MA, PhD Princeton; BA Rochester

Jenny recently (August 2019) moved to À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ after 24 years at the University ofÌýSheffield, where she retains honorary status. ÌýHer primary interests are in Philosophy of Language, Feminism, Philosophy of Race, and Philosophy of Psychology. ÌýIn recent years, much of her work has beenÌýon deception and racism in political speech, a topic which has kept her extremely busy recently. ÌýHer bookÌýÌý has recently been published by Oxford University Press.Ìý It explores certain commonalties in the communicative mechanisms that have allowed politicians to get away with much more obvious falsehood and racism than previously thought possible.Ìý

Along with Patrick Connolly and Sanford Goldberg, she also has an edited volume,ÌýConversations Online,Ìýforthcoming with Oxford University Press. ÌýJenny has also publishedÌýLying, Misleading and What is Said: An Exploration in Philosophy of Language and in Ethics (Oxford University Press 2012). It argued that considering the distinction between lying and misleading-- which seems to many an ethically significant one-- can help to shed new light on methodological disputes in philosophy of language over notions like what is said, semantic content, implicature, and the semantic/pragmatic distinction more generally. She also argues that careful attention to the way that communication works can shed new light on the ethical issues. (And she considers some fascinating real-world cases, feeding her lifelong obsession with political scandals but also branching out into such excellent topics as the Jesuit Doctrine of Mental Reservation.)

Jenny was Director of the (2011-2013) Leverhulme-funded Implicit Bias and Philosophy Project.Ìý She has published on implicit bias with Michael Brownstein,Ìýand she continues to lecture widely on this topic to a range of audiences. ÌýShe is especially interested in helpingÌýinstitutions find methods to combat implicit biases, and she frequently advises on this topic. Her view is that , and she works with the institutions at which she speaks to improve their policies and procedures.Ìý

With Helen Beebee, she published two reports, ten years apart,Ìýfor the British Philosophical Association and SWIP UK on the state of women in philosophy in the UK. ÌýThe first of these was he first ever study of the gender imbalance in UK philosophy. Also with Helen Beebee, she authored guidelines for good practice on gender issues in philosophy-- these can be found at the BPA website, as the BPA/SWIP Good Practice Scheme. ÌýJenny also runsÌýÌýand founded theÌýÌýblog.Ìý

JennyÌýenjoys working with governmental organisations. ÌýShe recently completed an 18 month project with the UK Cabinet Office, helping them to improve the diversity of the UK government's security workforce. ÌýThis collaboration with colleagues from Philosophy and Psychology at the University of Sheffield conducted original empirical research and advised on ways to improve recruitment and retention of a more diverse workforce. ÌýJenny is currently advising the UK Statistics Authority, as they work on developing a framework for understanding and classifying misleading uses ofÌýstatistics

​Jenny is now À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ Chair in Social and Political Philosophy of Language at the University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ. She is currently Chair of the Analysis Committee.Ìý From 2009-2019, she was Director of the Society for Women UK, and in 2019-2020 sheÌýwas President of the Mind Association.ÌýIn 2011, she received the Distinguished Woman Philosopher Award from the Society for Women in Philosophy in Washington, DC. ÌýYet her proudest accomplishment remains having been a consultant on a zombie movie script.

There's a recent interview with Jenny here, which gives an overview of what she's been up to lately.