Alexandra Plakias

Associate Professor of Philosophy - Hamilton College

Bio: Alexandra Plakias is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Hamilton College, where she has taught since 2014. Before that, she did a postdoc at the Northern Institute of Philosophy in Aberdeen, as part of Crispin Wright's Relativism and Rational Tolerance project. She received her PhD at the University of Michigan and her MA at UC Santa Cruz. She grew up in New York City. She has written on topics in moral psychology, metaethics, philosophy of food, and social epistemology. Her work focuses on the places where philosophy intersects with the mundane: awkward interactions; figuring out what to eat; overcoming underconfidence.

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Abstract: Awkwardness examines the social phenomenon that occurs when we lack a script for a social experience or interaction. While awkwardness is often viewed as a relatively trivial or funny experience, it has deep normative implications: it lets us know where our social resources are lacking or insufficiently accessible, and it functions as a way of distinguishing social insiders and outsiders. It also polices social interaction, determining which subjects we do and don’t talk about. The ability to navigate awkwardness is a source of power and social capital, and our collective response to awkwardness can rewrite our social scripts around issues like sex, death, and money.