Professor Stella Sandford
Faculties, deparments and locations
- Kingston School of Art
- Department of Humanities
- School of Creative and Cultural Industries
- Penrhyn Road
Professor of Modern European Philosophy
- Email:
- s.sandford@kingston.ac.uk
About
I am Professor of Modern European Philosophy in the Centre for Research in Modern European Philosophy. I have recently completed a period as a Leverhulme Major Research Fellow (2018-2021), awarded for the project 'Sex Difference in Natural History'. The main outcome of this research is my forthcoming book, Vegetal Sex: Philosophy of Plants, to be publised by Bloomsbury in autumn 2022: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/vegetal-sex-9781350274921/.
I have published widely in the Philosophy of Sex and Gender, including my books Plato and Sex (2010), How to Read Beauvoir (2006), and The Metaphysics of Love: Gender and Transcendece in Levinas (2010). I am co-editor, with Mandy Merck, of Further Adventures of the Dialectice of Sex: Critical Essays on Shulamith Firestone (2010) and, with Peter Osborne, Philosophies of Race and Ethnicity (2002). I have also published in critical philosophy of race, especially in relation to the philosophy of Immanuel Kant, and on philosophy and psychoanalysis. I teach on all of the postgraduate courses in philosophy and supervise MA and MPhilStud dissertations, as well as PhD supervision. I also teach on the BA English Literature course and the Humanities Foundation course. I welcome enquiries from potential research students in plant philosophy, philosophy of natural history, critical philosophy of race, philosophies of sex and gender and philosophy and psychoanalysis especially, but supervise in many areas in Modern European Philosophy. In both my teaching and my research I adopt a strongly interdisciplinary approach and encourage the same in students. I am currently working on the logic of systems of classification in Lévy-Strauss and Aristotle and their relation to transcendental philosophy, and on a philosophy book for young people.
I am a member of the Executive Committee of the British Philosophical Association. Outside of academic life, I am the Chair of the Board Governors of a local primary school.
Qualifications
- BA Philosophy and History of Ideas
- MA Continental Philosophy
- PhD in Philosophy
Domains
I teach on all the postgraduate courses in Philosophy and on some undergraduate and foundation courses in Humanities. In 2022–23, my postgraduate teaching duties will include the modules Kant and His Legacy (Kant's first Critique and his philosophy of race), Philosophy and Psychoanalysis, and Modes of Subjection.
I am the Course Leader for the MPhilStud (Master of Philosophical Studies) in Philosophy.
Current projects:
Vegetal Sex: Philosophy of Plants, Bloomsbury, 2022: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/vegetal-sex-9781350274921/
In recent years, philosophers, botanists and mycologists have drawn our attention to the complexities of plant and fungal life. They have taught us why plants are better thought as colonies than individuals and how animal-centred ways of thinking fail to capture what is peculiar and perhaps admirable in vegetal life. They have taught us to appreciate the temporality and intricacy of vegetal existence and suggested how relations between plants might provide us with non-individualistic models of coexistence. But they have not, as yet, taught us much – if anything – about vegetal sex.
This book introduces the reader to the exciting new field of plant philosophy and takes it in a new direction to ask: what does it mean to say that plants are sexed? Do ‘male' and ‘female' really mean the same when applied to humans, trees, fungi and algae? Are the zoological categories of sex really adequate for understanding the – uniquely ‘dibiontic' – life cycle of plants?
Vegetal Sex addresses these questions through a detailed analysis of major moments in the history of plant sex, from Aristotle to the modern day. Tracing the transformations in the analogy between animals and plants that characterise this history, it shows how the analogy still functions in contemporary botany and asks: what would a non-zoocentric, plant-centred philosophy of vegetal sex be like?
By showing how philosophy and botany have been and still are inextricably entwined Vegetal Sex allows us to think vegetal being and, perhaps, to recognise the vegetal in us all.
