Hagan Award recipient Dr. Neil Feit to give lecture

Dr. Neil Feit, recipient of the 2009 William T. Hagan Young Scholar/Artist Award at SUNY Fredonia, will present the lecture, “Mental Representation and the Self,” on Thursday, Oct. 29 at 4 p.m. in McEwen Hall Room 209. The lecture will be followed by a reception and the public is invited to attend.

Dr. Feit, who joined the faculty in 1999, is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Philosophy. He earned his B.A. from Columbia University and Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he was a Puryear fellow in the school’s Department of Philosophy.

His publications include the book, “Belief about the Self: A Defense of the Property Theory of Content,” (Oxford University Press, 2008) and 14 articles about the philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, epistemology, metaphysics and value theory. His published articles have appeared in top international journals of philosophy such as Nous, Philosophical Studies, and Philosophy and Phenomenological Research. He is a recipient of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching and was selected by students to become an Honorary Member of the Golden Key International Honour Society.

Dr. Neil Feit in the classroom.

The annual William T. Hagan Young Scholar/Artist Award is named in honor of Dr. William T. Hagan, an eminent scholar specializing in the history of the American Indian. Arriving in 1965 and retiring in 1988, he served as history department chair and as acting vice president for Academic Affairs. He was awarded a SUNY Distinguished Professorship while at Fredonia. The award was initiated by Dr. Hagan in 1987 to recognized outstanding professional achievement by a teaching faculty member in research, scholarship, or artistic performance.

Dr. Feit will be introduced by Kasling Committee Chair and fellow Philosophy Department colleague, Dr. Stephen Kershnar.