I am a PhD Candidate in Political Theory at CEU (Central European University). In my dissertation, I broadly investigate the question how to distribute the responsibility to abolish heteronormativity. In relation to this research focus, I am interested in the concepts of structural injustice, equality, (non-)discrimination, and collective moral duties vs. individual moral duties.
Currently, I am writing an article that examines the question whether we have individual moral duties to seek out relationships with members of marginalized groups in the face of personal biases and structural discrimination against them. Opponents of such a duty often rely on the value of freedom of association that outweighs the bad of private discrimination. I aim to show that two of the most convincing grounds of that right to freely associate with others don’t apply to cases where people privately discriminate against members of marginalized groups.
Another paper is planned that asks whether people have a duty not to express assumptions about other people’s sexual orientation and gender identity, even when these assumptions are statistically valid. A puzzle arises here as we might be pulled in two different directions. On the one hand, we believe that people should be free to voice their empirically backed and non-malignant assumptions about others. On the other hand, repeated exposure to these assumptions can be psychologically damaging and strenuous to members of marginalized groups. That provides a reason for refraining from voicing them even when they arise in good faith.
A third paper idea targets the question whether we have a duty not to participate in rituals/traditions that carry and reinforce heteronormative norms, like the white wedding. If there is no general such duty, we might still ask the further question whether there are conditions that constrain permissible participation in these rituals and traditions. For example, it might be the case that marrying in white is only permissible if we push for change in a visible way (e.g. by adopting a clear stance against the exclusion of LGBTQIA+ people from this tradition) or even subvert the traditional messages that the white wedding transports.
Before joining CEU, I earned my bachelor’s degree in philosophy as well as my master’s degree in PELP (Political, Economic, and Legal Philosophy) at the University of Graz. During that time, I spent one academic year at the Jean-Moulin-University in Lyon, in France, and one semester at the University of Coimbra, in Portugal. Alongside my studies, I worked as a yoga teacher at a local studio, as a research assistant at the department for practical philosophy at the University of Graz, and I volunteered for various social organizations (most importantly Caritas, RosaLilaPantherInnen, and I supported a youth-targeted education and poverty relief program in Brazil coordinated by Salvatorpfarre Graz with periodic translations). During my master studies and my PhD, I worked as a lecturer for Institute for Philosophy at the University of Graz for a semester and as a project manager at WIFI Steiermark.