Drucilla Cornell
Encyclopedia
Drucilla Cornell is a professor of Political Science, Comparative Literature, and Women's Studies at Rutgers University
. She also holds visiting positions at the University of Pretoria
, South Africa, and Birkbeck College, University of London
. She has one daughter, Serena Cornell.
(B.A.) in Philosophy
and Mathematics
from Antioch College
in 1978, and her Juris Doctor
(J.D.) from University of California Los Angeles Law School in 1981.
and justice at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in 1989, 1990, and 1993—a conference at which Jacques Derrida
is thought by many to have made his definitive philosophical turn towards ethical thought.
. Her other plays, 'The Dream Cure', 'Background Interference', and 'Lifeline', have been produced in New York and other cities including Los Angeles, Atlanta, Boca Rotan, Florida, and Cape Town, South Africa. She has also produced a documentary film on the African humanist ethic of uBuntu, entitled uBuntu Hokae.
, South Africa. She founded the uBuntu project in 2003, and continues to be the co-director of that project with Chuma Himonga. She is also a co-director of the uBuntu Township Project, with Madoda Sigonyela. Professor Cornell is an advocate and researcher for Khulamani, an on the ground organisation of people who suffered under apartheid and are now struggling to find new and creative ways to counter the devastation that remains because of the system of racialized capitalism.
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
. She also holds visiting positions at the University of Pretoria
University of Pretoria
The University of Pretoria is a multi campus public research university located in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa...
, South Africa, and Birkbeck College, University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
. She has one daughter, Serena Cornell.
Education
She received her Bachelor of ArtsBachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
(B.A.) in Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
from Antioch College
Antioch College
Antioch College is a private, independent liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio, United States. It was the founder and the flagship institution of the six-campus Antioch University system. Founded in 1852 by the Christian Connection, the college began operating in 1853 with politician and...
in 1978, and her Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
(J.D.) from University of California Los Angeles Law School in 1981.
Career
Prior to beginning her life as an academic, Professor Cornell was a union organizer for a number of years. She worked for the UAW, the UE, and the IUE in California, New Jersey, and New York. As well as being a union organiser, Professor Cornell has been an active feminist. After 9/11 she organised a feminist peace group with Professor Ann Snitow at the New School. She is the most senior ranked professor in the Political Science Department at Rutgers, and was the only A1 ranked female professor at the University of Cape Town during her appointment there.On deconstruction and the law
She played a key role in organizing the conference on deconstructionDeconstruction
Deconstruction is a term introduced by French philosopher Jacques Derrida in his 1967 book Of Grammatology. Although he carefully avoided defining the term directly, he sought to apply Martin Heidegger's concept of Destruktion or Abbau, to textual reading...
and justice at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in 1989, 1990, and 1993—a conference at which Jacques Derrida
Jacques Derrida
Jacques Derrida was a French philosopher, born in French Algeria. He developed the critical theory known as deconstruction and his work has been labeled as post-structuralism and associated with postmodern philosophy...
is thought by many to have made his definitive philosophical turn towards ethical thought.
Playwriting
Her first play, produced in 1989, was a dramatic adaptation of Finnegans Wake which continues to be performed on BloomsdayBloomsday
Bloomsday is a commemoration observed annually on 16 June in Dublin and elsewhere to celebrate the life of Irish writer James Joyce and relive the events in his novel Ulysses, all of which took place on the same day in Dublin in 1904...
. Her other plays, 'The Dream Cure', 'Background Interference', and 'Lifeline', have been produced in New York and other cities including Los Angeles, Atlanta, Boca Rotan, Florida, and Cape Town, South Africa. She has also produced a documentary film on the African humanist ethic of uBuntu, entitled uBuntu Hokae.
Work in South Africa
From 2008 to the end of 2009, Professor Cornell held the National Research Foundation Chair in Customary Law, Indigenous Values, and the Dignity Jurisprudence at the University of Cape TownUniversity of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town is a public research university located in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. UCT was founded in 1829 as the South African College, and is the oldest university in South Africa and the second oldest extant university in Africa.-History:The roots of...
, South Africa. She founded the uBuntu project in 2003, and continues to be the co-director of that project with Chuma Himonga. She is also a co-director of the uBuntu Township Project, with Madoda Sigonyela. Professor Cornell is an advocate and researcher for Khulamani, an on the ground organisation of people who suffered under apartheid and are now struggling to find new and creative ways to counter the devastation that remains because of the system of racialized capitalism.
Selected works
- (1991) Beyond Accommodation: Ethical Feminism, Deconstruction and the Law
- (1992) The Philosophy of the Limit
- (1993) Transformations: Recollective Imagination and Sexual Difference
- (1995) The Imaginary Domain: Abortion, Pornography, and Sexual Harassment
- (1998) At the Heart of Freedom: Feminism, Sex, and Equality
- (2000) Just Cause: Freedom, Identity, and Rights
- (2002) Between Women and Generations: Legacies of Dignity
- (2004) Defending Ideals: War, Democracy, and Political Struggles
- (2007) Moral Images of Freedom: A Future for Critical Theory
- (2009) Clint Eastwood and Issues of American Masculinity
- (2010) Symbolic Forms for a New Humanity: Cultural and Racial Reconfigurations of Critical Theory (Coauthored with Kenneth Michael Panfilio)