Dr. Myisha Cherry
Myisha Cherry is associate professor of philosophy at the University of California, Riverside. She is also the Director of the Emotion and Society Lab. Her research interest lies at the intersection of moral psychology and social and political philosophy. More specifically she is interested in the role of emotions and attitudes in public life.
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Cherry’s books include ‘The Moral Psychology of Anger‘ co-edited with Owen Flanagan (Rowman and Littlefield, 2018) and “Unmuted: Conversations on Prejudice, Oppression, and Social Justice (Oxford University Press, 2019). Her recent book, The Case for Rage: Why Anger is Essential to Anti-Racist Struggle (Oxford University Press: 2021) makes a case for anger at racial injustice. It was recently featured in the New Yorker and The Atlantic. It has received a starred review from Publishers’ Weekly. And according to Kirkus Reviews, it is “a well-reasoned case for not holding one’s tongue in the presence of injustice.” After a 10-way auction, Princeton University Press won North American rights to her book “The Failures of Forgiveness.” It is slated for a September 2023 release. Her forthcoming book includes “How to Love” currently under contract at Riverhead Books (US) and Basic Books (UK). Cherry has also written about emotions and race in such journals as Hypatia, Radical Philosophy Review, and Critical Philosophy of Race.
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In addition to her academic work, she has written publicly about political emotions, race, and justice for the Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic, Salon, The Boston Review, New Philosopher, WomanKind, and the Huffington Post. She has contributed essays to three volumes of Open Court’s Philosophy and Pop Culture Series, exploring themes such as manipulation, white privilege, and community and police relations. Cherry is also the host of the UnMute Podcast, a podcast where she interviews philosophers about the social and political issues of our day. The podcast was recently featured in The Philosopher’s Magazine.
Myisha Cherry holds a BA in philosophy from Morgan State University, a Masters of Divinity from Howard University, and a Masters and Ph.D. in philosophy from University of Illinois, Chicago. Her dissertation examined what we may reasonably asks of citizens in the pursuit of moral repair and political reconciliation. The requests she specifically focuses on are requests for and about forgiveness.
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In 2016-17, Cherry was a Visiting Edmond J. Safra Graduate Fellow in Ethics at Harvard University. In Fall 2017, she was an Advancing Equity Through Research Fellow (formerly the Research on Women and Girls of Color Fellow) at the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University. She is also a former Santayana Fellow in the Department of Philosophy and Associate in the African and African American Studies department at Harvard University. Cherry has also served as Faculty associate at John Jay College Institute for Criminal Justice Ethics and lecturer at the City University of New York, St. Johns University, St. Francis College, and Long Island University, where she taught courses in moral philosophy, philosophy of religion, and ethics and law.
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She is proud to have been born to and raised by Vernell Cherry, a physically disabled single-parent, who taught her the importance of service, people, and perseverance
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More information about Dr. Myisha Cherry can be found on her website: www.myishacherry.org/
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This bio is cited directly from Dr. Myisha Cherry's website, at https://www.myishacherry.org/bio/