The University’s department of philosophy will continue its Philosophy Today series tonight at 7:30 in Smith Hall Room 205.

Alison Jaggar, a professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado-Boulder and an expert in gender philosophy, will present the philosophical challenges of global gender justice to UA students and faculty and members of the Tuscaloosa community.

Scott Hestevold, the philosophy department chair and a professor at the University, said the series, which began in the fall of 2010, has drawn a diverse crowd.

“The goal [of this series] is to bring in prominent philosophers to give public talks on controversial or provocative topics,” Hestevold said. “We want the series to be non-technical and accessible to those outside the philosophy discipline.”

Hestevold said so far the lectures have brought out a respectable crowd, and tonight’s lecture promises to be no different.

Rekha Nath, a professor of philosophy, said the department is excited to host Jaggar.

“Professor Jaggar is a dynamic speaker who will present us with a confronting portrayal of the gendered aspects of global poverty,” Nath said. “I expect for many students this will be a unique opportunity to see how deeper philosophical questions concerning our moral obligations to others have translated into a large-scale empirical project to achieve a better understanding of the lives of the world’s poor.”

Nath said Jaggar’s public talk “The Feminization of Global Poverty: How Can Philosophy Help?” will appeal to a wide range of members of the University as well as to the broader community.

Currently, Jaggar is working on a project that seeks to account for the ways in which women are uniquely affected by poverty.

“In addition to discussing this project, Jaggar also will talk about the responsibility that Western feminists have in the face of global injustice suffered by women and how traditional political philosophy must be reworked to meaningfully address transnational gender injustice,” Nath said.

The series will continue in February with its final speaker of the year.

Hestevold came up with the idea of the Philosophy Today series when he assumed the chairmanship in 2007.  Hestevold said that without the support of the University’s Dean of Arts and Sciences Robert Olin, and a grant from Louis Perry of La Jolla, Calif., this series would not be possible.

If You Go…

What: Philosophy Today lecture featuring Allison Jaggar: ‘The Philosophical Challenges of Global Gender Justice’

When: Tonight at 7:30

Where: 205 Smith Hall