Ayala CV

Saray Ayala-Lpez
curriculum vitae

Contact California State University, Sacramento ph: +1.617.608.7292

information Mendocino Hall 3018 email: ayala@csus.edu
Department of Philosophy websites: http://sarayayala.weebly.com
6000 J Street https://csus.academia.edu/SarayAyala
Sacramento CA 95819-6043

Areas of Philosophy of Science and Cognitive Science, Feminist Philosophy.

specialization

Areas of Feminist Philosophy, Epistemology, Metaphysics, Philosophy of Language & Mind.

competence

education PhD, Philosophy, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain, 2011

M.A. Philosophy, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain, 2004
B.A. summa cum laude with honors, University of Murcia, Spain, 2001

Academic Assistant Professor, Sacramento State University, August 2016-present

positions Lecturer in Philosophy, San Francisco State University, Spring 2015
Visiting Scholar, San Francisco State University, Fall 2014- Summer 2016
Visiting Scholar, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, January 2012-Fall 2014
Postdoctoral Fellow in Philosophy, University Carlos III of Madrid, 2012-2014
Lecturer in Philosophy, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 2010-2011
Visiting Student, University of British Columbia, 2007-2009
Teaching Assistant, University of British Columbia and Langara College, 2008-2009
Lecturer in Philosophy, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 2005-2007
Visiting Student, University of Sheffield, 2004

Honors & Postdoctoral Fellowship, Alliance 4 Universities, University Carlos III of Madrid,
awards 2012-2014
Teaching Excellence Award, University Carlos III of Madrid, 2013
Outstanding Graduate Student Paper Prize, APA Pacific Division, 2009
Young Researcher Prize, Spanish Society for Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of
Science, 2009
Graduate Research Grant, La Caixa Foundation (Barcelona) and Canada Foundation
(Ottawa), 2007-2009
Graduate Research Grant, Science and Technology Ministry (Government of Spain),
2002-2006
Outstanding Qualification Award, BA in Philosophy, University of Murcia (Spain),
2001
Grants
Hypatia Diversity Project Grant, to fund the Foreigners in Philosophy workshop

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Articles in Foreigners and Inclusion in Academia, Hypatia doi: 10.1111/hypa.12376

print or
forthcoming The Road to HEAVEN Is Paved With Good Intentions: Transplanting Heads,
[peer reviewed]
Manipulating Selves, and Reassigning Genders. The American Journal of Bioethics
Neuroscience (8)4: 223-225, 2017; commentary co-authored with Russell DiSilvestro,
Chong Choe-Smith, and Timothy Houk.
https://doi.org/10.1080/21507740.2017.1392383

Sexual Orientation and Choice, Journal of Social Ontology 3 (2) 249-265, 2017.
doi: https://doi.org/10.1515/jso-2016-0015

Speech Affordances: A Structural Take on How Much We Can Do With Our Words,
European Journal of Philosophy 24(2); 879-891, 2016. doi 10.1111/ejop.12186

Responsibility for Silence, Journal of Social Philosophy 47(3): 256-272, 2016

doi 10.1111/josp.12151; co-authored with Nadya Vasilyeva.

Extended Sex: An Account of Sex for a More Just Society, Hypatia 30(4), 2015,
co-authored with Nadya Vasilyeva.

The Placental Microbiome and The Risk of (More) Policing of Womens Bodies,
International Journal on Feminist Approaches to Bioethics 9(1), 2016, co-authored with
Lauren Freeman.

Philosophy and the Non-Native Speaker Condition, American Philosophical

Association Newsletter in Feminism and Philosophy 14(2), Spring 2015.

Explaining Injustice in Speech: Individualistic or Structural Explanation? In D.C.

Noelle, R. Dale, A. S. Warlaumont, J. Yoshimi, T. Matlock, C. D. Jennings, & P. P.
Maglio (eds.) Proceedings of the 37th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society.
Austin, TX: Cognitive Science Society, 2015, co-authored with Nadya Vasilyeva.

