Biography

John Christman is a professor of philosophy, political science, and women’s studies and director of the Penn State Humanities Institute. He is the author of several books and essays on moral and political philosophy, focusing on issues of agency, freedom, equality, and identity. Christman's research interests include social philosophy, political theory, slavery, trafficking, questions of identity, notions of freedom, and self-government.

His books include The Myth of Property; Social and Political Philosophy: A Contemporary Introduction; and The Politics of Persons. He has received awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Penn State Institute for Arts and Humanities. His work on the concept of autonomy and issues relating to that idea have spanned over two decades, and he has contributed significantly to scholarship on fundamental issues in social and political philosophy.