Faculty Profile for Dr. Lori Lee Gallegos de Castillo

Dr. Lori Lee Gallegos de Castillo
Associate Professor — Philosophy
CMAL 107E
phone: (512) 245-6564
Biography Section
Biography and Education
Lori is from Albuquerque, New Mexico. She received her Ph.D. in philosophy and a graduate certificate in Women’s and Gender Studies from Stony Brook University (SUNY) in 2016. Prior to attending graduate school, she worked as a case manager in family-based immigration law in Albuquerque. She earned her B.A. in philosophy and foreign languages from the University of New Mexico in 2008.Teaching Interests
Lori teaches a range of courses, including Philosophy of Emotion, Latin American Philosophy, Moral Psychology, Feminist Theory, Ethics and Society, graduate Seminar in Ethics, and the graduate Dialogues course (focusing on philosophical methods).She is co-editor, with Manuel Vargas and Francisco Gallegos, of The Latinx Philosophy Reader, which was published by Routledge in 2025. This volume gathers and situates key texts from an emerging field in a way that is suitable for classroom use.
Research Interests
Lori writes on topics related to emotions and society, Latinx philosophy, and the ethics and politics of immigration.In her research on emotion, she utilizes methods and theories in philosophy, combined with research findings in psychology, to better understand the ways in which human experience is shaped by the societies that are the source of our emotion concepts and norms. This work often focuses on the experiences of people in Latin American immigrant communities in the U.S.
*Lori has written articles on unconscious ethnic and racial prejudice.
*She has published work on whether empathy contributes to solidarity in cases where injustices are subtle or structural.
*She has authored a chapter about the moral anxiety involved in interpreting for one’s parents––the conflict between living in accordance with one’s own values and desires, and the sense of obligation to amplify a dependent loved one’s agency.
*One of her articles discusses affective injustice and explores the nature of linguistic shame for Latinx people in the U.S. This group includes immigrants who are unable to speak English “well enough,” but also U.S.-born children who are unable to speak Spanish “well enough.”
*She is currently working on a project about the pressure on Latinx people to undergo affective assimilation, or to feel a sense of belonging and identification with mainstream U.S. culture.
*She is also writing about the wounds of guilt, anxiety, and fear within immigrant communities, with the aim of encouraging communities to care about, understand, prevent, and work to heal these wounds.
Lori’s publications have appeared in edited volumes and in journals including Hypatia, Philosophical Topics, Journal of Intercultural Studies, Critical Philosophy of Race, Topoi, and the Inter-American Journal of Philosophy.
Lori serves as the editor of APA Studies on Hispanic/Latino Issues in Philosophy.
Selected Scholarly/Creative Work
- Gallegos de Castillo, L. L., Vargas, M., & Gallegos, F. (Eds.). (2025). The Latinx Philosophy Reader. Routledge.
- Gallegos de Castillo, L. L. (2024). Does Empathy Contribute to Inter-Group Solidarity?: Navigating the Pitfalls of Empathy in the Pursuit of Racial Justice. Hypatia, 39(1), 194–214. https://doi.org/10.1017/hyp.2024.12
- Gallegos de Castillo, L. L. (2023). The Affective Injustice of Linguistic Shame. Philosophical Topics, 50(2).
- Gallegos de Castillo, L. L. (2021). The Interpreter’s Dilemma: On the Moral Burden of Consensual Heteronomy. In Latin American Immigration Ethics. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press.
- Gallegos de Castillo, L. L., & Gallegos, F. (2019). Metaphilosophy: What are Latin American and Latinx Philosophy? In Latin American and Latinx Philosophy: A Collaborative Introduction. Routledge.
Selected Awards
- Award / Honor Recipient: College of Liberal Arts College Achievement Award for Excellence in Teaching. July 2019
- Award / Honor Recipient: Essay Prize in Latin American Thought, American Philosophical Association. December 2015
- Award / Honor Recipient: President's Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Graduate Student, Stony Brook University. May 2014
Selected Grants
- Gallegos de Castillo, Lori Lee. Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship, National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine, Private / Foundation / Corporate, $25000. (Funded: September 2015 - August 2016). Grant.
- Gallegos de Castillo, Lori Lee. Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship, National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine, $60000. (Funded: September 2011 - August 2014). Grant.
- Gallegos de Castillo, Lori Lee. Turner Summer Research Grant, Center for Inclusive Education, Stony Brook University. (Funded: 2014). Grant.
- Gallegos de Castillo, Lori Lee. Turner Summer Research Grant, Center for Inclusive Education, Stony Brook University. (Funded: 2012). Grant.
- Gallegos de Castillo, Lori Lee. Turner Summer Research Grant, Center for Inclusive Education, Stony Brook University. (Funded: 2011). Grant.
Selected Service Activities
Editor
APA Studies on Hispanic/Latino Issues in Philosophy
May 2020-Present
Presenter
Multicultural Curriculum Transformation and Research Institute
May 21, 2024
Member
Ad Hoc Committee on Graduate Program
2023-Present
Editorial Review Board Member
Journal of Speculative Thought
2023-Present
Editorial Review Board Member
American Philosophy / Indiana University Press
2021-Present