Project Vox seeks to highlight philosophical works by individuals traditionally excluded from the philosophical canon. Historically, women and other marginalized individuals played significant roles in the development of modern philosophy, but their contributions have often gone unnoticed or ignored. Initially focused on early modern women, Project Vox has begun including philosophers outside of the Western philosophical canon and beyond the early modern period. The team is committed to expanding and challenging the history of philosophy by promoting inclusivity and diversity.

Since its inception as an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Humanities Writ Large-funded project in Fall 2014, and in partnership with an international advisory board and a diverse local team, Project Vox has grown into globally accessed and acclaimed open educational resource. As a digital humanities initiative seeking to transform the study of philosophy and as a platform for training students in collaborative and humanistic research and publishing, Project Vox is a partnership of the Duke University Libraries and Trinity College of Arts and Sciences.

Building on the work of previous teams, the 2022-2023 project team expanded Project Vox beyond individual philosophers, highlighting philosophical ideas that arose through conversation and collaboration. 

Key Accomplishments in 2022-2023:

• Publication of a new philosopher entry on Nísia Floresta
• Feasibility study and research for a new philosopher entry on Germaine de Stäel
• Research and writing for a themed entry on “Poetry and Philosophy”
• Remote collaboration with international faculty, graduate and undergraduate team members
• Completion of a Duke undergraduate Bass Connections tutorial course based on Project Vox
• Redesign of the Teaching section of the Project Vox website based on user feedback
• Student presentation on Project Vox at the Fortin Foundation Bass Connections Showcase

Timing

Summer 2022 – Summer 2023

Team Outputs

A Global Initiative to Reform Philosophy (2023 Fortin Foundation Bass Connections Virtual Showcase)

Project Vox: Conducting Philosophical Research on the Margins (Lilia Qian and Shreya Joshi, lightning talk at Fortin Foundation Bass Connections Showcase, April 19, 2023)

Nísia Floresta (1810-1885)

New and revised teaching resources

Philosopher Network Visualization (Story+)

This Team in the News

Meet the Members of the 2022-2023 Student Advisory Council

A Course to Change the Face of Philosophy

Meet Some of the Teams at the Bass Connections Showcase

Bass Connections Teams Share Research Highlights at 2023 Showcase

See related Story+ project Visualizing Philosopher’s Networks with Project Vox (2022), and related teams, Project Vox: Evolving Curricula for Digital Humanities Publishing (2023-2024) and Project Vox: Training a New Generation of Collaborative Scholars (2021-2022).

Image: Statue of Sor Juana outside the Universidad del Clautro de Sor Juana in Mexico City, by Thelmadatter / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0