Maxine Sheets-Johnstone, professor of philosophy and institute of advanced study fellow at St. Mary’s College and Durham University, will present two lectures as part of the annual Walter Powell-Linfield College Philosophy Lectures May 7-8 at Linfield College.

On Monday, May 7, Sheets-Johnstone will speak on “Animation: Embodied Minds or Mindful Bodies” and on Tuesday, May 8, she will speak on “If the Body is Part of Our Discourse, Why not let it speak? Five Critical Perspectives.” Both lectures will be at 8 p.m. in Jonasson Hall, located in the basement of Melrose Hall.

Sheets-Johnstone will discuss some of the challenging 21st century questions, including whether or not we as humans are embodied minds or mindful bodies. She asserts that in its inherent recognition of dynamics, animation leads us along a diversity of possible paths having to do with movement, affectivity, and sense-making core dimensions of mindful bodies.

Sheets-Johnstone received a B.A. in French and comparative literature from the University of California at Berkeley and went on to earn a master’s in dance and a Ph.D. in dance and philosophy from the University of Wisconsin. She is an interdisciplinary scholar affiliated with the Department of Philosophy at the University of Oregon. She has lectured widely in Europe, most notably at the University of Aarhus, Ghent University and the University of Copenhagen. Her interests include philosophy, evolutionary biology, psychology/psychiatry, anthropology, socio-political dimensions of human life and dance. She is the author of multiple books including her most recent, “The Corporeal Turn: An Interdisciplinary Reader.”

The Walter Powell-Linfield College Annual Philosophy Lectureship is in recognition of a generous gift from Michael Powell in honor of his father. Walter Powell founded Powell’s Bookstore in Portland, the largest private bookstore in the United States with over one million volumes.

The lectures will both be followed by light refreshments. They are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Jesús Ilundáin-Agurruza, Linfield professor of philosophy, at jilunda@linfield.edu.