Traci Levy | Faculty Profiles | Adelphi University

Diplomas/Degrees

Ph.D., University of Notre Dame (2002)

B.A., Loyola College in Maryland (1992)

Licenses and Certifications

“Certificate of Participation: 2021 Teaching & Learning (Virtual) Conference.” Adelphi University. “Teaching and Learning in Uncertain Times.” April 7-8, 2021.

“Certificate of Completion: Designing Emotion: How to Use Design to Move People.” LinkedIn Learning. Completed January 28, 2021.

Online Academy: Course Development Certificate. Intensive online training from Adelphi University’s Faculty Center for Professional Excellence. Completed August 2020.

Personal Statement

I am a normative political philosopher who cares deeply about justice and teaching.

My research interests center around: care theory; caregiving; family, care, and education policies; feminism; educational games; game design, and disability justice. Please see my "Research Interests" tab for more. You can also see my some of my published work at ResearchGate.

I have designed two versions of an educational roleplaying game, The Challenge and Inequality of Care. Both versions of the game focus on informal caregiving in the United States in the context of a meagre care policy landscape and intense workplace pressures. The game helps students better understand the relationship between inequality and caregiving, with a particular focus on the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

The extended version of the care game runs over four weeks of a 3-credit class (including set-up and debrief); the short version runs over 2.5 hours (roughly one week of a 3-credit course). You can request the instructor's manual for either version here.

I teach courses on political philosophy and on political issues. I work with pedagogy, techniques, and materials to make learning as dynamic, inclusive, and engaging as possible. Please see my "Teaching: Specialization/Interests" tab for more.

My main "home" at Adelphi is on the faculty of the Department of Political Science and International Relations. I am constantly inspired by my colleagues and our students.

Between fall 2010 semester and summer 2022, I served as Director of the Gender & Sexuality Studies minor, an interdisciplinary program. I'm serving as director again since fall 2023. (The program evolved from Women's Studies to Gender Studies to its current name and program. It was my honor to oversee the transition from each of these revisions.)

Recent Courses

Ancient & Medieval Political Theory In The Western World

Family And Sexuality In Political Theory

Introduction To Politics

Sem: Justice And Social Policy

Courses Previously Taught

I regularly teach the following courses on a rotating basis:

American Political Thought

Family and Sexuality in Political Theory

Feminist Theory & Practice

Introduction to Politics

Modern Political Thought

Politics, Empire, and Intrigue in Ancient Athens

I also have occasionally taught an interdisciplinary course on Rousseau and have offered a first-year seminar, Revolutionary Politics in NYC.

Specialization/Interests

My research focuses on the politics of caregiving in the United States. I am passionate about teaching, pedagogy, and inclusion. My academic publications focus on the politics surrounding relationships of intimacy and care, hospice as a model of care, educational needs, and relational rights.

I have extensive training in the Reacting to the Past roleplaying pedagogy. I regularly uses live-action roleplaying (LARP) and other types of games in her undergraduate classes. I am the designer of The Challenge and Inequality of Care--a role-playing game that highlights the hardships and inequities of juggling paid work and unpaid caregiving in the United States within the context of the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Teaching Philosophy

I love teaching. As Cynthia Enloe says, it's where I feel "my most useful self." I am a political philosopher with wide interests. I teach political philosophy from ancient to contemporary, politics of the family, (intersectional) feminist theory, and an introductory class on politics. My classes draw on many techniques and approaches to make the material as inclusive, engaging, interactive, and memorable as possible. For example, I incorporate diverse voices, politics and literature, small group work, debates, and role-playing pedagogy.

I have participated in the Annual Faculty Institutes run by the Reacting to the Past consortium at Barnard College (or virtually) every summer from 2016-2021 to receiving training and experience in the Reacting pedagogy. I participated in the related Game Developer's Conference (GDC) in the summer of 2023.

My teaching is also deeply influenced by my research as a care theorist. I approach students as whole people with diverse needs, backgrounds, and interests that shouldn't have to be sacrificed to gain new skills and knowledge. Part of teaching is building relationships, fostering community, and acknowledging each other's humanity.

Research Interests

I am currently refining two versions of The Challenge and Inequality of Care Game, a live action role-playing game. The game centers on informal (unpaid) care in the context of Family and Medical Leave Act. A central concept of the game is how inequality and strained caregiving exacerbate each other.

The full version runs over the course of four weeks (including set-up) for undergraduate classrooms of 16-25 students. The microversion can be set-up, played, and debriefed in two-and-a-half hours for classrooms of 16-25 students. (I'm working on materials for as few as 12 players, too.) The game immerses students in the tensions and demands of meeting care needs in the United States today. Based on class size, undergraduate instructors assign players roles with a range of identities, jobs, and care joys and needs. In these roles, players must navigate federal and (and sometimes state) policies and employer demands as they struggle to piece together resources that allow them to meet their caregiving needs in humane ways.

If you are interested in learning more about either version of The Challenge and Inequality of Care game, you can contact me about the care game at this link.

My research interests include: families (understood expansively) in contemporary political theory political discourse, and public policy; care policy landscapes, feminist theory, a public ethic of care, politics of rights, disability studies, pedagogy, Family and Medical Leave Act, and states in the USA with paid family leave,.

International Experience

Spring 1991: Studied abroad in Strasbourg, France.

Summer 1991: Interned with the European Parliament offices in Luxembourg. Also went "on mission" to Strasbourg, France.

Chapters

Levy, Traci. 2024. "Challenge and Inequality of Care." In Learning, Education & Games, Volume 4: 50 Games for Inclusion, Equity, and Justice, VOL. 4. Eds. Karen (Kat) Schrier, Rachel Kowert, Diana Leonard, and Tarja Porkka-Kontturi. Carnegie Mellon University: ETC Press. Download for free here.

