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Professor of Philosophy Russell Marcus recently published an essay, "Free Speech and the Philosophy Classroom: The Wrong Question," on the APA blog. In the essay, he argues that free speech rights are inadequate to the task of improving conversations across disagreement in our classrooms and helping students to learn and grow.

Russell Marcus, the Christian A. Johnson Excellence in Teaching Professor of Philosophy, presented a talk at the Teaching Hub at the 2025 Central Division Meeting of the American Philosophical Association (APA).

Professor of Philosophy Russell Marcus recently presented a workshop and a paper at the Eastern Divisional Meeting of the American Philosophical Association (Eastern APA) in New York City.

Creativity is a powerful force to advance our democracy and our planet because it helps us imagine alternative futures, fuels empathy and connection, drives civic engagement, and fosters adaptable and resilient individuals and communities. We asked several professors from various disciplines to share how creativity manifests itself in their interactions with students.

Essays by Russell Marcus, the Christian A. Johnson Professor of Teaching Excellence, were published in recent months in The Art of Teaching Philosophy: Reflective Values and Concrete Practices, edited by Brynn Welch (London: Bloomsbury, 2024).

The Hamilton College Summer Program in Philosophy (HCSPiP) began in 2018 and has been a huge success ever since — including in an article featured by the American Philosophical Association. This year’s program welcomed students from as nearby as Hamilton and as far afield as Indonesia and Colombia. We sat down with Professor of Philosophy Russell Marcus, HCSPiP’s organizer, and two Hamilton students to learn about the program and what went on this summer.

Professor of Philosophy Russell Marcus gave the 2024 presidential address at the American Association of Philosophy Teachers biennial conference in July at Otterbein University (Ohio). His talk "Collaboration and Serious Engagement in the Philosophy Classroom" marked the second and final year of his presidency. Marcus has been an AAPT board member or committee chair since 2010, and served as vice president in 2021-22.

Professor of Music Heather Buchman was named the inaugural recipient of the John L. Baldwin, Jr. Professorship in Music, and 10 other faculty members were appointed to endowed chairs effective July 1.

Professor of Philosophy Russell Marcus and Catherine Schmitt ’24 are the co-authors of an article appearing in the fall 2023 issue of APA Studies on Teaching Philosophy, a publication of the American Philosophical Association.

Hamilton students take on unique projects that reflect their talents and interests. In many cases, they collaborate with faculty mentors on this work, which often leads to co-authored papers, joint presentations at professional conferences, and professors mentoring students during academic competitions. Check out what some of our students have been up to recently.