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Christopher Panza, Ph.D.

Portrait of Chris Panza.

Office: Pearsons Hall 105
Phone: (417) 873-6837
E-Mail: cpanza@drury.edu

Spring 2024 Office Hours

Monday
8 – 9 a.m.
Noon – 1 p.m.

Wednesday
8 – 9 a.m.
Noon – 1 p.m.

Friday
8 – 9 a.m.
Noon – 1 p.m.

Additional Office Hours by appointment.

Christopher Panza, Ph.D.

Professor of Philosophy
Director of Asian Studies

Thanks for visiting! My name is Chris Panza, though students around Drury know me as “CP.” I’m a native of the Bronx, and attended Purchase College for my BA, double majoring in philosophy and literature. After finishing my PhD in philosophy at the University of Connecticut in 2002, I came to Drury – where I am now a professor of philosophy and happily spend my days infecting students with a desire to investigate and grapple with big philosophical questions. 

Turning to research interests, although I wrote my doctoral dissertation on John Locke’s philosophy of language (earning a specialization in early modern philosophy), I have developed a long-term scholarly and teaching interest in Confucianism, ethics (particular virtue ethics), and in existentialism. Most recently, I have developed a lively scholarly interest in the subject of intellectual virtues, both in the ways that those virtues are differently interpreted by different historical thinkers and also in the sense that those virtues (however construed) should be a central component of a liberal arts education.

At home, I’m married (to Christie Cathey, a professor of psychology at Missouri State University) and have two awesome kids, Parker (who is 12) and Paige (who is 9). Both of them think philosophy is odd and strange, but I figure I have years to work that out and bring them into the fold. I am also an avid Italian cook and baker, and spend a lot of time perfecting various dinners, breads, and desserts.

Drury University faculty member since 2002
Professor since 2015

Education

  • B.A., State University of New York, 1993
  • M.A., University of Connecticut, 1998
  • Ph.D., University of Connecticut, 2002 Drury University faculty member since

Publications

Books

  • Panza, C. & Potthast, A. Ethics for Dummies, Wiley and Sons, (New York), 2010
  • Panza, C. & Gale, G. Existentialism for Dummies, Wiley and Sons, (New York), 2008

Refereed Articles

  • Panza, C. “Games, Sports, and Performance Enhancement: A Confucian Meditation,” an invited contribution to a special edition (on games and sports) of The Journal of Chinese Philosophy (invited and under review, would be forthcoming in 2015).
  • Panza, C. Review of Confucianism and Virtue Ethics (Routledge, 2013), invited contribution to Philosophy East and West (forthcoming, 2015).
  • Panza, C. “Is Confucian Harmony Consistent With Cosmetic Surgery?” in Teaching Ethics, Volume 6, No. 1, 2007.
  • Panza, C. & Potthast, A & Cathey, C. “Thinking Outside the Room: Using Forums in Philosophy Courses,” in Teaching Philosophy, Volume 29, no 4, 2006.
  • Panza, C. “Instilling Virtue: Weaving the One Thread of the Confucian Analects,”in Discourse, Volume 5, No. 2, 2006.

Non-Refereed Publications

  • Panza, C. & Schur, R., “Transforming Chickens into Foxes – A Humanities Parable,” (forthcoming, The Chronicle of Higher Education, 2014)
  • Panza, C. & Schur, R., “Football and the Humanities Teach the Same Life Lessons,” Springfield News-Leader, Oct. 2013
  • Panza, C. “Colleges Require Dynamic Interaction Between Student and Teacher,” Springfield News-Leader, Oct. 2011

Works in Progress

  • Panza, C. & Cathey, C., “Promoting and Assessing Intellectual Virtues in the Classroom”
  • Panza, C. “Intellectual Virtues at Work in Confucius and Marcel”