I Am An American Philosopher: Mariana Alessandri

“It means for my thoughts to grow in this soil—the soil of South Texas for the past 15 years, and in Mexico City whenever I get the chance to think there… To be an American philosopher is to be keenly aware of one’s location in America, to be devoted to a local community, and to agree to think from that place.”

MARIANA ALESSANDRI is Associate Professor of Philosophy, Director of Religious Studies, and Faculty Affiliate in both Mexican-American Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley. She is the author of Night Vision: Seeing Ourselves through Dark Moods (Princeton University Press, 2023) which was named an NPR “Book We Love” for 2023. In addition to her other research (spanning existentialism, Latin-American philosophy, and religious studies), and pieces written for popular audiences, she has also been a Fulbright Scholar, been awarded the APA’s prize for public philosophy, and won SAAP’s Jane Addams and Inter-American Philosophy awards. You can find Mariana’s work at www.marianaalessandri.com and on IG @mariana.alessandri

What does American philosophy mean to you?

I used to think American philosophy meant American pragmatism, specifically. Although I enjoy reading William James and Henry David Thoreau, and my pragmatist husband and I even named one of our children after Ralph Waldo Emerson, I do not consider myself an American pragmatist. But American philosopher, yes. It means for my thoughts to grow in this soil—the soil of South Texas for the past 15 years, and in Mexico City whenever I get the chance to think there. I teach at Gloria Anzaldúa’s alma mater and have written articles about how I read her as a US-American, Mexican American, and Mexican philosopher. To be an American philosopher is to be keenly aware of one’s location in America, to be devoted to a local community, and to agree to think from that place... (continues)

https://american-philosophy.org/i-am-an-american-philosopher-mariana-alessandri/