Faculty
Mara Harrell
Associate Teaching Professor
Department of Philosophy
Baker Hall 161G
412.268.8152
Mara Harrell graduated with a B.A. in Physics from Pomona College in 1992. She then received an M.S. in Physics in 1996, and a Ph.D. in Philosophy and Science Studies in 2000 from University of California, San Diego. She was the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Colorado College before coming to Carnegie Mellon University in 2003.
Mara Harrell's research interests include philosophy of science, philosophy of physics, epistemology, educational technology, and educational research.
Research Interests
My main philosophical interests are in philosophy of science, but within this discipline, there are a variety of issues and problems that capture my attention. My dissertation was entitled "Chaos and Reliable Knowledge", and used chaos theory to explore issues in reliabilist theories of knowledge.
I also have research interests in the teaching of philosophy. I have recently worked on the use of using rubrics in the grading of philosophy papers, and am currently engaged in experimentally determining the philosophical skills that our students learn in "What Philosophy Is" here at Carngeie Mellon (see papers available for dowloading below).
I also have a growing interest in the use of computers to teach philosophy. In the past, I have been involved in the development of an online course on Causal and Statistical Reasoning. I am currently preparing an overview of computer-assisted reasoning software, and am working with students from the Human Computer Interaction Institute developing argument-diagramming software.
Teaching
Before coming to Carnegie Mellon, I taught a wide variety of courses, including Introduction to Logic, Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Physics, Introduction to Epistemology, Introduction to the History of Philosophy, Philosophy and Feminism, Gender and Science, Environmental Ethics, and Introduction to Causal and Statistical Reasoning.
Resources for students:
- Mara Harrell's Guide to Writing a Philosophy Paper
- James Pryor's Guidelines on Writing a Philosophy Paper
- How to Recognize Plagiarism
Selected Publications
The PDFs of these papers are intended for personal academic use only and should not be distributed in any way.
- Maralee Harrell (forthcoming) “No Computer Program Required: Even Pencil-and-Paper Argument Mapping Improves Critical Thinking Skills” Teaching Philosophy. [PDF]
- Maralee Harrell (2007) “Using Argument Diagramming Software to Teach Critical Thinking Skills” Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Education and Information Systems, Technologies and Applications. [PDF]
- Maralee Harrell (2005) "Using Argument Diagrams to Improve Critical Thinking Skills" in 80-100 What Philosophy Is Technical report CMU-PHIL-176. Sept. 7, 2005. [PDF]
- Maralee Harrell (2005) "Using Argument Diagramming Software in the Classroom" Teaching Philosophy, 28: 163-177. [PDF]
- Maralee Harrell (2005) "Grading According to a Rubric" Teaching Philosophy, 28: 3-15. [PDF]
- Maralee Harrell (2004) "The Improvement of Critical Thinking Skills in What Philosophy Is" Technical report CMU-PHIL-158. July 30, 2004. [PDF]
- Maralee Harrell and Clark Glymour (2002) "Confirmation and Chaos" Philosophy of Science, 69: 256-265. [PDF]
Abbreviated CV
Academic Career
Carnegie Mellon University, Associate Teaching Professor, Department of Philosophy, 2003 to date
The Colorado College, Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, 2000-2003
University of California, San Diego, Associate in Philosophy, January - June, 2000
Education
University of California, San Diego (La Jolla, CA), Ph.D. in Philosophy
and Science Studies, 2000.
University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA), Visiting Scholar in History
and Philosophy of Science, 1998-1999.
University of California, San Diego (La Jolla, CA), M.S. in Physics,
1996.
Pomona College (Claremont, CA), B.A. in Physics, 1992.
Professional Presentations
“Argument Mapping Improves Critical Thinking Skills” Centre for the Study of Argumentation in the School of Human Sciences and Education, Universidad Diego Portales, Santiago, Chile, International Conference Logic, Argumentation and Critical Thinking 2008
“Critical Thinking and Argument Diagrams” Keynote Address at the 5th International Conference on Education and Information Systems, Technologies and Applications 2007
“Thinking Pedagogically About Argument Diagramming Software” North American Computing and Philosophy Conference 2007
“Using Argument Diagramming Software to Teach Critical Thinking Skills” 5th International Conference on Education and Information Systems, Technologies and Applications 2007
"Using Argument Diagramming Software to Teach Critical Thinking Skills" North American Computing and Philosophy Conference 2006
"Using Argument Diagramming Software in the Classroom" 16th Biennial
Workshop-Conference on Teaching Philosophy 2006
"Visualizing Arguments Improves Critical Thinking Skills" Annual
Conference of the American Educational Research Association 2006
"Using Argument Diagramming Software in the Classroom" North American
Computing and Philosophy Conference 2005
"Using Argument Diagrams to Improve Critical Thinking Skills"
Annual Conference of the American Educational Research Association
2005
"Conceptual Analysis and the Intuition Method: A Critique of
Another Paradigm of Philosophy" Annual Conference of the Pacific
Division of the American Philosophical Association 2003
"Logical Reliabilism" 4th Annual European Congress for
Analytic Philosophy 2002
"On Chaos and Explanation" The 2002 International Congress
on Causation and Explanation in the Natural and Social Sciences
2002
"Learning Chaos" invited talk at Metropolitan State College
of Denver 2001
"Learning Chaos" invited talk at the Center for the Philosophy
of Science, University of Pittsburgh 2000
"Learning Chaos" invited talk at the University of Dayton
2000
"Chaos Theory and Laplacean Determinism" invited talk
at the Evergreen State College 1999
"Science Education as a Practical Obstacle to Feminist Standpoint"
Pacific Sociological Association Annual Meeting 1998
Fellowships, Awards and Grants
Digital Media and Learning Competition, The HASTAC Initiative (Humanities, Arts, Science and Technology Advanced Collaboratory), Supported by the MacArthur Foundation (Pending)
Education Research Development and Dissemination Grant, National Center for Education Research, offered by The U.S. Department of Education (Pending)
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Assistant Professor of Philosophy
2003
Colorado College Development Blocks 2001, 2002
Colorado College Humanities Division Research Funds 2002