This research was funded by the Leverhulme Trust (Major Research Fellowship, 2018–2021).
https://soundcloud.com/user-811300711/sets/stella-sandford
Specialisms
- Philosophy of sex and gender
- Plant philosophy
- Critical philosophy of race
- Immanuel Kant
- Philosophy and Psychoanalysis
Scholarly affiliations
- Fellow of the Linnean Society
- British Philosophical Association
- Society for European Philosophy
- British Society for the History of Philosophy
Publications
Vegetal sex : philosophy of plants
Sandford, Stella (2022). London, U.K.: (Bloomsbury Academic)
Further Adventures of the Dialectic of Sex: Critical Essays on Shulamith Firestone
(2010). Basingstoke, U.K.: (Palgrave Macmillan)
Plato and Sex
Sandford, Stella (2010). Cambridge, U.K.: (Polity Press)
How to read Beauvoir
Sandford, Stella (2006). London, U.K.: (Granta)
Philosophies of race and ethnicity
(2002). London, U.K.: (Continuum)
The metaphysics of love: gender and transcendence in Levinas
Sandford, Stella (2000). London, U.K.: (Athlone Press)
What is critical history of philosophy?
Sandford, Stella, 2024, The Southern Journal of Philosophy
Book Review of 'Uncommon sense : Jeremy Bentham, queer aesthetics, and the politics of taste' by Carrie D. Shanafelt
Sandford, Stella, 2023, Eighteenth-Century Studies (56), 3, pp 499-500
From Aristotle to contemporary biological classification : what kind of category is "Sex"?
Sandford, Stella, 2019, Redescriptions (22), 1, pp 4-17
A thousand tiny 'sexes' or none?
Sandford, Stella, 2019, Sluice Magazine (Au-Win), pp 36-41
Kant, race, and natural history
Sandford, Stella, 2018, (44), 9, pp 950-977
Race and sex in Western philosophy : another answer to the question 'What does it mean to orient oneself in thinking?'
Sandford, Stella, 2018, Critical Philosophy of Race (6), 2, pp 180-197
Freud, Bion and Kant : epistemology and anthropology in The interpretation of dreams
Sandford, Stella, 2017, International Journal of Psychoanalysis (98), 1, pp 91-110
The dream is a fragment : Freud, transdisciplinarity and early German Romanticism
Sandford, Stella, 2016, Radical Philosophy, 198, pp 25-34
Contradiction of terms : feminist theory, philosophy and transdisciplinarity
Sandford, Stella, 2015, (32), 5-6, pp 159-182
The Pregnant Male as Myth and Metaphor in Classical Greek Literature
Sandford, Stella, 2015, Classical Review (65), 1, pp 18-20
Education should be a right for all
Agnew, Eadaoin, Alliez, Eric, Auerbach, Paul, Blackburn, Robert, Botting, Fred, Brady, Mary, Caygill, Howard, Chadwick, Howard, Chanter, Tina, Choat, Simon, Chu, Jonathan, Cinpoes, Radu, Coultas, Valerie, Dines, Martin, Dixon, Paul, Favretto, Ilaria, Finn, Peter, Giaxoglou, Korina, Goldsmith, Carlie, Hallward, Peter, Hawkins, Sue, Haywood, Peter, Higginbottom, Andrew, Ichijo, Atsuko, Isaac, Marina, Jensen, Meg, Kayyali, Reem, Kettyle, Ann, Lambrou, Marina, Latimer, Amanda, Linton, Marisa, Lipsedge, Karen, Malabou, Catherine, O Maoilearca, John, McQuillan, Martin, Micklethwaite, Paul, Morgan Wortham, Simon, O'Brien, Catherine, Osborne, Peter, Pinnock, Winsome, Piper, Jason, Ponto, Maria, Raphael, Sam, Reid, Trish, Roberts, Mike, Rogers, David, Sandford, Stella, Searby, Michael, Siddiki, Jalal Uddin, Smart, Jackie, Spencer, Philip, Stockhammer, Engelbert, Stuart, John, Suess, Eleanor, Swift, Allan, Upstone, Sara, Vallee-Tourangeau, Frederic, Wells, Julian and Wilson, Scott, 2014, The Guardian
Spontaneous generation: the fantasy of the birth of concepts in Kant’s 'Critique of pure reason'
Sandford, Stella, 2013, Radical philosophy, 179, pp 15-26
What is maternal labour?
