Hi, I'm Linh!
I'm a PhD candidate in Philosophy at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. In AY 2024-25, I will be a Graduate Student Fellow at the Denbo Center for Humanities and the Arts.
My current research, which lies at the intersection of social and political philosophy, ethics, epistemology, and feminist philosophy, examines the philosophical implications of the race- and gender-related oppression experienced by historically marginalized social groups. My research serves the needs of these marginalized groups by providing the theoretical language required to characterize and thus more effectively disclose and resist forms of oppression they encounter.
My dissertation, Krinostic Injustice, identifies a new type of epistemic injustice in which a hearer does not question a speaker’s account of a sequence of basic events but calls into question that speaker’s characterization of their experience. Krinostic injustice wrongs an agent in their capacity as a competent judge of their experience (in Ancient Greek, the verb κρῑ́νω means “to decide” or “to judge”). I argue that this form of epistemic injustice manifests in sexual assault trials, while keeping in mind its application to other contexts.
I also work on contemporary and classic political philosophy. Jürgen Habermas personally granted me his permission to publish my English translation of his previously untranslated article in German, “How is Legitimacy made Possible via Legality?” which has recently appeared in Revus – Journal of Constitutional Theory and Philosophy of Law. The editors would like to publish a colloquium dedicated to it and have invited me to participate as one of the commentators.