Christopher Kirby Awarded EWU’s Chertok Professorship

EWU’s College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences recently announced that Christopher Kirby, a professor of philosophy, has been awarded the Jeffers W. Chertok Memorial Endowed Professorship.

The prestigious professorship honors the life of Jeffers W. Chertok, who worked at EWU for more than 34 years and left a legacy of scholarship, generosity and genuine care at the university and beyond.

The professorship was established through private donations and a funding match from the state of Washington. According to its sponsors, it is intended to be focused on classic social science theory, with an emphasis on the origins of thought. To the extent that current or emerging theory is introduced, it should occur within the context of analysis from the perspective of the masters, typically great thinkers such as Plato, Newton, Locke and others. In addition, a major focus of the Chertok Professor’s work should involve arriving at a determination and understanding of where ideas and beliefs come from, and why.

Kirby’s proposal stood out, according to the Chertok committee, for its planned engagement with students and the community and its documentation of Kirby’s strong record of past engagement.

“I plan to use the Chertok Endowed Professorship to develop what I’m calling ‘The Gadfly Project,’” Kirby says. The project, he explains, is named for the way the ancient philosopher Socrates prodded Athenian society into critical self-reckoning. “I seek to apply disruptive pedagogy — as developed both in EdTech and in social justice education — in order to highlight the enduring value of Socratic inquiry, especially as generative AI, social media and algorithmic injustice further pervade our daily lives.”

Kirby adds that the project, through public philosophy events, student-centered activities and community collaborations, will cultivate what he calls “constructive provocations” that are centered on the question: How might the pursuit of human flourishing be preserved in a time when much of what once sustained it has been automated, outsourced or declared obsolete?

A member of the Eastern faculty since 2008, Kirby has authored articles such as Critical Thinking and Creative Intelligence:  How Dewey’s Pragmatic Attitude Could Better Prepare us for AI (forthcoming) and Walking, Wilderness and Exposure:  Learning from Thoreau’s Episode on Katahdin. Kirby has continually been shown to be a leader in hands-on learning by getting EWU students involved in river clean ups and taking them on philosophical hikes.

Kirby follows in the footsteps of previous recipients, including Kass Kebede, an associate professor of sociology, whose work was also honored at the October event announcing this year’s Chertok professorship.

**Story written by contributors from the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, including Dean Michelle DenBeste, Associate Dean Florian Preisig and Tami Spencer, executive assistant to the dean.