Cuomo Receives Inaugural Davion Award

UGA professor of Philosophy and Women's Studies Chris Cuomo is the recipient of the inaugural Victoria Davion Award for Intersectionality in Environmental Ethics to be presented at the 17th Annual Conference of the International Society for Environmental Ethics. The award is in honor of Victoria Davion, the first woman appointed head of the University of Georgia Department of Philosophy, a position which she held from 2005 until her untimely death in 2017.

Davion was known for her cutting-edge work as an ecofeminist and scholar of environmental ethics. Her work encompassed a broad range of philosophical areas including political philosophy, power and privilege, healthcare, nuclear deterrence, artificial intelligence, abortion, whiteness, and technology. She was also the founder and longtime editor of the esteemed journal Ethics & the Environment, which celebrates it's 25th anniversary volume this year. 

"I was very moved to learn of the creation of the Victoria Davion Award for Intersectionality in Environmental Ethics," says Cuomo, who is also an affiliated faculty with the Institute for African American Studies, the Institute for Native American Studies, the Environmental Ethics Certificate Program, and the Initiative on Climate and Society. "As a friend of Vicky I witnessed her dedication to the work of transforming the field of environmental ethics, and the discipline of philosophy more broadly, by foregrounding the perspectives of oppressed groups and examining what she referred to as the 'issues of ethical responsibility, social location, and power' at the heart of environmental and political problems."

Cuomo, a longtime friend and colleague of Davion, has made substantial contributions to the field of environmental ethics as it intersects with feminist theory, environmental philosophy, philosophy of science, philosophy of race, climate justice, postcolonial thought, Indigenous knowledge, and activism.

"It will be an honor to receive the award and to present the keynote lecture in Vicky’s memory at the 17th annual meetings of the International Society for Environmental Ethics, an organization and community that meant so much to her and that helped nurture her unique philosophical voice," says Cuomo, who will deliver the keynote address at the ISEE conference on October 16, 2020.