My name is Ericka Tucker and I am an Assistant Professor (TT) in the Department of Philosophy at Cal Poly Pomona.

I received my A.B. in Philosophy from Brown University (1999) and my Ph.D. in Philosophy from Emory University (2009).

Although these dates are 10 years apart, I did not spend a decade in grad school. For four years I worked as a network engineer by day and community radio activist/producer by evening and weekend in Portland, Oregon.

In the Philosophy Department at Cal Poly Pomona I teach “Social and Political Philosophy,” “Great Philosophers,” “Philosophical Issues in the Law,” “Introduction to Philosophy,” “Modern Philosophy,” “Contemporary Philosophy,” and “Logic and Computing.” In the Department of Ethnic and Women’s Studies I teach a course called “Women in Global Perspective”.

My research areas are Early Modern Philosophy (Spinoza, Hobbes), Social and Political Philosophy (especially Democracy Theory and Global Justice), and Feminist Theory.

I am interested broadly in questions of human empowerment and the nature of normativity. I am particularly interested in the metaphysical and psychological underpinnings of human social and political life. I explore these questions through a variety of sources, including: 17th century philosophical works, contemporary studies in political philosophy, affective neuroscience, and white papers from development theorists and practitioners. 

I am currently finishing several papers developed from my dissertation, “Individuals, Power and Participation: Metaphysics and Politics in Spinoza.” I am working on a book-length project on Spinozan contributions to a theory of global justice and the affective and communicative preconditions for global democracy. I am also working on a book on Refugee Radio and Democracy.