Julie Walsh

The primary focus of my research is on the metaphysics and ethics of human freedom in the early modern period. I have especially spent time thinking about the theories of freedom in the systems of the French Oratorian Nicolas Malebranche and the British philosopher John Locke.

More recently, I have shifted my attention to studying the way that marginalized thinkers of the era, women and philosophers of color, were thinking about freedom. You can read a short piece about one such figure in my essay "Gabrielle Suchon, Philosopher Queen of the Amazons" in the National Endowment of the Humanities Magazine. I am also interested in looking at the various ways that the witch hunts of early modern Europe and the colonial United States were written about by philosophers at that time. I have been interviewed by WBUR and WGBH, and featured in a Hulu docuseries on this topic.

The other branch of my teaching and research engages with ethical questions surrounding the development, deployment, and use of digital technologies. With the support of a National Science Foundation grant, I am studying the ways that liberal arts institutions like Wellesley prepare their graduates for the ethical dimension of careers in the digital technology sector.