Cognitive Externalism Meets Bounded Rationality, Philosophical Psychology, Vol. 27-1,

2014, co-authored with Eric Arnau and Thomas Sturm.

On The Possibility of an Extended, Yet Reductionist Mind, in M. Knauff, M. Pauen,

N. Sebanz, & I. Wachsmuth (eds.) Proceedings of the 35th Annual Conference of the
Cognitive Science Society. Austin, TX: Cognitive Science Society, 2013.

Superfunctionalizing the mind, Teorema, Vol XXIX/1:105-114, 2010.

Embodying Cognition: a Morphological Perspective, in Jordi Vallverd (ed) Thinking

Machines and the Philosophy of Computer Science: Concepts and Principles, IGI Global,
USA, 2010, co-authored with David Casacuberta and Jordi Vallverd.

Body-chauvinism or Mind-chauvinism? Questioning the Autonomy of Psychology,

in J. Alcolea Banegas, V. Iranzo Garca, A. Snchez, J. Valor Abad (eds.) Proceedings of
the VI Conference of the Spanish Society of Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science
(SLMFCE), 2009.

The Neuron Doctrine, in F. Martnez Manrique & L. Miguel Peris (eds.) Proceedings of
the V Conference of the Spanish Society of Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science
(SLMFCE), 2006.

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Mind and its explanatory puzzle, Ontology Studies 7, 2008.

The Algebraic Mind vs. The Statistical Brain, Lmite 1(13), 2006 [in Spanish]

Book review Review of Implicit Bias & Philosophy, by Michael Brownstein & Jennifer Saul (Eds.),
Vol. 1, Hypatia Onlie Reviews, forthcoming.

Review of Classify and Label: The Unintended Marginalization of Social Groups by Matt L.
Drabek, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, May 18, 2015

Outreach & English patrol at the borders of philosophy. Philosopher blog, June 18,2017.
public
philosophy
Explanations, Causes and Intervention. Comments on Alex Madvas A Plea for
Anti-Anti Individualism work. Ergo Symposium organized at the Brains Blog,
March 6, 2017.

Sex, Witches & Phlogiston. Dance of Reason blog, April 2, 2017.

Science and Communication: The dangers of oversimplifying microbiome studies,

Interview for Nature Partner Journals, with Lauren Freeman, October 7, 2016.

Sex differences: surplus of descriptions, shortage of explanations, The Conversation,

May 7, 2014, co-authored with Nadya Vasilyeva http://goo.gl/QEfnr3

Extinction or unfair survival of a few? Blog post in The Dance of Reason.

Brain, Sex, Gender and Class: Scientific Controversies, Encrucijadas 9, 2015; co-
authored with Simone Belli and Fernando Broncano [in Spanish]

Jean-ethic (correlation/causation), in Peter Worley (ed.) The Philosophy Shop: ideas,

activities and questions to get people, young and old, thinking philosophically, Crown
House Publishing Ltd., a project by the Philosophy Foundation, 2012.
Translation of Riddles of Existence: A Guided Tour of Metaphysics by Earl Conee and
Theodore Sider, Oxford University Press, 2005, for Alianza Editorial, Madrid, 2013
[in Spanish]

Founder of What is it like to be a foreigner in academia?,

beingaforeignerinacademia.wordpress.com/

Co-founder of Arbitrary Gravity project, a collaborative art project about social

change, exhibited in April 2013 at the Women Studies Research Center, Brandeis
University, arbitrarygravity.wordpress.com
Under revision A Structural Explanation of Injustice in Speech, Pacific Philosophical Quarterly.
Sex Categorization in Medical Contexts: A Cautionary Tale, Kenney Institute of Ethics
Journal.

