Ralph DiFranco
University of South Dakota
Contact Information
Email: ralph.difranco [at] usd.edu
Education
Univeristy of Connecticut
PhD, Philosophy, August 2016 (Supervisor: Mitchell Green)
University of Virginia
PhD Coursework in Philosophy, August 2010-May 2013 (transferred in good standing)
Texas Tech University
MA, Philosophy, May 2010
Cleveland State University
BA, Philosophy, Summa Cum Laude, May 2008
Areas of Specializaiton
Philosophy of Language, Applied Ethics
Areas of Competence
Social and Political Philosophy, East Asian Philosophy, Logic
Employment
Lecturer, Fall 2022-Present
Department of History, University of South Dakota
Instructor, Fall 2018-Spring 2022
Department of Philosophy, Auburn University
Instructor, Fall 2013-Spring 2018
Department of Philosophy, University of Connecticut
Publications
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles and Chapters
"No Harm, Still Foul: On the Effect-Independent Wrongness of Slurring," with Andrew Morgan, in Journal of the American Philosophical Association (Forthcoming).
"You shouldn't have laughed! The Ethics of Derogatory Amusement," with Andrew Morgan, in The Moral Psychology of Amusement, edited by Brian Robinson. Rowman and Littlefield (2021, pp. 113-133).
"I Wrote this Paper for the Lulz: The Ethics of Internet Trolling," Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 23:931-45 (2020).
"Derogation Without Words: On the Power of Non-Verbal Pejoratives," Philosophical Psychology 30(6): 784-808 (2017).
"Appropriate Slurs," Acta Analytica 32(3): 371-384 (2017).
"Do Racists Speak Truly? On the Truth-Conditional Content of Slurs," Thought 4(1): 28-37 (2015).
Book Reviews and Encyclopeida Entries
"Review of Bad Words: Philosophical Perspectives on Slurs," Edited by D. Sosa. Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, <https://ndpr.nd.edu/news/bad-words-philosophical-perspectives-on-slurs/> (2019)
"Speech Acts," with Mitchell Green, in Vocabulary for the Study of Religion, edited by R.A. Segal and K. von Stuckrad. Brill (2015), pp. 393-4.
"Pejorative Language," in Internet Encyclopeida of Philosophy, edited by J. Fieser and B. Dowden <http://www.iep.utm.edu/pejorati/> (2014).
Selected Presentations
"No so Silent Majority: How (Do?) Groups and Institutions Send Messages" (with Andrew Morgan), University of Alabama Huntsville (February 2023).
"How Groups and Institutions Can Send a Message" (with Andrew Morgan), University of South Dakota (December 2022).
"Genetic Selection and Expressive Acts" (with Andrew Morgan), Jilin University (December 2021).
"Selective Abortion as Expressive Act" (with Andrew Morgan), University of Bucharest (April 2021).
"Just what was that suppsoed to mean? An Investigation of Non-Overt Pejorative Communication," Alabama Philosophical Society, Pensacola, FL (September 2019).
"When is it ok to laugh? The Ethical Implications of Derogatory Humor" (With Andrew Morgan), Alabama Philosophical Society, Pensacola, FL (September 2018).
"Slurs, Speech Acts, and Derogatory Soliloquies" (With Andrew Morgan), Society for Exact Philosophy, University of Connecticut (May 2018).
"Appropraite Slurs," American Philosophical Association, Pacific Division Meeting, San Francisco, CA (April 2016).
"Transmitting Prejudice: How Slurs Influence Us Through Imagery," American Philosophical Association, Central Division Meeting, St. Louis, MO (Februrary 2015).
Awards and Honors
Provost's Commendation for Teaching Excellence, University of Connecticut (January 2018).
Graduate Student Travel Stipend, American Philosophical Association (February 2015; April 2016).
President's Fellowship, University of Virginia (2010-13).
Promotion from Teaching Assistant to Gradaute Part-Time Instructor, Texas Tech University (2009-10).
Teaching Experience (as sole instructor)
At the University of South Dakota
Introduction to Ethics (Fall 2022, Spring 2023)
Environmental Ethics (Fall 2022)
At Auburn University
Business Ethics (Fall 2020, Spring 2021, Summer 2021, Fall 2021, Spring 2022)
Introduction to Ethics (Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Fall 2019)
Introduction to Environmental Ethics (Fall 2018)
At the University of Connecticut
Environmental Ethics (Spring 2017)
Non-Western and Comparative Philosophy (Fall 2015)
Philosophy and Social Ethics (Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Spring 2015, Summer 2015, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Summer 2016, Spring 2017)
Philosophical Foundations of Human Rights (Spring 2018)
At Texas Tech University
Introduction to Ethics (Fall 2009, Spring 2010)
References
Available Upon Request