Amy Allen
Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Advancement Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
111 Sparks Building
University Park, PA 16802
(814) 865-7691
Education
PhD, Philosophy, Northwestern University, 1996
MA, Philosophy, Northwestern University, 1994
BA, Philosophy, Miami University (OH), 1992
Professional Bio
Areas of Specialization
- 20th century Continental Philosophy
- Critical Social Theory (esp. Frankfurt School)
- Feminist Theory
- Social and Political Theory
Recent Publications
“The Psychoanalytic Art of Living: Or, Learning to Love One’s Fate,” Psychoanalysis, Culture, and Society. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41282-025-00532-1.
“Universality, Necessity, and Progress: Marx and the Problem of History,” Emancipations 3: 3 (2024).
Available online at: https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/emancipations/vol3/iss3/2
“’Imperialism Ultimately Works For Us’: Rosa Luxemburg’s Theory of History,” Critical Times: Interventions in Global Critical Theory 7: 1 (April 2024): 128-152.
"Dripping with Blood and Dirt from Head to Toe: Marx’s Genealogy of Capitalism in Capital, volume 1," The Monist 105: 4 (October 2022): 470-486.
“Slavery, Work, and History: DuBois’s Black Marxism,” Emancipations 1: 2 (2022). Available online at: https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/emancipations/vol1/iss2/2
Critique on the Couch: Why Critical Theory Needs Psychoanalysis (Columbia University Press, 2021).
Forthcoming Publications
Intersectionality as Epistemic Resistance: The Critical Theory of Patricia Hill Collins, ed. Amy Allen and Eduardo Mendieta (Penn State Press, 2026).
Current Projects
I am currently working on a new book, tentatively titled Marx(ism) and the Problem of History.
Research Interests
- Continental Philosophy
- Social and Political Philosophy
- Feminist Philosophy
