Project Vox: The Second Decade (2025-2026)

Background

Scholarship on modern philosophy has remained frustratingly focused on canonical (nearly always male) figures. For instance, the Norton Introduction to Philosophy contains nothing written by a woman between Plato and the 1950s except for a single page of text (out of 1,150 pages). Similarly, Wikipedia entries on modern women philosophers—an alternative point of discovery for students, especially through a Google search—can be paltry, inaccurate and in some cases derogatory. For example, the French Wikipedia entry on the Renaissance philosopher Tullia d’Aragona begins by describing her looks.

Such problems involving scholarship, teaching and discovery are connected to persistent demographic challenges facing philosophy in North America, where gender parity remains elusive. The challenge is clear: can we make the teaching of modern philosophy more historically accurate and more inclusive and thereby help shift the demographics of the field? Progress has been made, but much more needs to be done.

Project Vox is an online resource founded by an interdisciplinary and international team of students and scholars at Duke that offers an open-access, peer-reviewed resource on marginalized voices in philosophy. Each year, entries on an under-studied philosopher are published, often highlighting women and people of color.

Project Description

This project team will research women and marginalized figures in philosophy and continue to grow a community committed to transforming the philosophical canon. Team members will create rigorous, peer-reviewed entries on underrepresented philosophers and publish monthly blogs by community members and collaborators on the Project Vox website. 

In 2025-2026, team members will conduct research for a new entry on eighteenth-century philosopher Anton Wilhelm Amo. Originally from present-day Ghana, Amo escaped enslavement, found education in Europe and then published major philosophical works during his remarkable life. This entry will be this team’s first discussion of a Black or African writer.

Students will divide into subteams to engage in the research process, which includes creating a feasibility study; researching and writing entries; internal and external peer review; images research and procurement; staging and publishing entries; and outreach and assessment.

Team members will also compare Wikipedia sections of marginalized philosophers to their mainstream contemporaries to note systematic differences in the accuracy of information. The team will host Wiki-edit-a-thons to provide an opportunity for training in digital literacy and open-access publishing (e.g., discussing metadata, citing sources, analyzing authorship).

Anticipated Outputs

Research and publish entry on Anton Wilhelm Amo; research future figures; publish monthly blogs; edit Wikipedia entries; maintain and expand website

Student Opportunities

Ideally, this project team will include 4 graduate students and 6 undergraduate students with backgrounds in history, philosophy, gender, sexuality and feminist studies, computer science or data science. Applicants must have a strong interest in diversity, representation, inclusion, media literacy and countering misinformation. Students with proficiency in Spanish are encouraged to apply and will be helpful with translation of an entry.

Graduate student members will gain experience mentoring undergraduates and leading interdisciplinary teams. They also acquire experience and skills in areas like digital publishing, project coordination, and collaborative research and writing.

Undergraduate students will gain exposure to new methods of researching, visualizing and publishing information on marginalized philosophers. They will also learn up-to-date best practices for Wikipedia editing and gain experience working with structured information used to train generative AI. Those who work with the team for multiple semesters may take on leadership roles. All students will gain humanities research experience (secondary and archival) through preparing philosopher entries.

This project includes an optional summer component in 2025 with flexible timing. Some students may have the opportunity to travel Halle and Berlin, Germany for research in archives and to meet with potential collaborators.

Timing

Summer 2025 – Spring 2026

• Summer 2025 (optional): Update documentation; onboard subteam leads; identify Wikipedia entries; perform archival research in Halle and Berlin, Germany
• Fall 2025: Research, write and submit philosopher entry for Anton Wilhelm Amo; conduct feasibility study for future entries; edit Wikipedia entries
• Spring 2026: Publish and promote new philosopher entry on Amo; begin research for next year’s entry; recruit new teams; edit Wikipedia entries

Crediting

Academic credit available for fall and spring semesters; summer funding available

See earlier related team, Project Vox: Expanding the Philosophical Canon in the Age of AI (2024-2025).

 

_{Project Vox team members in Spring 2023, courtesy of the Project Vox team}