Alfred P. Stiernotte Lecture Series in Philosophy

39th Annual Alfred P. Stiernotte Lecture

Misogyny: What It Is and How to Fight It

Thursday, October 17

Kate Manne, professor of philosophy at Cornell University

At the 39th annual Alfred P. Stiernotte Lecture, we considered the nature of misogyny, highlight the difference between misogyny and sexism, and explain how to recognize misogyny in practice. We then showed how misogyny works in its intersection with other forms of oppression in several real-world examples, including silencing outspoken women and the hostility women encounter in leadership positions. We concluded with some thoughts about how misogyny can be resisted.

A welcome reception was also held prior to the lecture.

Location & Directions

Mount Carmel Auditorium

275 Mount Carmel Avenue, Hamden, CT 06518

Maps and directions to our Mount Carmel Campus

About the speaker

Kate Manne, associate professor at the Sage School of Philosophy at Cornell University

Kate Manne, professor of philosophy at Cornell University

Kate Manne specializes in moral, social and feminist philosophy, and has written three books: DOWN GIRL: The Logic of Misogyny (Oxford University Press, 2018), ENTITLED: How Male Privilege Hurts Women (Crown, 2020) and UNSHRINKING: How to Face Fatphobia (Crown, 2024).

In addition to her academic work, Manne regularly writes opinion pieces and essays for a wider audience, including in outlets such as The New York Times, The Cut, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, The Nation and Time. In 2019 she was named one of the world’s top 50 thinkers by Prospect Magazine, her book "Down Girl" was awarded the 2019 PROSE Award for Excellence in the Humanities by the Association of American Publishers and "Entitled" was listed as one of the best books of the year by the Atlantic. She also writes a Substack newsletter, More to Hate, exploring misogyny, fatphobia and their intersection.

Who was Alfred P. Stiernotte?

Alfred P. Stiernotte, associate professor of philosophy

Alfred P. Stiernotte, born in Belgium in 1908, emigrated to Canada with his parents in 1922 and earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Alberta in 1935. Five years later, he returned to school to pursue a Bachelor of Divinity at Meadville Theological School, where he won the Billings Prize for top scholastic performance. He became a Unitarian minister, serving in Vancouver and Salt Lake City, before earning a Ph.D. in History and Philosophy of Religion from Harvard. Stiernotte held a postdoctoral fellowship at Yale, was a visiting scholar in philosophy and fine arts at Columbia, and later became the Dockstader Professor of Theology at St. Lawrence University in the 1960s. He then returned to New Haven to join the faculty at Quinnipiac College, where he taught science and philosophy.

Stiernotte published four books, authoring Modern Theological Thinkers and God and Space-Time, and editing Mysticism and the Modern Mind and Frederick May Eliot: an Anthology. He also published articles in various journals, such as The Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society and The Review of Metaphysics, and served on the editorial boards of The Humanist and Journal of Liberal Religion.

Scenes from the 38th Annual Lecture

Empathy and Justice Beyond the Human

Lori Gruen, professor of philosophy at Wesleyan University

In our concern for the more than human world, many discussions have focused on individual animal suffering and threats to entire species. What happens when we instead ask questions about what meaningful relationships between humans and animals are possible, what makes their lives livable, and what role empathy can play in helping us to promote better relationships with others, both human and nonhuman?

Watch the lecture