Jacob Goodson, associate professor of philosophy at Southwestern College.  “In the manuscript I am currently writing, I engage with Craig's interpretation of French philosopher Emmanuel Levinas and quote heavily from her book. Additionally, her reflections on failure, love, and living with trauma have offered me great wisdom. I believe her talk at SC will prove beneficial in similar ways for community members, faculty, and students.”

The Smith-Willson lectureship was established by Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Willson to call attention to the important moral and religious aspects of education. National leaders on various related topics are asked to speak at the annual lecture.