https://www.tyralennie.com/home daily 1.0 2026-03-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629128d64117b75705dce95b/6ca1ee5e-78a9-4df9-a0b2-33de2b022119/FullSizeRender_VSCO+40.JPG Tyra Lennie Hello! My name is Tyra Lennie and I am currently a postdoctoral researcher at The/La Collaborative, housed at McMaster University. My research includes projects in ethics, political philosophy, and early modern feminist philosophy. In my dissertation, defended in Fall 2025, I advance an original account of what goes wrong in central cases of discrimination in a way that centers the testimony of victims and builds in relational and feminist concerns. My doctoral research was funded by a SSHRC (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council) CGS-D. My work bridges the gap between existing accounts of wrongful discrimination and foundational work on relational autonomy. Currently, I am also deeply interested in Mary Astell’s work on friendship and Lucrezia Marinella’s theory of beauty. I have broad teaching interests in ethics, political philosophy, legal philosophy, and bioethics. You can find my 2023 publication on Astellian friendship in Feminist Philosophy Quarterly here and here. You can find my 2024 publication on Rawlsian Anti-Capitalist Environmental Justice in Ethics, Politics, & Society here and here. You can contact me by email at lenniet@mcmaster.ca. Welcome to my website! https://www.tyralennie.com/about daily 0.75 2025-09-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629128d64117b75705dce95b/7309238f-ce80-4605-85bd-e87f42d34677/166E4018-25B3-4AA4-8859-F27FCD7E6B08.JPG About - About Me I grew up in Toronto, Ontario. I completed my BA at McMaster in Justice, Political Philosophy, and Law in 2018, my MA at the University of Toronto in Philosophy in 2019, and my PhD at McMaster in Philosophy in 2025. Outside of my philosophical interests, I am an enthusiastic home veggie gardener (my favourite things to grow are kale and red onions). I am an avid listener of too many podcasts, especially investigative journalism podcasts like Reveal, Motive, Document, and 16 Shots. I also have a huge love for video games, especially Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and Stardew Valley (all games I have a 100% completion score for). https://www.tyralennie.com/teaching daily 0.75 2025-09-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629128d64117b75705dce95b/ba7050ae-3452-4e67-9e62-bdd4fd78b515/IMG_0338.jpg Teaching - My Teaching Commitments As an instructor and teaching assistant, I am focused on cultivating a tutorial environment that is comfortable, flexible, and centred around learning from each other. I work hard to keep students engaged by employing active learning tactics such as small group activities, debates, and close-reading. I pay close attention to how course design (in the physical and virtual classroom) contributes to making the classroom a welcoming place where all types of students can succeed! Finally, I am committed to ensuring students learn how to read and write philosophy. I am always striving to become a better teacher and have taken multiple courses at the MacPherson Institute for leadership, innovation, and excellence in teaching. In 2022, I won the PhD level teaching assistant award, and in 2024, I won the PhD level teaching instructor award in my department. I currently hold the position of an Educational Development Fellow at MacPherson for the Fall 2024 and Winter 2025 semesters. In the fall semester of 2023, I taught my first solo course as an instructor: Topics in Ethics: Equality and Utopia. As I note in the description, the class “examines the topics of equality and utopia, namely through early modern women’s writings. We will survey how early modern writers talk about the equality of the sexes and what solutions they propose for existing in a world hostile to women. We normally hear about the equality of the sexes in philosophy only through how canonical male philosophers view women’s minds and souls—ultimately, these figures conclude that women are ill-suited for philosophical pursuits. This course details how women philosophers push back on these misogynistic narratives and showcases some imagined utopic solutions to widespread misogyny. We will start the course by covering content on the equality of the sexes and some secondary literature on how we should think about understudied philosophers. In the second half of the course, we will read several pieces that contain the themes of cloistering and utopia as a response to existing in a world embroiled in misogyny.” I was awarded the PhD-level department teaching award for this course. Please get in touch if you are interested in seeing a full syllabus. My teaching philosophy statement, course evals, and teaching references are available on request! https://www.tyralennie.com/research daily 0.75 2025-09-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/629128d64117b75705dce95b/c68cfc38-b5b9-433b-a74b-6082d83028fb/C678964E-27B1-41C0-9FF1-54902EF0E105.jpg Research - Research My current research centers around two distinct projects. Part of my research involves a variety of projects in ethics, political philosophy, and legal philosophy. My writing in this area is focused on how systems and structures influence collective action problems like our response to climate change. On this note, my recent work on Rawlsian environmental justice builds in concern for the rest of nature into Justice as Fairness. I am also working on a project which examines duties owed to migrant children in detention. I am highly interested in topics at the intersection of law and philosophy. My dissertation on wrongful discrimination engages with relevant case histories to test the success of my general theory. The other thread of my research focuses on the writings of understudied early modern feminist philosophers. Figures like Mary Astell, Margaret Cavendish, and Lucrezia Marinella have much to tell us about a variety of topics such as friendship, beauty, self-care, and the importance of being engaged in philosophical reflection for deep political and personal means. Engaging in this research involves the important interpretive work of uncovering insights from overlooked philosophers. I am also interested in showing how the work of Astell, Cavendish, and Marinella can be repurposed for contemporary means. For example, I use Marinella’s work on beauty to speak to the importance of dress and presentation for queer community members and Astell’s work to talk about female friendship.