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Work in Structural Explanation and Agency, journal article

progress Constitution and Choice in Sexual Orientation, journal article
Conceptual Change and Social Change, journal article
Outing Foreigners, journal article
The Need For Explanation: Maps, Values, and Possibility Spaces, journal article
Veganism and Plant Cognition, journal article

presentations Upcoming:
-Invited speaker, Symposium: The role of the English language in contemporary
philosophy, 2018 APA Central Division meeting, Chicago February 21-24, 2018.
-Invited speaker, Symposium: Trans*feminism, 2018 APA Central Division
meeting, Chicago February 21-24, 2018.
-Invited speaker, Symposium: Implicit bias in the classroom, 2018 APA Central
Division meeting, Chicago February 21-24, 2018.
-Outing Foreigners, Society for Analytic Feminism, APA Pacific Division, San
Diego March 29-31, 2018.
-Invited Speaker at San Raffaele Spring School of Philosophy, Unpacking Political
Agency, Milan June 5-7, 2018.
-Invited Faculty at PIKSI-Boston Philosophy in an inclusive key summer institute,
MIT, Cambridge June 19-26, 2018.

Past presentations
-"Explaining & Intervening", Bias in Context, University of Utah, October 2017.
-"Outing Foreigners: Accent and Nationality in Conversations", Joint Session of the
Aristotelian Society and the Mind Association Edinburg, July 2017.
-"Speech Affordances", University of Granada, June 2017, with comments by Manuel
Heras Escribano.
-"Responsibility for Silence", GRSeminar, University of Barcelona, July 2017.
-Social Structures, Structural Explanations, and Agency, April 25, 2017. New York
Society for Women in Philosophy.
-Foreigners in Academia, February 27, 2017. Opportunity for Postdoc Equity
Networking, U.C. Berkeley [invited]
-Structures & Agency, January 2017, Keynote, UNED Madrid [invited]
-Structural Explanation and Agency, September 2016. Bias in Context Conference,
U. of Sheffield.
-Sex Categories in Medical Contexts: A Cautionary Tale, September 2016
Society for Analytical Feminism, U. of Massachusetts Lowell.
-Speech Affordances, June 2016 (poster presentation) Society for Philosophy and
Psychology, University of Austin, Texas.
-Sexual Orientation, Choice and Constitution, May 2016. Minorities and
Philosophy, Stanford U. [invited]
-Why a Workshop on Foreigners in Philosophy?, March 2016. Foreigners in
Philosophy Workshop, U.C. Berkeley
- A Structural Explanation of Speech Injustice, March 2016. American
Philosophical Association, Central Division, Chicago.
- Plant Cognition, April 2016. Berkeley Social Ontology Group, U.C. Berkeley
- Sexual Orientation and Choice, April 2016. Minorities and Philosophy, U.C. Los
Angeles. [invited]
- Sex Identity without Sex Categories, September 2015. Reading Group in
Feminism, University of Louisville. [invited]
-A Structural Explanation of Speech Injustice, August 2015
Minds Online Conference, organized by the Brains Blog and the Departments of
Philosophy at Florida State University and the University of Houston. [invited]

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 Ayala CV

-Explaining Injustice in Speech: Individualistic or Structural Explanation?, July

