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Heather Stewart

Associate Professor

Philosophy

  • Associate Professor
    Philosophy
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TEACHING SUMMARY

Dr. Stewart is an innovative and inclusive educator and mentor, who is committed to challenging students and helping them grow as critical thinkers and charitable community members.

As an educator, Dr. Stewart is passionate about incorporating innovative teaching methods and inclusive pedagogy strategies into her bioethics, feminist philosophy, and ethics courses to show students from all backgrounds the relevance of philosophical inquiry to their daily lives.

She has also mentored students from underrepresented groups in philosophy as a fellow for the Philosophy in an Inclusive Key program in Boston, MA (hosted by MIT and Harvard) and as the new faculty representative for OSU's Minorities and Philosophy (MAP) chapter. Dr. Stewart also serves on the Committee for LGBTQ+ People in the Profession for her professional organization, the American Philosophical Association (APA). She has worked extensively on bringing to light issues faced by first-generation students and students from poor or low-income backgrounds in pursuing higher education. Dr. Stewart hopes to continue these initiatives to make higher education in general and academic in philosophy, particularly, a more equitable, accessible, and just enterprise, available to and more genuinely inclusive of people from diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences.

TEACHING

  • COURSE TAUGHT
    Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (H)
    8 Jun 2026 - 31 Jul 2026
    Case-based examination of ethical issues surrounding the development and implementation of artificial intelligence. Topics include ethical learning, responsibility and automated systems, moral machines, explainable artificial intelligence, algorithmic bias, automation and work, human-robot interaction, machine consciousness, the moral status and rights of robots, and super-intelligence.
  • COURSE TAUGHT
    Biomedical Ethics (H)
    12 Jan 2026 - 1 May 2026
    Moral problems surrounding medical practice, biomedical research, and health policy. Students will develop and use moral reasoning skills to navigate complex issues surrounding the provision of healthcare and medical practice. Topics may include physician assisted suicide, genetic engineering, human and animal experimentation, euthanasia, cloning, reproductive rights, etc. A special emphasis will be placed on the impact of health policy and medical decision-making on marginalized persons, communities, and populations.
  • COURSE TAUGHT
    Ethics & Sports (H)
    12 Jan 2026 - 1 May 2026
    This course examines some of the many ethical questions raised by engagement with sport. Some topics to be explored include: the ethics of football In the face of health concerns; the ethics of “doping” or enhancement; what to do about morally problematic team names and mascots; whether it is moral to root for teams with morally problematic individuals; the most ethical approach to compensating athletes; how to foster greater inclusion in sport; and how to use the platform of sport to foster greater inclusion in society more generally.
  • COURSE TAUGHT
    Multidisciplinary Studies Capstone
    12 Jan 2026 - 1 May 2026
    Research report or other creative activity undertaken to satisfy capstone requirement for multidisciplinary studies degree.Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.
  • COURSE TAUGHT
    Power, Oppression, & Privilege (DH)
    12 Jan 2026 - 1 May 2026
    This course introduces students to various concepts, insights, and methodological tools within feminist philosophy. Questions to be addressed include: How should we understand feminism? What is intersectionality? How should we understand concepts such as power, privilege, and oppression? How should we think about sex and gender? What is sexism and misogyny and how do they operate in our society? What insights can feminist thinking bring to bear on questions of health care, sport, dating, and sexuality? What does an ethical response to injustice require?
  • COURSE TAUGHT
    Topics In Ethical Theory
    12 Jan 2026 - 1 May 2026
    Central problems in ethical theory, such as ethical realism/anti-realism, motivational internalism/externalism, and problems within specific normative systems.Written Description.Prerequisite(s): PHIL 3413.
  • COURSE TAUGHT
    Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (H)
    15 Dec 2025 - 9 Jan 2026
    Case-based examination of ethical issues surrounding the development and implementation of artificial intelligence. Topics include ethical learning, responsibility and automated systems, moral machines, explainable artificial intelligence, algorithmic bias, automation and work, human-robot interaction, machine consciousness, the moral status and rights of robots, and super-intelligence.
  • COURSE TAUGHT
    Biomedical Ethics (H)
    18 Aug 2025 - 5 Dec 2025
    Moral problems surrounding medical practice, biomedical research, and health policy. Students will develop and use moral reasoning skills to navigate complex issues surrounding the provision of healthcare and medical practice. Topics may include physician assisted suicide, genetic engineering, human and animal experimentation, euthanasia, cloning, reproductive rights, etc. A special emphasis will be placed on the impact of health policy and medical decision-making on marginalized persons, communities, and populations.
  • COURSE TAUGHT
    Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (H)
    18 Aug 2025 - 5 Dec 2025
    Case-based examination of ethical issues surrounding the development and implementation of artificial intelligence. Topics include ethical learning, responsibility and automated systems, moral machines, explainable artificial intelligence, algorithmic bias, automation and work, human-robot interaction, machine consciousness, the moral status and rights of robots, and super-intelligence.
  • COURSE TAUGHT
    Philosophies of Love & Sex (H)
    18 Aug 2025 - 5 Dec 2025
    In this class students are going to engage a variety of theories on sex, love, and gender. Some of these theories emphasize the role of our evolutionary past on how we pursue intimate relationships. On this view, much of our desire for sex and love is influenced by the reproductive choices of our ancestors. Other theories, however, stress the rich diversity of social practices historically and across the world today. Students will therefore be exposed to competing ideas on marriage, sexual preferences, promiscuity, hormonal differences, gender socialization, and so forth.
  • COURSE TAUGHT
    Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (H)
    9 Jun 2025 - 1 Aug 2025
