Ndidi Nwaneri, Ph.D.

nnwaneri@luc.edu
ndidinwaneri@gmail.com
U.S.A. +1 202 596 6989
Nigeria +234 814 184 3709
ndidinwaneri.com

Areas of specialization: Social and political philosophy, political theory, international development and global justice.

Areas of competence: Ancient philosophy (Plato and Aristotle), modern philosophy (Descartes, Hume), Africana philosophy, continental philosophy (Sartre, Levinas, Beauvoir, Frankfurt School), German idealism (Kant, Hegel), ethical theory, feminist philosophy and environmental ethics.

EDUCATION

• 2017     Ph.D., Philosophy (with Distinction), Loyola University Chicago, U.S.A.
  Dissertation: “Human Rights and Global Justice: A Normative Critique of Some Rawlsian Approaches”.
  Supervisor: Professor David Ingram
  (Winner of the Loyola University, Chicago 2017/2018 Dissertation of the Year Award in the Humanities Category.)
• 2009     M.A., Public Policy, The George Washington University, Washington, D.C. U.S.A.
  Master’s Essay: “The Public Sector as a Tool for Social Development.”
• 1998     B.Sc., Economics, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.
  Honors Thesis: “A Study of Rural Agriculture Interventions by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Kaduna State, Nigeria.”

HONOURS, GRANTS & AWARDS

• 2017 – 2018      Loyola University Chicago Dissertation of the Year Award (Humanities Category).
• 2016 – 2017       Pre-Doctoral Research Fellowship Goethe Universitat Frankfurt – Leibniz Award Research Group on Trans – National Justice.
• 2015 – 2016      Pre- Doctoral Research Fellowship Hannover Institute of Social and Political Philosophy (FIPH).
• 2010 – 2015 (5 years) Loyola University Chicago Merit Award.
• 2013 Summer Academic Research Fellowship – Department of Philosophy Loyola University Chicago.

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

“Development Theory in the African Context”
“Technology and Development in Africa”
Interculturality, Justice and Global Change
Department of Philosophy, University of Oviedo, Asturias, Spain.
Spring, 2021

This course was designed as an introduction to international development practice in Africa. The first module was a theory section designed to familiarize students with concepts that are used and issues that arise from development practice in Africa. The second module concretized some of these concepts by focusing on the development implications of ICT technology.

“Ethics,” Philosophy Department, Loyola University, Chicago.
Teacher of Record – Summer 2015 (on line); Spring 2015.
Teaching Assistant – Spring – 2014; Spring 2013; Spring 2012; Fall 2012.
This core course was a general introduction to ethics or moral philosophy and included sections on care ethics, utilitarianism, deontology and virtue ethics.

“Philosophy and Persons,” Philosophy Department, Loyola University, Chicago.
Teacher of record – Summer 2015 (On line); Fall 2014.
This core course satisfied the “Philosophical Knowledge” area. Course material consisted of the major figures in the history of philosophy, focusing on texts in epistemology, metaphysics, political philosophy, and ethics.

“Social and Political Philosophy,” Philosophy Department, Loyola University, Chicago.
Teaching Assistant – Fall 2013; Fall 2010; Spring 2011; Fall 2012.
The course included political and ethical theory, humanitarian intervention, global justice, human rights, genocide, economic sanctions, and issues of global governance.

PUBLICATIONS

Published

• 2017   Jochen, Enrich, Ndidi Nwaneri, and Natale de Santo. \”The Role of Retired Pediatric Professors in European Child Healthcare Services.\” Journal of Pediatrics, Volume 181 (February, 2017): 332-333.e1. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2016.10.055.
• 2016  “Gender Equality: Response to Van Parijs”, in E. Mbonda & T. Ngosso (eds.), Théories de la justice: justice globale, agents de la justice et justice de genre, (Louvain-la-Neuve: Presses Universitaires de Louvain, 2016), pp. 293-298.

Works in Progress

• Existential Risk and Global Inequity
  Existential risks, defined as risks of catastrophic scope to a population, include risks from bio- and geo-engineering, robotics and artificial intelligence, and anthropocentric environmental damage. My project question is whether global inequity should be considered an existential risk or simply a factor that influences such risks.
• Technology, Poverty and Economic Development
  In this project I note that while ICT leads to the growth of enterprises in developing countries,  such technology is effectively unavailable for those in severe poverty; with the result that social inequality has been worsened by their introduction. In addition, to the extent that poor countries lack the capacity to properly dispose of items like cell phones and laptops, the use of ICT in poor, African countries increases global pollution. I therefore argue that such technology does not necessarily yield a net positive socio-economic effect in developing countries.
• Contextual Minorities and the Arbitrariness of Social Ascriptions
  I rely on Frantz Fanon and Axel Honneth’s work on (social) recognition to develop my concept contextual minorities. To do this, I utilize the concepts of intersectionality, locationality and personal identity to explore the relationship between status and social ascription.

