Professor Donelson Recently Lectured on Blacks, Cops & The State of Nature at Princeton University

PROFESSOR DONELSON RECENTLY LECTURED ON BLACKS, COPS & THE STATE OF NATURE AT PRINCETON UNIVERSITY

January 2021 — Professor Raff Donelson was recently a guest lecturer at Princeton University. Professor Donelson presented his essay, “Blacks, Cops, and the State of Nature,” previously published in the Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law.

Professor Donelson was invited to serve as a guest lecturer in Professor Amanda Greene’s Wintersession course, Race, Power, and Resistance, at Princeton University. As this course was delivered completely remotely, Professor Donelson was able to participate from his home. Donelson’s presentation centered on themes from his article, “Blacks, Cops, and the State of Nature,” which develops a neo-Hobbesian approach for understanding why Black people face disproportionate amounts of police violence in America. The article is available for download here.

Professor Raff Donelson is an Assistant Professor of Law at Penn State Dickinson Law who earned his J.D. and Ph.D. in Philosophy from Northwestern University. Professor Donelson’s research and teaching interests lie at the intersection of philosophy, constitutional law, and criminal law. His more theoretical research interests include metaethics and general jurisprudence, while his doctrinal work focuses on constitutional protections for criminals and the accused. His scholarship includes contributions to books published by Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press, as well as articles in U.S. and foreign law reviews and in philosophy journals such as Metaphilosophy. He has been an invited speaker at numerous legal and philosophy conferences and has addressed both U.S. and foreign academic audiences. His work is featured in Legal-Phi, which is an online venue that profiles the work of rising stars in the field of legal philosophy.