    Case-based examination of ethical issues surrounding the development and implementation of artificial intelligence. Topics include ethical learning, responsibility and automated systems, moral machines, explainable artificial intelligence, algorithmic bias, automation and work, human-robot interaction, machine consciousness, the moral status and rights of robots, and super-intelligence.
  • COURSE TAUGHT
    Gender, Race, and Class in Healthcare (DH)
    9 Jun 2025 - 3 Jul 2025
    This course philosophically examines the relationships of individuals and social groups to healthcare research and clinical practice, including the influences of stereotyping, microaggressions, and implicit bias on the healthcare experiences of patients who are members of marginalized groups. This course is suitable for those interested in philosophical issues around medical practice and those who hope to practice medicine with a greater awareness of issues of health injustices.
  • COURSE TAUGHT
    Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (H)
    16 Dec 2024 - 10 Jan 2025
    Case-based examination of ethical issues surrounding the development and implementation of artificial intelligence. Topics include ethical learning, responsibility and automated systems, moral machines, explainable artificial intelligence, algorithmic bias, automation and work, human-robot interaction, machine consciousness, the moral status and rights of robots, and super-intelligence.
  • COURSE TAUGHT
    Ethics & Sports (H)
    19 Aug 2024 - 6 Dec 2024
    This course examines some of the many ethical questions raised by engagement with sport. Some topics to be explored include: the ethics of football In the face of health concerns; the ethics of “doping” or enhancement; what to do about morally problematic team names and mascots; whether it is moral to root for teams with morally problematic individuals; the most ethical approach to compensating athletes; how to foster greater inclusion in sport; and how to use the platform of sport to foster greater inclusion in society more generally.
  • COURSE TAUGHT
    Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (H)
    19 Aug 2024 - 6 Dec 2024
    Case-based examination of ethical issues surrounding the development and implementation of artificial intelligence. Topics include ethical learning, responsibility and automated systems, moral machines, explainable artificial intelligence, algorithmic bias, automation and work, human-robot interaction, machine consciousness, the moral status and rights of robots, and super-intelligence.
  • COURSE TAUGHT
    Philosophies of Life (H)
    19 Aug 2024 - 6 Dec 2024
    This course introduces students to the history and development of philosophy with a special focus on ethics and contemporary moral arguments. By studying great philosophical works, this class enables students to think a critical manner about their own ideas and beliefs concerning philosophical problems and important issues that affect our lives. The goal of the course is to aid students in examining multiple perspectives on sometimes controversial topics, evaluate and assess articles on these topics, and allow students to form their own arguments on these issues.
  • COURSE TAUGHT
    Sem Soc Sci Social (In)Justice and Social Media: Honors (DH)
    19 Aug 2024 - 6 Dec 2024
    Introduction to topics in various disciplines by faculty from the undergraduate colleges for freshman and sophomore students in the University Honors College.Offered for variable credit, 1-3 credit hours, maximum of 12 credit hours.Prerequisite(s): Introductory Honors Topics.
  • COURSE TAUGHT
    Special Studies in Philosophy
    19 Aug 2024 - 6 Dec 2024
    Selected philosophical topics or works.Offered for variable credit, 1-3 credit hours, maximum of 10 credit hours.
  • COURSE TAUGHT
    Gender, Race, and Class in Healthcare (DH)
    10 Jun 2024 - 5 Jul 2024
    This course philosophically examines the relationships of individuals and social groups to healthcare research and clinical practice, including the influences of stereotyping, microaggressions, and implicit bias on the healthcare experiences of patients who are members of marginalized groups. This course is suitable for those interested in philosophical issues around medical practice and those who hope to practice medicine with a greater awareness of issues of health injustices.
  • COURSE TAUGHT
    Love, Sex, and Gender (H)
    11 Mar 2024 - 3 May 2024
    In this class students are going to engage a variety of theories on sex, love, and gender. Some of these theories emphasize the role of our evolutionary past on how we pursue intimate relationships. On this view, much of our desire for sex and love is influenced by the reproductive choices of our ancestors. Other theories, however, stress the rich diversity of social practices historically and across the world today. Students will therefore be exposed to competing ideas on marriage, sexual preferences, promiscuity, hormonal differences, gender socialization, and so forth.
  • COURSE TAUGHT
    Biomedical Ethics (H)
    16 Jan 2024 - 3 May 2024
    Moral problems brought about by recent developments in scientific research and medical technology. Abortion, euthanasia, genetic engineering, and human experimentation.
  • COURSE TAUGHT
    Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (H)
    16 Jan 2024 - 3 May 2024
    Case-based examination of ethical issues surrounding the development and implementation of artificial intelligence. Topics include ethical learning, responsibility and automated systems, moral machines, explainable artificial intelligence, algorithmic bias, automation and work, human-robot interaction, machine consciousness, the moral status and rights of robots, and super-intelligence.
  • COURSE TAUGHT
    Master's Thesis in Philosophy
    16 Jan 2024 - 3 May 2024
    Supervised individual work on a thesis for a master's degree.Offered for variable credit, 1-6credit hours, maximum of 6 credit hours.
  • COURSE TAUGHT
    Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (H)
    18 Dec 2023 - 12 Jan 2024
    Case-based examination of ethical issues surrounding the development and implementation of artificial intelligence. Topics include ethical learning, responsibility and automated systems, moral machines, explainable artificial intelligence, algorithmic bias, automation and work, human-robot interaction, machine consciousness, the moral status and rights of robots, and super-intelligence.
  • COURSE TAUGHT
    Feminist Philosophy (DH)
    21 Aug 2023 - 8 Dec 2023
    Feminist Philosophy introduces students to various concepts, insights, and methodological tools within feminist philosophy. Issues include: what 'feminist philosophy' is, concepts such as intersectionality, power, privilege, and oppression, and how they can be identified in practice. Relationships between feminism and other in-group/out-group binary concerns will also be explored.