Amy Marvin
Assistant Professor of Women's and Gender Studies
Amy Marvin specializes in feminist theory and LGBTQ studies, with publications on laughter, violence, hope, oppression, curiosity, care, film, community, & subversive humor. Her book Trans Fascination, which focuses on ruinous obsessions with trans people, is under contract with Oxford University Press. Marvin has received fellowships in archival work, public philosophy, and fiction writing, and has interests in stand-up comedy, poetry, and game design. While at University of Oregon she taught the first Transgender Philosophy course and co-organized the first national trans philosophy conference. Most of Marvin’s articles can be accessed for free here.
Recent Courses Taught
Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies
Introduction to LGBTQ Studies
Research Interests
Ethics of care, community, and mutual aid; feminist social/political theory; trans politics; LGBTQ art, literature, and cultural production; humor and stand-up comedy
Selected Publications
- “Laughing at Trans Women: A Theory of Transmisogyny.” In Trans Philosophy. Eds. Perry Zurn, Andrea J. Pitts, Talia Bettcher, and PJ DiPietro. University of Minnesota Press (September 2024).
- “Oppression, Subversive Humor, and Unstable Politics.” The Philosophy of Humor Yearbook (Fall 2023).
- “Feminist Philosophy of Humor.” Philosophy Compass (Summer 2022).
- “Short-Circuited Trans Care, t4t, and Trans Scenes.” Transgender Studies Quarterly (Spring 2022).
- “Before Trans Studies.” Co-written with Cameron Awkward-Rich and Cassius Adair. Transgender Studies Quarterly (Fall 2020).
- “Transsexuality, the Curio, and the Transgender Tipping Point.” In Curiosity Studies: Toward a New Ecology of Knowledge, edited by Perry Zurn and Arjun Shankar. University of Minnesota Press. (January 2020).
- “Assumptive Care and Futurebound Care in Trans Literature.” American Philosophical Association Newsletter on LGBTQ Issues in Philosophy (Fall 2019).
- “Groundwork for Transfeminist Care Ethics: Sara Ruddick, Trans Children, and Solidarity in Dependency.” Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy 34.1 (Winter 2019).
- “Technology and Narratives of Continuity in Transgender Experiences.” Feminist Philosophy Quarterly 1.1 (Summer 2015).
- “Hope in a Vice: Carole Pateman, Judith Butler, and Suspicious Hope.” Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy 30.3 (Summer 2015).
Professional Affiliations
- American Philosophical Association
- National Women’s Studies Association
- Society of Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy
Appointed to the Faculty
2025Educational Background
Ph.D. and M.A., University of Oregon
B.A., West Chester University
