Tiffany Campbell is a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Utah. Currently, her research is funded through the Utah Center of Excellence ELSI Research (UCEER) where she studies the ethical, legal, and social implications of genetic research/medicine in relation to disability. Her areas of specialization are Philosophy of Disability and Bioethics.
What three things are on your bucket list that you’ve not yet accomplished?
If I must pick only three items to discuss from my bucket list, I would select 1) taking a road trip to the Northwest Territories to see the Northern Lights, 2) snowboarding on a volcano in another country, perhaps New Zealand, and 3) publishing a non-academic book. In October 2019, my husband and I camped in Jasper, Alberta with high hopes of seeing the Northern Lights and a moose, the latter of which we have in my home state of Utah (and seemingly everyone but me has seen one here). Both bucket list items were accomplished. However, the Northern Lights were barely visible to the naked eye and mostly captured on film. I specifically want to travel to the Northwest Territories, by car, and hope to see the lights visible to the naked eye. My second bucket list item, snowboarding a volcano in a different country, might be a bit cheesy, but the desire is proving to have sticking power. Lastly, I have wanted to publish a (non-academic) book since I was a child. I am interested in bringing awareness to various social justice issues, including issues surrounding disability, through fiction and using a (public) philosophical approach to the work.
What are you working on right now?
I am currently working on my dissertation with a fellowship from the Utah Center of Excellence ELSI Research (UCEER). My aim is to conceptualize a kind of ableism, what I call Aristotelian Ableism, related to the expressivist objection in the Philosophy of Disability. In this project, I attempt to provide an understanding of what Aristotelian Ableism is and how it can be diagnosed, using case studies from the American eugenics movement and then moving on to cases in genetic research/practice and in bioethics.
Drawing on Aristotelian theory, I present Aristotelian Ableism as a theory of well-being connecting disability and a presumed inability to achieve well-being at even a minimal degree. In this form of ableism, only bodies with intact capacities are believed capable of achieving even a minimal degree of well-being and if a body is notintact, then a person cannot achieve any amount of well-being. Further, assuming that lacking any semblance of well-being is to have a non-worthwhile life, then Aristotelian Ableism says that if a body is not intact, then that person cannot have a worthwhile life. To be impaired, then, is to be in a state of ill-being such that the impaired life is not worth living, according to this form of ableism.
I recently presented the first two chapters at a meeting for UCEER and am reworking it to present in March 2022 at an UNESCO bioethics conference in Portugal. I’m hoping to have my dissertation completed and defended by that time.
What time of day are you most productive and creative?
The time of day that I am most productive and creative are not the same. I am most productive in the afternoon until early evening, unless I’m on a deadline and then I can keep going until about 10 PM. Creativity, well, that typically happens in the middle of the night either when I’m trying to get to sleep or, more often, when an idea wakes me from sleep. To apply that creativity to my work, I have to go to my desk and jot notes down before going back to sleep or the ideas will be lost. Unfortunately, one idea in the middle of the night usually leads to other insights and I find myself jotting notes at my desk, then trying to sleep, going back to my desk, and so on. This pattern may well be why I am not a morning person.
What is your favorite sound in the world?
My favorite sound is a combination of a non-sound and a sound. That is, I love the sound of snowfall as it muffles, silences, the rest of the world around me. Adding a visual aesthetic, fog completes the effect. My favorite days are foggy and snowy, no matter how long the sunless days may continue.
Name a trait, skill or characteristic that you have that others may not know about.
I am passionate about mentoring! Last year I had the opportunity to mentor one of my prior bioethics students for a fellowship program. It was such a wonderful feeling when the student contacted me to inform me that he was accepted into medical school and to thank me for helping him to reach his goal. More so, however, I enjoy mentoring the students who may have large obstacles to overcome in reaching their goals. Prior to returning to school, I worked as a Transition Specialist with minoritized students from a Title I high school. Many of these students lived in poverty and were involved in gangs, along with their (mostly) male family members. I found so much satisfaction in being able to break through the barriers that many of these students put up to protect themselves from failure, and in helping them to realize the potential within themselves and to learn how to unlock that potential. A while back, I ran into one my students and he told me that he had successfully completed an AA degree at a community college and was moving on to a degree program at a state university. Another student, of which I am still in contact, is successfully creating art — accomplishing his lifelong dream.
My passion for mentoring comes not only from my experiences with mentoring students, but also from being a mentee. Several mentors have helped me, a non-traditional student, to attain my academic goals. Foremost among these are Jeff Watson (Arizona State University), who mentored me through the last part of my undergraduate program, James Tabery (University of Utah), and the amazing Leslie Francis (University of Utah), who has mentored me for more years than I have been in graduate school. Two other philosophers, Adam Cureton (University of Tennessee- Knoxville) and Teresa Blankmeyer Burke (Gallaudet University), have taken an active interest in my academic development, as well. To each of these, I say thank you! I am learning to be a better mentor, in part, through the example of other good mentors and I hope for continued opportunities to make a difference in my students’ lives, as my mentors have made a difference in mine.
This section of the APA Blog is designed to get to know our fellow philosophers a little better. We’re including profiles of APA members that spotlight what captures their interest not only inside the office, but also outside of it. We’d love for you to be a part of it, so please contact us via the interview nomination form here to nominate yourself or a friend.
Dr. Sabrina D. MisirHiralall is an editor at the Blog of the APA who currently teaches philosophy, religion, and education courses solely online for Montclair State University, Three Rivers Community College, and St. John’s University.