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

• Visiting Scholar, Department of Philosophy, Loyola University Chicago, College of Arts and Sciences.
  January, 2021- May, 2022
  As a member of the Sanctions Working Group, I work with leading economists, legal scholars and other professionals in Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo to study the impact of economic sanctions on remittances and foreign investment, liquidity and non-profits in Africa.
• Ethics and Public Policy Laboratory (EthicsLab) of The Catholic University of Central Africa (UCAC) Yaoundé, Cameroon – Co-founder and Senior Research Fellow
  August 2018-present.
  In addition to mentoring current and prospective Ph.D. students, I am also responsible for regional and global collaborations, financial management and quality assurance.
• Department of Public Health, Washington, D.C., USA – Research Assistant
  June 2008 – December 2008
  The US government commissioned the Department of Public Health at The George Washington University to conduct a study of the nature and extent of pesticide use in homes in the D.C. metro area. In this role, I designed and administered survey instruments and coded and interpreted survey data results. Study results were presented at a workshop attended by relevant arms of governments of the D.C. metro area.
• Institute for Development Research (IDR) Zaria, Nigeria – Statistical Officer
  January 2000 – February 2002
  In 1998, the Centre for Nigerian Cultural Studies (CNCS) and the Centre for Social and Economic Research (CSER) were merged to form The Institute for Development Research (IDR). As statistical officer of the IDR, I was a team member of the 2000 World Bank/USAID Survey on Corruption. In addition, I headed the political advocacy team for Women in Agriculture (Nigeria). In these roles, I developed and implemented public enlightenment programs on behalf of the Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE) on privatization of public corporations.

CONFERENCE PAPERS AND PRESENTATIONS

• “The Collateral Damage of “Smart” Sanctions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: A Critique of the Humanitarian Impacts of an Incoherent Economic Sanctions Regime.”
  Paper Presented with Fernando C. Saldivar, S.J. at the Sanctions and International Law and Politics Conference, Coventry University and Graduate Institute Geneva
  December 9-10, 2021
• “Utility Through Care”
  Paper presented at the University Philosophy Conference on Global Health Justice, “Rethinking Global Health Justice in the Age of Pandemics”
  Blavatnik School of Government, Oxford University
  April 14-15, 2021.
• “The Impact of COVID 19 on Women’s Socio-Economic Well Being (Nigeria)”
  Policy paper presented at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) African Region Secretariat Sensitization Virtual Workshop
  Gender & COVID-19: Country Response
  December 17-18, 2020.
• Building Back Better: “Towards A Disability” Inclusive, Accessible and Sustainable Post Covid-19 World”
  Presentation For the 9th Network for The Advancement of People with Visible Disabilities (NAPVID) To commemorate the 2020 International Day for People with Disabilities.
  December 3, 2020
• Global Justice and Global Catastrophic Risk: between error and terror.
  Key-note paper presented at the Cambridge Conference on Catastrophic Risk
  Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, University of Cambridge
  November 17-18, 2020
• Rape – Perceptions, Myths, Traditions and Stereotypes
  Paper presented at the Africa and the New Dynamics of Sexual and Gender Based Violence Workshop. Emerge Women Foundation, Nigeria.
  July 15, 2020
• Reimagining Our Humanity Post Pandemic
  The 11th edition of the Wole Soyinka International Cultural Exchange (WSICE 2020).
  July 12, 2020
• Want to End Rape? Talk About Sex. A lot.
  Public Lecture on the Rape Scourge and Sexual Violence in Nigeria
  The Department of Philosophy, Lagos State University.
  June 19, 2020
• “Ethical Adoption of Technology – AI and ICT in Africa.”
  Launch Event Conference
  Competence Center for African Research
  Institute for Business Ethics, University of St. Gallen, Switzerland
  January 15, 2020
• “Non-Domination as Care – The Case for Globalized Justice.”
  Paper presented at the research Colloquium of the Hannover Institute of Philosophy
  Hannover, Germany.
  May 31, 2016
• “(The Ethic of) Care as Globalized Justice.”
  Paper presented at the Critical Theory Conference Prague, Czech Republic.
  May 19, 2016
•  “Recognition, Non-Domination and Global Justice.”
  Paper presented at the research Colloquium of the Hannover Institute of Philosophy
  Hannover, Germany.
  August 12, 2015
•  “International Development, Economic Democracy, and Moral Motivation: What is to be Done About Global Poverty? By whom? Why?”
  Joint presentation with Professor Timothy Weidel (Oklahoma State) and Professor David Schweickart (Loyola University Chicago): The Ethics of Poverty Alleviation conference, Centre for Ethics and Poverty Research, University of Salzburg Salzburg, Austria.
  August 28-29, 2014
• “(Im)moral responses to Economic Deprivation.”
  Paper presented at the Theories of Justice and Gender Conference, Catholic University, Yaoundé, Cameroon.
  August 18-22, 2014
• “International Development’ and the Challenge of Global Poverty.”
  Paper presented at the 10th International Conference and 30th Anniversary of the International Development Ethics Association (IDEA): Contributions for a Socially Sustainable Future
  Department of Philosophy University of San Jose, Costa Rica.
  July 21-24, 2014
•  “Revealed Contradictions – The Positive Relationship Between Global Poverty and Global Consumption.”
  Paper presented at the Seminar on Socialist Renovation, University of Havana, Havana, Cuba.
  June 1-15, 2014
• “Freedom from the Contingent – Pogge, Poverty and Inequality.”
  Paper presented at the Graduate Student conference of The Department of Philosophy, Michigan State University, Lansing Michigan, U.S.A.
  March 22, 2014
• “The Phenomenology of Racial Pathology.”
  Paper presented at the Loyola University Phenomenology Research Group Workshop, Loyola University Chicago, U.S.A.
  October 13, 2012

AFFILIATIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS

• Independent Resource Group for Global Health Justice (IRG-GHJ)
• International Development Ethics Association (IDEA) Executive Board Member

LANGUAGES

• English – Native
• Igbo – Native
• Yoruba – Native