Sandford, Stella, 2011, Studies in the Maternal (3), 2
Sex: a transdisciplinary concept. From structure to rhizome: transdisciplinarity in French thought (1)
Sandford, Stella, 2011, Radical philosophy, 165, pp 23-30
'All human beings are pregnant': the bisexual imaginary in Plato's Symposium
Sandford, Stella, 2008, Radical Philosophy, 150, pp 24-35
Sexmat, revisited
Sandford, Stella, 2007, Radical philosophy, 145, pp 28-35
Book Review of: Simone de Beauvoir: philosophe, by Michel Kail
Sandford, Stella, 2006, Radical Philosophy, 140, pp 51-53
Sexually ambiguous: Eros and sexuality in Plato and Freud
Sandford, Stella, 2006, Angelaki: Journal of Theoretical Humanities (11), 3, pp 43-59
Thinking sex politically: rethinking 'Sex' in Plato's Republic
Sandford, Stella, 2005, South Atlantic Quarterly (104), 4, pp 613-630
Book Review of: Simone de Beauvoir, edited by Margaret A Simons with Marybeth Timmerman and Mary Beth Mader
Sandford, Stella, 2005, Radical Philosophy, 133, pp 52-55
Book Review of: Abstract sex: philosophy, bio-technology and the mutations of desire by Luciana Parisi, and The sex appeal of the inorganic, by Mario Perniola
Sandford, Stella, 2004, Radical Philosophy, 127, pp 35-40
Going back: Heidegger, East Asia and "The West"
Sandford, Stella, 2003, Radical Philosophy, 120, pp 11-22
Book Review of: Beyond sex and gender by Wendy Cealey Harrison and John Hood-Williams
Sandford, Stella, 2003, Radical Philosophy, 118, pp 36-38
Book Review of: Truth and singularity: taking Foucault into phenomenology by Rudi Visker
Sandford, Stella, 2002, Radical Philosophy, 113, pp 43-45
Book Review of: An introduction to feminist episteologies by Alessandra Tanesini, and Illusions of paradox: a feminist epistemology naturalized by Richmond Campbell
Sandford, Stella, 2002, Mind (111), 442, pp 491-499
Feminism against 'the feminine'
Sandford, Stella, 2001, Radical Philosophy, 105, pp 6-14
Book Review of: The Edinburgh encyclopedia of continental philosophy by Simon Glendinning (ed.)
Sandford, Stella, 2000, Radical Philosophy, 102, pp 42-45
Contingent ontologies: sex, gender and 'woman' in Simone de Beauvoir and Judith Butler
Sandford, Stella, 1999, Radical Philosophy (97), pp 18-29
50 years of 'The second sex'
Sandford, Stella, 1999, The Philosopher's Magazine (7), pp 43-45
Book Review of: African-American philosophers: 17 conversations by George Yancy (ed.)
