Project Vox: Recovering the World of Women Philosophers in Early Modern Europe (2020-2021)
Since 2014, Project Vox has been seeking to highlight philosophical works of individuals from marginalized groups traditionally excluded from the philosophical canon. Historically, such voices have been unjustly ignored in our narratives of the history of philosophy. Women and other marginalized individuals have played significant roles in the development of modern philosophy, but their contributions have often gone unnoticed.
While Project Vox began with a focus on early modern women, the 2021-2022 project team helped enact a shift in the philosophers featured on the site as team members worked to present more figures outside of the early modern period and beyond European/Western geographies and traditions.
Key accomplishments for the team in 2020-2021 include:
- Publication of new philosopher entries on Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz and Mary Shepherd
- Research for new philosopher entry on Tullia D’Aragona
- Remote collaboration with early-career scholars and external faculty
- New blog series, Project Vox Classroom
- Updated mission statement as part of expanding diversity beyond early modern women
Timing
Summer 2020 – Spring 2021
Team Outputs
Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (new philosopher entry)
Mary Shepherd (new philosopher entry)
Project Vox Classroom (blog series)
Behind the Scenes: Visualizing Networks (post by Jackson Cooksey and Tristan Kelleher)
Behind the Scenes: Publishing the Mary Shepherd and Sor Juana Entries (post by Anna Twiddy)
Behind the Scenes: Dana Hogan (post by Dana Hogan)
Mission statement (updated to reflect commitment to expansion beyond early modern women)
See related teams, Project Vox: Training a New Generation of Collaborative Scholars (2021-2022) and Project Vox (2019-2020).
Image: Portrait of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689-1762), from Project Vox website

Team Leaders
- Andrew Janiak, Arts & Sciences-Philosophy
- Elizabeth Milewicz, Duke Libraries
/graduate Team Members
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Yasemin Altun, Art and Art History-PHD
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Tatiana Gonzalez Buonomo, Humanities-AM
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Jane Harwell, English-PHD
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Dana Hogan, Art and Art History-PHD
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Nicholas Smolenski, Music-AM, Music-PHD
/undergraduate Team Members
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Francisco Banda, Psychology (AB)
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Jackson Cooksey, Economics (BS), Philosophy (AB2)
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Leeloo Gilet, Philosophy (AB)
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James Kelleher, Interdepartmental Major
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Katherine Owensby, Classical Languages (AB), Linguistics (AB2)
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Damla Ozdemir, Linguistics (AB)
/yfaculty/staff Team Members
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Susanna Caviglia, Arts & Sciences-Art, Art History, and Visual Studies
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Alyssa Granacki, Arts & Sciences-Romance Studies
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William Shaw, Duke Libraries
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Cheryl Thomas, Duke Libraries
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Anna Twiddy, Duke Libraries
/zcommunity Team Members
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Sergio Gallego, City University of New York
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Sofia Ortiz-Hinojosa, Vassar College