2015. Cognitive Science Society, Pasadena CA + Society for Philosophy and
Psychology, Duke University (July 2015).
-Philosophy and the Non-Native Speaker Condition, May 2015. Exploring
Collaborative Contestations and Diversifying Philosophy, Villanova U.
-Injustice in Speech: Biased Minds or Operative Conventions?, February 2015
Berkeley Social Ontology Group, University of California, Berkeley. [invited]
- Identity-Constrained Conventions, October 2014. Perspectives on Gender,
University of California, Irvine.
- Discursive Injustice and Operative Conventions, October 2014. The San Francisco
Bay Area Feminism and Philosophy Workshop, San Francisco State University.
- Consequences of silence: Responsibility for allowing sexist, racist and homophobic
speech, June 2014. International Society for Justice Research, New York University.
- Harmful Speech in Social Media, May 2014. International Conference on Social
Media, York University, Toronto.
- Responsibility for Silence, April 2014. Ethics Reading Group, Linguistics and
Philosophy Department, MIT, Cambridge. [invited]
- A Lesbian? But Shes Beautiful! March 2014. Philosophy Department
Colloquium, Suffolk University, Boston. [invited]
- Allowing Harmful Speech, November 2013. III Workshop on Meaning,
Translation and Context, University of Barcelona, Barcelona.
- Harm in Speech: Beyond Hearers Beliefs, September 2013. Spanish Society for
Analytic Philosophy meeting, Madrid.
- On The Possibility of an Extended, Yet Reductionist Mind, August 2013
Cognitive Science Society, Berlin.
- Cognitive Externalism Meets Bounded Rationality, July 2013. European Society
for Philosophy & Psychology, Granada.
- Extending Sex: Against The Internalist Approach to Sex, April 2013
Workshop on Gender and Philosophy, Linguistics and Philosophy Department, MIT,
Cambridge. [invited]
- Extending & Inventing Sex: Getting Rid of Females & Males, May 2012
Department Colloquium, Universidad de Granada, Granada. [invited]
- From Extended Mind to Extended Sex, April 2012. Workshop on Gender &
Philosophy, Linguistics and Philosophy Department, MIT, Cambridge.
- Re-inventing Sex, November 2011. Midwest Society for Women in Philosophy
meeting, Northwestern University, Chicago.
- Manipulating Bodies & Incorporating Technology: Re-inventing Sex, July 2011
14th Congress of Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science, Nancy.
- Manipulating Bodies & Incorporating Technology: Re-inventing Sex, June 2011
Bodies of Thought: Fleshy subjects, Embodied Minds, & Human Natures, Edinburgh.
-Social Networks in the Brain-Body-Environment Equation: Environmental
Contribution to Cognitive Processes, December 2010. APA Eastern Division.
-The limits of a Functionalist Description: To Implement or Not To Implement the
Same Function, August 2010. European Society for Philosophy and Psychology,
Bochum/Essen.
-The Sex/Gender Distinction on The Ropes: The Plasticity of Mind, Body and Why
Not, Sex, April 2010. Gender & Education Association Interim Conference,
University of Barcelona, Barcelona.
-What Does Embodiment Mean? Questioning the Autonomy of Psychology,
November 2009. VI Conference of the Spanish Society of Logic, Methodology and
Philosophy of Science, Valencia + 15th Herbstakademie: Embodied Cognition and
Embodied Communication meeting, Bern.
-What Matters for Perceptual Consciouness? A (non) empirical question, April

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2009 Interdisciplinary Graduate Conference on Consciousness, Boston University,

Boston.
-Body-chauvinism or (disembodied) Mind-chauvinism? Questioning the Autonomy
of Psychology, April 2009. Pacific Division APA, Vancouver.
- What Matters for Perceptual Consciousness?, June 2009. Association for the
Scientific Study of Consciousness, Berlin.
- Biased Cognition and Minimal Cognition: Embodied Cognition to the Rescue!,
June 2008. Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Science, Vancouver.

Teaching At California State University, Sacramento:

experience Fall 2017:
Phil 153 Philosophy of Mind
Phil 123 Philosophy and Feminism
Phil 105 Science and Human Values

Phil 153 Philosophy of Mind, Spring 2017

Phil 105 Science and Human Values, Spring 2017
Phil 154 Philosophy of Language, Fall 2016
Phil 105.01 + 105.02 Science and Human Values, Fall 2016

At San Francisco State University:

Phil 702 Philosophy of Language, Culture and Society, Spring 2015
Phil 351 Philosophy of Risk, Spring 2015

At University Carlos III of Madrid:

Critical Thinking and Effective Communication, Fall 2013, [in English]

At Autonomous University of Barcelona:

Philosophy of Mind, Spring 2011 [in English]
Philosophy of Language, Spring 2011 [In Spanish + Catalan]
Great Topics in Philosophy, Fall 2010 [In Spanish + Catalan]
History of Philosophy and Science, Fall 2006 [in Spanish]
Relations Between Philosophy and Science, Spring 2006 [In Spanish]

At University of British Columbia:

I served as a teaching assistant for Philosophy of Mind and Introduction to
Philosophy, Fall 2008

At Langara College:
I served as a teaching assistant for Metaphysics and Ethics, Spring 2009

Service to the Executive Secretary, Pacific Society for Women in Philosophy.

profession +
the university
Member of the APA Committee on LGBTQ People in the Profession.