Sandford, Stella, 1999, Radical philosophy, 95, pp 55-57
Book Review of: Liberation and purity: race, new religious movements and the ethics of postmodernity by Chetan Bhatt
Sandford, Stella, 1999, Radical Philosophy, 95, pp 57-58
Plato and Levinas: the same and the other
Sandford, Stella, 1999, Journal of the British Society for Phenomenology (30), 2, pp 131-150
Levinas in the realm of the senses: transcendence and intelligibility
Sandford, Stella, 1999, Angelaki: Journal of Theoretical Humanities (4), 3, pp 61-73
She loves me, she loves me not... Book Review of: 'Love between equals: a philosophical study of love and sexual relationships' by John Wilson
Sandford, Stella, 1998, Times Higher Education Supplement
Book Review of: Levinas: an introduction by Colin Davis, and Basic philosophical writings by Emmanuel Levinas
Sandford, Stella, 1998, Radical Philosophy, 87, pp 49-50
Book Review of: In spite of Plato: a feminist rewriting of ancient philosophy by Adriana Cavarero
Sandford, Stella, 1997, Radical philosophy, 81, pp 50-51
Book Review of: 'Emmanuel Levinas: the genealogy of ethics' by John Llewelyn
Sandford, Stella, 1996, Radical philosophy (80)
Wild thought : Lévi-Strauss, Freud and Metzger
Sandford, Stella (2024). In: Osborne, Peter, (ed.), Futurethoughts : critical histories of philosophy. Kingston upon Thames, U.K.: CRMEP, pp 75-95
Immanuel Kant
Sandford, Stella (2023). In: Choat, Simon, (eds.) and Rangotra, Manjeet, (eds.), Rethinking political thinkers. Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press
The taxonomy of “race” and the anthropology of sex : conceptual determination and social presumption in Kant
Sandford, Stella (2023). In: Lettow, Susannne, (eds.) and Pulkkinen, Tuija, (eds.), The Palgrave Handbook of German Idealism and Feminist Philosophy. Basingstoke, U.K.: Palgrave Macmillan
The 'thought-work' ; or, the exuberance of thinking in Kant and Freud
Sandford, Stella (2021). In: Vassilopoulou, Panayiota, (eds.) and Whistler, Daniel, (eds.), Thought : a philosophical history. Abingdon, U.K.: Routledge, pp 219-235
'Envy accompanied with antipathy' : Bentham on the psychology of sexual 'ressentiment'
Sandford, Stella (2020). In: Julius, Anthony, (eds.), Quinn, Malcolm, (eds.) and Schofield, Philip, (eds.), Bentham and the Arts. London, U.K.: UCL Press, pp 71-87
From 'Geschlechtstrieb' to 'Sexualtrieb' : the originality of Freud's conception of sexuality
Sandford, Stella (2019). In: Gipps, Richard, (eds.) and Lacewing, Michael, (eds.), Oxford Handbook of Philosophy and Psychoanalysis. Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, pp 83-106
Genos, sex, gender and genre
Sandford, Stella (2018). In: Malmkjaer, Kirsten, (eds.), Serban, Adriana, (eds.) and Louwagie, Fransiska, (eds.), Key cultural texts in translation. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: John Benjamins Publishing Company, pp 9-24
Beauvoir's transdisciplinarity: from philosophy to gender theory
Sandford, Stella (2017). In: Hengehold, Laura, (eds.) and Bauer, Nancy, (eds.), A companion to Simone de Beauvoir. Hoboken, U.S.: Wiley Blackwell, pp 15-27
Kant's legacy
Sandford, Stella (2017). In: Morgan, Anthony, (ed.), The Kantian catastrophe? Conversations on finitude and the limits of philosophy. Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, U.K.: Bigg Books, pp 65-80
Feminist phenomenology, pregnancy, and transcendental subjectivity
Sandford, Stella (2016). In: Bornemark, Jonna, (eds.) and Smith, Nicholas, (eds.), Phenomenology of pregnancy. Huddinge, Sweden: Sodertorn University, pp 51-70
"Sex" and "sexual difference"
