Cornell University Philosopher Wins the American Philosophical Association’s Book Prize

Kate Manne associate professor of philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, has won the 2019 American Philosophical Association’s Book Prize. The biennial prize is awarded in odd years for the best-published book written by a younger philosophy scholar.

Dr. Manne was honored for her book Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny (Oxford University Press, 2017). The book explores the reasons that misogyny persists, even in supposedly post-patriarchal parts of the world, including the United States. Written in the tradition of analytic feminist philosophy, the book examines misogyny and sexism – differentiating between the two – in the context of related cultural moments.

“I wrote this book largely to bring attention to some of the most pressing problems facing girls and women today,” Dr. Manne said. “My dearest hope is that, whether or not readers agree with it, my book will help to improve the conversations we are having about misogyny, sexism and related social ills.”

Kate Manne has been teaching at the Sage School of Philosophy at Cornell University since 2013. Before that, she was a junior fellow at the Harvard Society of Fellows.

Dr. Manne is a native of Australia. She earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of Melbourne and a Ph.D. in philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.