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Department of Philosophy

Brandon Underwood

Senior Lecturer of Philosophy

Born and raised in northeastern Alabama, I attended Birmingham-Southern college for my BA. I received both my MA and PhD from University of Hawai'i, Manoa, where I studied comparative Chinese philosophy under Roger Ames, Cheng Chong-ying, and Franklin Perkins, and Classical Chinese under David McCraw. My dissertation explored the intersection of metaphysics and politics in the history of boredom, and my research follows a similarly interdisciplinary, archeological tract. 

Specializations

I specialize in Ancient and Early Medieval Chinese philosophy, with a comparative locus in 20th century continental thought. My research interests include: metaphysics, existentialism, hermeneutics, history of ideas, Confucian and Daoist thought, and philosophy of magic. 

 


Representative Publications

  • Underwood, Brandon. “Living on the Edges: Zhuangzi, Levonvitz and you”. Play, Philosophy and Performance. Routledge, New York. 2021.
  • “Idle, Ideal Hands: Idleness and Compulsion in Plato’s Work.” A World in Discourse. Cambridge Scholars. Publishing, Newcastle upon Tyne. 2016.