Sandford, Stella (2014). In: Cassin, Barbara, (eds.), Apter, Emily, (eds.), Lezra, Jacques, (eds.) and Wood, Michael, (eds.), Dictionary of untranslatables: a philosophical lexicon. Princeton: Princeton University Press, pp 972-973
The incomplete Locke: Balibar, Locke and the philosophy of the subject
Sandford, Stella (2013). In: Balibar, Etienne, (ed.), Identity and difference: John Locke and the invention of consciousness. London, U.K.: Verso, pp xi-xlvi
The dialectic of The Dialectic of Sex
Sandford, Stella (2010). In: Merck, Mandy, (eds.) and Sandford, Stella, (eds.), Further Adventures of the Dialectic of Sex. Basingstoke, U.K.: Palgrave Macmillan, pp 235-253
The origins and ends of 'sex'
Sandford, Stella (2007). In: Kerslake, Christian, (eds.) and Brassier, Ray, (eds.), Origins and ends of the mind: philosophical essays on psychoanalysis. Leuven, Belgium: Leuven University Press, pp 163-183
Writing as a man: Levinas and the phenomenology of Eros
Sandford, Stella (2005). In: Katz, Claire, (eds.) and Trout, Lara, (eds.), Emmanuel Levinas: Critical Assessments of Leading Philosophers. London, U.K.: Routledge, pp 369-387
Introduction: philosophies of race and ethnicity
Sandford, Stella and Osborne, Peter (2002). In: Sandford, Stella, (eds.) and Osborne, Peter, (eds.), Philosophies of Race and Ethnicity. London, U.K.: Continuum, pp 1-9
Levinas, feminism and the feminine
Sandford, Stella (2002). In: Critchley, Simon, (eds.) and Bernasconi, Robert, (eds.), The Cambridge companion to Levinas. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, pp 139-160
Masculine mothers? Maternity in Levinas and Plato
Sandford, Stella (2001). In: Chanter, Tina, (ed.), Feminist Interpretations of Emmanuel Levinas. University Park, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University Press, pp 180-202
Feminist philosophy and the fate of Hegel's Antigone
Sandford, Stella (1996). In: Griffiths, M., (eds.) and Whitford, M., (eds.), Women Review Philosophy: New Writing by Women in Philosophy. Nottingham: Nottingham University Press
Sex
Sandford, Stella(2010). In: From structure to rhizome: transdisciplinarity in French thought, 1945-the present: histories, concepts, constructions, 16 - 17 Apr 2010 :London, U.K.
The politics of sex
Sandford, Stella(2009). In: Situated selves: phenomenology, law and aesthetics, 30 - 31 Oct 2009 :Liverpool, U.K.
Of Gods and men: the Timaeus and the universal ontology of sex
Sandford, Stella(2009). In: Philosophy seminars, 19 Mar 2009 :Hatfield, U.K.
The origin of sex
Sandford, Stella(2008). In: Literary and critical theory seminar, 03 Dec 2008 :London, U.K.
Of Gods and men: the natural beginning of sex?
Sandford, Stella(2008). In: Fourth Annual Joint Conference of the Society for European Philosophy and the Forum for European Philosophy, 29 - 31 Aug 2008 :Dublin, Ireland
Beauvoir: the transformation of philosophy and philosophical transfiguration
Sandford, Stella(2008). In: The legacies of Simone de Beauvoir: 16th Simone de Beauvoir Society Conference, 13 - 15 Jun 2008 :Newcastle, U.K.
Diotima-Plato: the bi sexual imagery
Sandford, Stella(2008). In: Embodiment and Identity, 22 - 23 May 2008 :Hull, U.K.
The legacy of Simone de Beauvoir
Sandford, Stella and Hutchings, Kimberly(2008). In: Dialogues, 14 Feb 2008 :London, U.K.
Sex and genos in Plato's Republic
Sandford, Stella(2008). In: 2008 Political Thought Conference (UK), 03 - 05 Jan 2008 :Oxford, U.K.
Sexual materialism: Firestone revisited
Sandford, Stella(2007). In: Materials and materialisms, 12 May 2007 :London, U.K.
Sex and genos in Plato's Symposium
Sandford, Stella(2004). In: The pyschoanalytical ontology of the human, 20 - 21 Jan 2004 :London, U.K.
Philosophies of race and ethnicity
Sandford, Stella(2002). In: Interdisciplinary seminar series, 30 Oct 2002 :Hong Kong, China