MA Students
Greg Cote
e-mail: greg.cote@uwaterloo.ca
Education: BA (Hons) Philosophy, Waterloo.
Greg has ten years’ experience in law enforcement as a police officer in the Toronto area and as a Park Ranger in the Yukon. As an MA student, he is interested in political philosophy, applied ethics, the surveillance society, crime and punishment, and the reform of police in North America. He is currently researching the utilitarian social and political reform movement of the 18th and 19th Century, specifically in relation to the emergence of ‘modern’ policing.
Armand Shivanand Naik
Originally from the Greater Toronto Area, Armand Shivanand Naik completed his Honours BA in Philosophy at the University of Waterloo while enrolled in the Arts and Business Co-op Program. Within the co-op program he worked as a research assistant in the history department at St. Jerome’s University, as well as a software quality assurance engineer in various tech firms in the heart of downtown Toronto.
He is currently in his first semester at the University of Waterloo working towards a MA in Philosophy. His interests are primarily concerned with the general areas of metaphysics and the philosophies of science and math. His prospective research is focused on quantum theory and causality, alongside optimization concerning software.
Danna Zhang
Danna Zhang main areas of interest are bioethics, political philosophy, and environmental ethics. She previously completed an Honours BA with a specialization in Philosophy and a major in Bioethics, at the University of Toronto. When she is not doing philosophy, Danna enjoys expressing her creativity through culinary and fine arts.
PhD Students
Tasneem Alsayyed Ahmad
tasneem.alsayyed.ahmad@uwaterloo.ca
Tasneem Alsayyed is a PhD student in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Waterloo. She completed her BA in Philosophy with a minor in Brian and Language Studies at the United Arab Emirates University and her MA in Philosophy at the University of Toronto.
Her main research interests are social ontology, feminist epistemology and philosophy of language. Generally, her focus is on women and gender in the Islamic context. Her dissertation focuses on analyzing contemporary narratives and debates related to female piety, and how they might impact Muslims of all genders, in various ways, across the world. Her non-academic interests include spending time with family and friends and traveling to old and new places.
Pamela Dedman
Areas of interest: Social Relational Autonomy, Feminist Epistemology, Philosophy of Mind, Ethics
Alex Gruenewald
Areas of Interest: social metaphysics, American pragmatism, trans philosophy, philosophy of language (specifically pragmatics), and philosophy of medicine.
Janet Jones
Janet Jones is a PhD student in the Applied Philosophy stream. In 2020, she was named a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholar. Her research interests include feminist epistemology, social metaphysics, and solidarity. Inspired by her volunteer work in the community, she specifically works on topics related to drug addiction, harm reduction, and relational ethics. As part of her Applied Research Placement, Janet is currently developing an e-learning website dedicated to outlining a harm reduction strategy for people who do not use drugs. (Stay tuned for details!)
Janet is the editorial assistant at Feminist Philosophy Quarterly and serves as the Diversity Officer for the Canadian Bioethics Society. She is also a member of the Canadian Harm Reduction Theory Network and a Board Member of the Community Research Ethics Office.
Jim Jordan
Email: wjjordan@uwaterloo.ca
Twitter: @wjjordan
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wjjordan/
W. Jim Jordan, BMath (Waterloo), MDiv (Canadian Theological Seminary), MA (Waterloo). Jim is a PhD candidate writing on cyberwarfare and international humanitarian law. He has had an email address since 1981, and has worked as a software designer in telecommunications before taking up graduate studies in philosophy.
One of Jim’s passions is teaching, in particular demonstrating how philosophical concepts and methods apply to real life. He has collaborated with other UWaterloo business ethics instructors to write With a Clear Conscience: Business Ethics, Decision-Making, and Strategic Thinking (Oxford, 2021). While he is currently working in applied ethics and political philosophy, the history and philosophy of mathematics and logic drew him into philosophy, and they remain rabbit holes he wants to explore further sometime after finding gainful employment.
Dylon McChesney
Areas of interest: Ethics, Moral Psychology, Epistemology
Dylon McChesney is a PhD candidate in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Waterloo. Dylon holds a BA and MA (Philosophy) from Western University. Dylon’s research focuses on the social cognition of agency for people facing mental health challenges, as well as associated ethical issues. This work involves cognitive science, psychiatry, epistemology, philosophy of language, moral psychology, and, of course, ethics. In addition to studying mental health, Dylon is an advocate for de-stigmatizing and fostering better understanding of it in both academic and public spheres. Beyond doctoral research, Dylon has worked for the Center for Teaching Excellence as both a TA Workshop Facilitator and Graduate Instructional Developer. Dylon's dedication to teaching and pedagogy was officially recognized in 2020 by being the first graduate student from the Philosophy Department to win the Amit & Meena Chakma Award for Exceptional Teaching by a Student since the inception of the award in 1999.
PhilPapers: https://philpeople.org/profiles/dylon-mcchesney
Janet Michaud
Areas of interest: Epistemology (Social Epistemology in particular), Interdisciplinary Collaboration, Philosophy of Science
Caitlin O'Donnell
Areas of interest: Clinical Ethics, Ethics in Palliative Care (with special focus on Medical Aid in Dying)
Lynne Sargent
Lynne Sargent is a Ph.D Candidate in the applied program. They specialize in ethics and biothetics related to technology and disability theory, and are passionate about policy and working towards the advancement of the most vulnerable.
In addition to their work at the University of Waterloo, they have an M.A. from McMaster University. To read their public facing work, you can visit their philosophy blog: https://moralguillotines.wordpress.com/ which hosts various projects both from and beyond their academic research.
In addition to their academic work, they also are a published writer and poet. To find out more, visit them on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-lynne-sargent-48756478/, or on Twitter @SamLynneS.
Charli Steele
Areas of interest: feminist philosophy, queer theory, social metaphysics, and anarchism.
Angella Yamamoto
Areas of interest: Philosophy of Biology and Epistemology (specifically how knowledge is created in biology), Philosophy of Science, and the interaction of Science and Society.
