Perry Zurn
| Perry Zurn | |
|---|---|
| Born | Tacoma, Washington, U.S. |
| 🏡 Residence | Western philosophy |
| 💼 Occupation | |
Perry Zurn is an American philosopher and scholar (born 1980s). Perry Zurn is an American philosopher, political theorist, and Associate Professor of Philosophy at American University. He is widely recognized for his pioneering work in curiosity studies, political philosophy, and trans-philosophy.[1] Zurn is a co-founder of the Trans Philosophy Project and is noted for his research on the intersections of inquiry, power, and marginalized identities.[2]
Zurn has held academic appointments at Lafayette College, where he served as an Assistant Professor of Philosophy, and at the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell University as a research fellow.[3][4] In 2021, he joined the faculty at American University in Washington, D.C., where they currently serve as the Provost Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion. They are a co-founder of the Trans Philosophy Project, an international initiative dedicated to supporting transgender and non-binary scholars and establishing trans-philosophy as a distinct academic subdiscipline.[5]
Zurn is best known for the books Curiosity and Power: The Politics of Inquiry (2021) and Curious Minds: The Power of Connection (2022), the latter was co-authored with their identical twin, neuroscientist Dani S. Bassett.[6] In these works, Zurn challenges traditional, individualistic notions of curiosity, developing instead a theory of "political curiosity" and identifying specific "shapes" of inquiry—the hunter, the busybody, and the dancer—that influence how knowledge is networked and produced.[7] This research has had a significant influence on both philosophical epistemology and network neuroscience.[8]
Zurn has also spoken and written on prison abolitionism, institutional ethics, and disability justice. Their 2025 book, How We Make Each Other: Trans Life at the Edge of the University, explores the "poetics of resistance" and the ethics of community-building among trans and gender-nonconforming people within academic institutions.[9] They have been a prominent voice internationally in support of transgender rights and the inclusion of trans perspectives within the history of ideas .[10][11][12]
Biography and Career
Perry Zurn was born in Tacoma, Washington, and was homeschooled during their early education in Pennsylvania alongside their twin sibling, Dani Bassett.[13] Zurn attended Cedarville University, where they earned a Bachelor of Arts, followed by a Master of Arts from Miami University. In 2015, they received their PhD in Philosophy from DePaul University with the dissertation Curiosity: Philosophy and the Politics of Difference, written under the supervision of Elizabeth Rottenberg.[14][15]
Perry Zurn received his PhD from DePaul University in 2015. His doctoral work focused on the philosophical history of curiosity and its relationship to political resistance.[16] He currently serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion at American University in Washington, D.C.
Beyond his primary appointment, Zurn has held a research affiliation at the University of Pennsylvania in the Department of Bioengineering and the Center for Curiosity.[17]
He is a prominent advocate for the inclusion of transgender perspectives in the history of ideas and has been instrumental in organizing the Trans Philosophy Project, an international initiative supporting trans and non-binary scholars alongside Talia Mae Bettcher and Andrea Pitts.[18]
References
- ↑ a b American University. "Faculty Profile: Perry Zurn". Accessed February 16, 2026
- ↑ PhilPeople. "Perry Zurn Profile and Publications"
- ↑ a b American University. "Faculty Profile: Perry Zurn". Accessed February 16, 2026
- ↑ Cornell University."Perry Zurn | Society for the Humanities".
- ↑ Trans Philosophy Project. "About the Project".
- ↑ a b The Guardian (2022). "Are you a busybody, a hunter or a dancer?".
- ↑ Zurn, Perry (2021). Curiosity and Power: The Politics of Inquiry. University of Minnesota Press.
- ↑ Bassett, D. S., & Zurn, P. (2022). Curious Minds: The Power of Connection. MIT Press.
- ↑ Zurn, Perry (2025). How We Make Each Other: Trans Life at the Edge of the University. Duke University Press.
- ↑ a b American University. "Faculty Profile: Perry Zurn". Accessed February 16, 2026
- ↑ Cornell University."Perry Zurn | Society for the Humanities".
- ↑ Zurn, Perry (2022). "How I Became a Trans Philosopher". Journal of World Philosophies.
- ↑ a b The Guardian (2022). "Are you a busybody, a hunter or a dancer?".
- ↑ Zurn, Perry (2015). "Curiosity: Philosophy and the Politics of Difference". DePaul University Dissertations.
- ↑ PhilPapers. "Perry Zurn: Publications and Citations".
- ↑ Zurn, Perry (2015). "Curiosity, Knowledge, and the Social Ethics of Powera". DePaul University Dissertations.
- ↑ University of Pennsylvania. "Center for Curiosity: Perry Zurn".
- ↑ Trans Philosophy Project. "About the Project".
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