About Me
Professionally, I am an Assistant Professor of Practice in the honors program at Merrimack College. I am also the co-editor of the Dance Philosophers Network and co-artistic director for the artist collective Stylin'Out Network.
I have a Ph.D. in philosophy and cognitive science from the University of Memphis. I specialize in the philosophy of mind with an emphasis on embodied cognition and the philosophy of dance. I work on the cognition and benefits of dance, artificial intelligence, agency, emergence, and large crowd cognition.
My dissertation provides a dynamic systems and enactivist model of improvisation. I see myself as having a twofold research trajectory. On the one hand, I use embodied cognition and cognitive science to investigate dance. On the other hand, I use embodied cognition, cognitive science, and philosophy of mind more broadly to elucidate human interaction processes.
Currently, I am working on the cognition of large crowds and emergent crowd behavior. In short, I reveal the many ways human crowds can display highly intelligent complex behavior without any centralized leadership.
In Memphis, I served as the president of Philosophical Horizons, an organization dedicated to philosophy with kids. I also worked with Winning Words at the University of Chicago. I, therefore, also dabble in the pedagogy and methodology of philosophy with kids.
I was born and raised in Copenhagen, Denmark but did all my graduate work in the United States.
For nearly two decades, I have been a competitive break-dancer. I have competed, taught, and performed worldwide and have also been involved in organizing several international breakdancing events.