Editorial Board, Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy.

Board, Festival of the Arts, Sacramento State.

Conference, Workshops Organization:

Co-organizer, mini-conference on diversity and inclusion, APA Pacific Division

meeting, co-sponsored by Pacific SWIP and APA committee on LGBTQ people in the

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profession.

Co-organizer (with Rebecca Mason), SF Bay Area Feminism and Philosophy

Workshop (BayFAP), Fall 2014-Present.

Co-organizer, past and upcoming Nammour Symposium, Sacramento State.

Organizer, Foreigners in Philosophy Workshop, U.C. Berkeley, sponsored by a

Diversity Grant from Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy.

Organizer, special session for the Society for Analytical Feminism The Metaphysics
of Sex (Differences) and Sexual Orientation, Pacific APA, San Francisco; panelists:
Sally Haslanger (MIT), Talia Bettcher (Cal State LA), Esa Diaz-Leon (U. Manitoba),
Nadya Vasilyeva (U.C. Berkeley), March 2013

Organizer, workshop on Embodied, Distributed and Extended Cognition:

Philosophical Perspectives, Autonomous University of Barcelona. Invited speakers:
Robert Wilson, Corrado Sinigaglia, David Kirsh and Sergio Martinez, March 2011.

Organizer, graduate colloquium, Philosophy Department, University of British of

Columbia, 2008-2009.

Organizer, VIII Workshop on Research in Philosophy, Universitat Autnoma de

Barcelona, January 2006, www.ub.es/tif

Other contributions to the discipline, the university and the community:

Invited Speaker, Philosophy Club, Sacramento State

Invited Speaker, Minorities and Philosophy (UCLA and Stanford chapters).

Invited Speaker, Opportunity for Postdoc Equity Networking, University of

California, Berkeley, October 2015 + November 2016 + February 2017

Panel presentation, Ask a Philosopher, Philosophy Club, San Francisco State

University, April 2015.

Founder of the Inclusive Fees Campaign, https://academiserias.wordpress.com

Coordinator of TECNOCOG Technology & Cognition research group, Autonomous

University of Barcelona, 2009-2011.

Talks for prospective students, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 2010.

Panel presentation, Brain Awareness Week, Center for Genomic Regulation,

Barcelona, 2010

Other Participant in the Summer Institute on Bounded Rationality, Adaptive Behavior and
experience & Cognition group, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, June 20-28th 2011.
training
(selected) Participant in the First European Summer School on Life and Cognition, Donosti,

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June 21-26th 2010.

Volunteer at the Visual Cognition Lab, University of British Columbia, 2008-2009

Research Stay, Department of Philosophy, University of Sheffield, 2004

Research Stay, Cognitive Neuroscience research group, Department of Experimental

Psychology and Physiology of Behavior, University of Granada, 2005.

Philosophy instructor of children and high school students at a private academy,

Barcelona, 2006-2007/2009-2010

Co-founder of LGBTQ po-russki", an online platform aiming at creating a positive

narrative of alternative sexualities in Russian language, lgbtporusski.tumblr.com/

Memberships American Philosophical Association

and
Society for Analytic Feminism
affiliations
Cognitive Science Society
Society for Philosophy and Psychology
UC Berkeley Social Ontology Group
International Society for Justice Research
Spanish Society for Analytic Philosophy
Spanish Society for the Methodology, Logic and Philosophy of Science

languages Spanish, English, Catalan