Joyce Mitchell Cook

Joyce Mitchell Cook
Cook was honored in 2007 by the Collegium of Black Women Philosophers
BornOctober 28, 1933
Sharon, Pennsylvania
DiedJune 6, 2014
EducationBryn Mawr College
University of Oxford
Yale University (PhD, 1965)
EraContemporary philosophy
RegionWestern philosophy
SchoolAnalytic
InstitutionsYale University, Wellesley College, Connecticut College, Howard University[1][2]
ThesisA Critical Examination of Stephen C. Pepper's Theory of Value (1965)
Main interests
Value theory

Joyce Mitchell Cook (October 28, 1933 – June 6, 2014) was an American philosopher. She was the first African American woman to receive a PhD in philosophy in the United States. After earning that degree from Yale University, she was the first female teaching assistant allowed at the university. She went on to teach at Wellesley College, Connecticut College, Howard University. She served for several years as an analyst for African affairs at the State Department in Washington, D.C.

George Yancy, a leading figure in African American philosophy, has referred to her as "a significant pioneer in the field of American philosophy, a figure whose very historical presence speaks to her incredible tenacity as a Black woman within a discipline that continues to be predominantly white and male".[3] Like other black women who were pioneers in their field, Cook's achievements have gone unnoticed for many years and scholarship around her work is just beginning.[3]

  1. ^ Joyce Mitchell Cook – Obituaries – Yale Alumni Magazine
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference sharonherald.com was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).