Elisa Magri
Associate Professor
Biography
I specialize in German Idealism (especially Hegel) and 20th century phenomenology. Prior to joining Boston College, I held a Humboldt Fellowship for Senior Researchers at the University of Cologne. Since fall 2025, I have been serving as co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of the British Society for Phenomenology. My research on Hegel focuses on his philosophy of mind (what it is, what purpose it serves, and how it is connected to the Logic). I am also interested in expanding this research across the post-Kantian landscape, researching how the accounts of cognition elaborated within the tradition of German Idealism inform and shape conceptions of the body and the self, as well as projects of social reform and moral cultivation. My work in 20th century phenomenology grapples with issues in embodied cognition, the relation between habit and belief, and social perception (drawing especially, on Husserl, Stein, Merleau-Ponty, and Arendt). I also have research interests in existentialism, social phenomenology, and critical theory. I believe that the dialogue between different philosophical traditions as well as between philosophy and other disciplines (such as literature, social psychology, cognitive sciences, and psychopathology) enriches not only the community of researchers but also society at large, reinforcing maturity of knowledge and challenging standardized assumptions about individualsand subjective experiences. I am happy to supervise doctoral candidates who intend to carry out research on Hegel’s philosophy or in specific areas of phenomenology and existentialism that involve perception and social experience.