Research

My research explores the politics of blame and responsibility: how societies decide who is at fault when things go wrong, and how these judgments shape social inclusion, stigma, and oppression. I focus especially on scapegoating, social exclusion, and the circulation of blame in digital environments.

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​My recent FRQSC-funded project, Blame and Shame on the Internet: Between Accountability and Exclusion, examined the internet as a shared social space where accusations, public shaming, and moral judgment unfold at scale. Online blame can serve important functions of accountability by helping to expose abuse, mobilize collective action, and support movements such as #MeToo. At the same time, these practices can also reinforce stigma, escalate moral outrage, and facilitate new forms of exclusion. My work argues that public blaming practices online cannot be understood as simply helpful or harmful; they must be analyzed in light of historical patterns of scapegoating, shifting power dynamics, and the ethical complexities of using shame as a tool of social reform.

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More broadly, my research investigates how vulnerability, stigma, and social identity shape who becomes a credible victim, a believable witness, or a convenient scapegoat in public discourse. I am increasingly interested in how these dynamics affect groups whose social status is uniquely vulnerable, including girls navigating visibility, moral judgment, and protection in digital cultures.

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I recently co-edited Feminist Ethics: An Introduction to Fundamental Concepts and Current Issues (Routledge), which brings together scholars working across feminist moral theory and applied ethics to address both longstanding questions and emerging issues in the field. Preorder now!

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I completed my PhD in Philosophy at McGill University in 2022. My dissertation, Guilt, Blame, and Oppression: A Feminist Philosophy of Scapegoating, develops a philosophical theory explaining how blame-shifting helps sustain systems of oppression. I argue that scapegoating operates through three mutually reinforcing mechanisms: the essentialization of certain groups as blameworthy, collective interest in protection from a perceived threat, and the social exclusion of those who are blamed. Together, these processes shape the social imaginaries and epistemic practices through which responsibility is distributed across individuals, groups, and institutions.​