walla003@umn.edu

868 Heller
612-624-5210

I am working on an approach to the philosophical elucidation of meaning that emphasizes the inseparability of meaning from contexts of extra-linguistic purposes and practices. This approach draws on ideas of Wittgenstein and Austin.

In addition to theory, I am exploring practical implications of this view of meaning. There are many important communication settings, including the classroom and the face-to-face groups that are the core of a truly participatory democracy, where practice may be improved if we better understand our linguistic tools and are more planful about their use. I teach courses on the philosophy of language, political philosophy, and the philosophy of education.

Selected Publications

"Notes on Learning Circles," to appear in a Bonner Foundation publication on Tools for Community-based Education, 2004.

"The Problem of Time in Service-Learning Partnerships: Enabling Students to Make Long-term Commitments to Community-Based Learning," Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, Vol. 7 (2001), pp. 133-141.

Co-author with Nicholas Longo, "Creating Democratic Spaces: Jane Addams School for Democracy," CURA Reporter, Spring 2000.

"A Popular Education Model for College in Community," The American Behavioral Scientist, vol. 45 (2000), pp. 756-766. This paper appears in a special double issue of the journal under the general title, The University's Responsibilities in Troubled Times, edited by Sam Marullo and Bob Edwards.

"The Use of a Philosopher: Socrates and Myles Horton," in Irene E. Harvey and C. David Lisman, eds., Beyond the Tower: Concepts and Models for Service Learning in Philosophy (Washington, D.C., American Association of Higher Education, 2000), pp. 69-90.

"Jane Addams School," "Lee Her's Story," and "Recollections of the Vietnam War Period," in Jennifer L. O'Donoghue and D'Ann Urbaniak Lesch, eds., We Are the Freedom People: Sharing Our Stories, Creating a Vibrant America (St. Cloud, MN, Sentinel Printing Company, 1999), pp. 16-22, 56-59, 60-63.

"Some Thought Experiments about Mind and Meaning," With H.E. Mason. In Propositional Attitudes: The Role of Content in Logic, Language, and Mind, eds. C.A. Anderson and J. Owens. Stanford Center for the Study of Language and Information, 1990.

"Translation Theories and the Decipherment of Linear B," Theory and Decision 11 (1979). Reprinted in Translation: Literary, Linguistic, and Philosophical Perspectives, ed. W. Frawley. Associated University Presses, 1984.

"Positive, Comparative, Superlative," Journal of Philosophy 69 (1972).

"On the Frame of Reference," Synthese 22 (1970).

"Sortal Predicates and Quantification," Journal of Philosophy 62 (1965).