• I am Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Regis University (Regis College) in Denver, Colorado. I work primarily in contemporary Continental philosophy, focusing on its intersections with logic and mathematics and the implications of these intersections for social and political thought.

    • Research

      My current research concerns French theorist Alain Badiou (1937- present) and the continuing arc of his career. I am especially interested in the roles logic and mathematical formalism play in his theoretical work and the way these inform the work of living what Badiou has referred to as "the true life." I am also developing a theory of hospitality in the contemporary theoretical paradigm called "new materialism," which originates in ideas from Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari; this project engages work by Jane Bennett, Rosi Braidotti, Sara Ahmed, and Fred Evans.

       

      This research trajectory follows from my dissertation and recent book, Multiplicity and Ontology in Deleuze and Badiou (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018), which uses work by Deleuze, Deleuze and Guattari, and Badiou to describe the status of multiplicity (an ontological structure) and the use of mathematics (an ontological procedure) in their respective theories. I situate their interactions and various textual expressions in the period between 1977 and 1997 as a conversation that takes multiplicity as its central topic. My work in this area was profiled in an "Early Career Research Spotlight" at the Blog of the American Philosophical Association: https://blog.apaonline.org/2017/11/15/early-career-research-spotlight-rebecca-vartebedian/.

       

      In addition to theoretical research in philosophy, I am also engaged in research concerning the value of critical race theory and phenomenology when it comes to facilitating (often challenging) conversations in the classroom about race, gender, sexuality, and identity. My work in this area is currently focused on the nature of the philosophy classroom and the crucial role student-led, peer-to-peer discussions play in the apprehension of identity and being in community with others.

    • Selected Publications

      (Monograph) Multiplicity and Ontology in Deleuze and Badiou. Palgrave Macmillan, 2018.

      http://www.springer.com/us/book/9783319768366


      "Negation, Structure, Transformation: Alain Badiou and the New Metaphysics." In Open Philosophy topical issue, "The New Metaphysics: Analytic/Continental Crossovers" (2018): 213-222. Open Access online: https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/opphil.2018.1.issue-1/opphil-2018-0015/opphil-2018-0015.xml?format=INT

       

      "Allowances, Affordances, and the Collaborative Constitution of Identity.” Perspectives International Postgraduate Journal in Philosophy, vol. 5 (2014), 58-74.

      "Should We Condemn Michael?” in Ultimate LOST and Philosophy: Think Together, Die Alone, ed. Sharon Kaye (Wiley, 2010), 233-241. Also appeared as “Should We Condemn Michael for Saving Walt?” in LOST and Philosophy: The Island Has Its Reasons, ed. Sharon Kaye (Blackwell, 2007), 18-25.

      "Special Effects, Special Status: Lie, Visual Effects, and Stephen Prince’s Perceptual Realism,” Cinemascope 10 (Jan.-June 2008), special issue: Falsehood and Cinema, ed. Mariangela Fornaro, http://www.cinemascope.it.

      Review of James Dreier, ed., Contemporary Debates in Moral Theory (Blackwell, 2006), Teaching Philosophy 30:1 (March 2007), 132-134.

       

       

      Forthcoming and Under Review

      Review of Alain Badiou and Gilles Haéri, In Praise of Mathematics (Polity, 2016). Forthcoming in Badiou Studies, vol. 6.

       

       

      In Progress

      "Alain Badiou." Entry for Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Philosophers.

       

      With S. Andarge, N. Aranda, J. Brady, T.M. Charfauros, K. Coakley, and R. Worles, "Erlebnis, Tarrying, and Thinking Again after George Yancy." Book chapter in preparation for George Yancy: a Critical Reader (Rowman and Littlefield, 2020).

    • Teaching and Course Development

      I develop courses around my firmly-held belief that philosophy is a form of immanent critique. Philosophy is a tool that exposes gaps between aspiration and actuality, and as such provides those who engage it with the awareness and skills necessary to transform the present for a better future. I take the transformative value of philosophy and philosophical thinking to the courses I teach in Regis's First-Year Experience program and the Integrative Core for third- and fourth-year students. A sampling of my recent and upcoming courses include the following:

      • Special Topics in Philosophy: Philosophy and Creativity (spring 2020)
      • Philosophy in Practice (fall 2019)
      • Topics in Metaphysics: The Event (spring 2019)
      • Writing Analytically: Living Deliberately (first-year writing seminar, fall 2018; fall 2019)
      • Philosophy and Social Issues: Precarious Bodies (spring 2018)
      • Justice and the Common Good: Refugees, Resources, Resettlement (spring 2018)
      • Philosophy/Art (fall 2017)
      • Hospitality, Justice and the Common Good (spring 2017, fall 2017, fall 2018)

    • Education

      My academic preparation is pluralistic; my work with contemporary Continental philosophy is informed by extensive training in the history of Philosophy and work with Analytic philosophy.

       

      Ph.D., Philosophy, Duquesne University

      M. Humanities, Graduate Interdisciplinary Studies: Philosophy and Film Studies, University of Colorado Denver

      M.A., Philosophy of Religion (Honors), Denver Seminary

      B.A., Philosophy and History, Regis University (Regis College)