Levy, Traci. (2013). Families as Relationships of Intimacy and Care. In Daniel Engster and Tamara Metz (Eds.). Justice, Politics, and the Family. (pp. 42-58). Routledge.

Articles

Levy, Traci and Elizabeth Palley (2010), Education, Needs, and a Feminist Ethic of Care: Lessons from Discomfort with Academic Giftedness. Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society, 17 (1), 80-110.

Levy, Traci (2006), "The Relational Self and the Right to Give Care". New Political Science, 28, No. 4:, 547-570.

Levy, Traci (2005), "At the Intersection of Intimacy and Care: Redefining 'Family' through the Lens of a Public Ethic of Care". Politics & Gender, 1, No. 1, 65-95.

Conference Presentations

Levy, Traci. (2024). "State Paid Family Leave in the USA: Challenges of Coverage & Uptake." Caring Futures: Contradictions, Transformation, and Revolutionary Possibilities. Paris, France.

Levy, Traci. (2023). "Full Playtest of the Short Version of My Role-Playing Game, The Challenge and Inequality of Care." Reacting to the Past's Game Development Conference (GDC). Corvallis, Oregon.

Levy, Traci. (2022). "Teaching about Inequality and Informal Caregiving in the United States Using an Extended Role-Playing Game: The Challenge and Inequality of Care." Presented in the "Simulations and Games as Teaching Tools" panel in the Simulation and Games track at the Teaching and Learning Conference at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association (TLCatAPSA). Montreal, Canada.

Levy, Traci (2021). Presenter. "The Challenge and Politics of Care Game: Issues and Mechanics" at the "Pitch Party I" session of the Reacting to the Past Game Development Conference.

Levy, Traci. (2021). “Challenge and Politics of Care: A Role-Playing Game on Informal Caregiving.” Presentation at Mellon-Borghesi Care Workshop: “Relations of Care Across and After Words” Virtual Conference, May 13, 2021.

Levy, Traci (2016). Discussant and Chair of panel, "Theoretical Issues of Care Considered" at the Annual Meeting of the Western Political Science Association. San Diego, California.

Levy, Traci (2016). Discussant and Chair of panel, "Changing Conceptions of Gender Roles and Care." Annual Meeting of the Western Political Science Association. San Diego, California.

Levy, Traci (2014). Armed and Caring? U.S. Military in Political Rhetoric and Family Policy. In Western Political Science Association. Seattle, WA.

Levy, Traci and Deborah Little (2012). Who Cares: Integrating Disability Experiences into Care Theory. In Western Political Science Association. Portland, Oregon.

Levy, Traci (2011). Panel Discussant for "Markets, States, Rights and Families: A Politics of Care in a Global Age". In Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association. Seattle, Washington.

Little, Deborah and Traci Levy (2010). "Care and Disability: Issues of Power and Voice". In 23rd Annual Conference of the Society for Disability Studies. Philadelphia, PA.

Levy, Traci & Deborah Little (2008). Paper presented: “Who Cares and Other Tensions between a Public Ethic of Care and Disability Studies". In 2008 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association. Boston, Massachusetts.

Gray, Margaret and Traci Levy (2008). Paper presented: "Transnational Workers, Inequality, and Household Structure". In 2008 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association. Boston, Massachusetts.

Levy, Traci and Deborah Little (2008). "Personal Assistant? Caregiver? A Dialogue between Disability Studies & Care Theory". In Paper Presented at the Society for Disability Studies. New York City.

Levy, Traci & Elizabeth Palley (2007). Presented paper: "U.S. Education Policy: Liberal Inadequacies and the Care Alternative". In Yeshiva University's Wurzweiler School of Social Work Conference: "Celebrating a Tradition of Caring". New York, New York.

Levy, Traci & Elizabeth Palley (2007). Presented paper: ""A Public Ethic of Care, Gifted Education, and No Child Left Behind". In Annual Meeting of the Western Political Science Association. Las Vegas, Nevada.

(2006). Discussant: Gender, Religion, & Ethnicity Panel. In Northeastern Political Science Association. Boston, Massachusetts.

(2006). Workshop Participant: Assessment and Learning Outcomes, TracK I. In American Political Science Association, Teaching & Learning Conference. Washington, D.C., February 18-20, 2006.

(2004). "Theorizing Caregiver Rights". In Northeastern Political Science Association. Boston, Massachusetts.

(2004). "The Care-Rights Oxymoron: The Viability and Implications of a Right to Give Care". In 2004 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association. Chicago.

Invited Presentations

Setup, coordinated, moderated, and debriefed two simultaneous sessions of The Challenge and Inequality of Care, microversion, for a class of 36 students at Merrimack College. April 17 and 19, 2023.

Setup, coordinated, moderated, and debriefed The Challenge and Inequality of Care, microversion for a class of 21 students at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. April 10, 2023.

Presented "The Challenge and Inequality of Care Game" at "Pitch Party II" panel of Reacting to the Past’s “Game Development Conference,” July 7, 2021.

Invited Co-Panelist, “Care Work in the COVID Crisis: Challenges & Opportunities,” live call-in program. Presented by Hofstra Labor Studies and the Center for Labor and Democracy, in collaboration with Long Island Jobs with Justice and A.L.L.O.W. (Advancing Local Leadership Opportunities for Women). July 7, 2020. For a recording that starts a few minutes in (due to a glitch): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4Vm64FJp0U .

Presenter, Five College Women's Studies Research Center "Works-in-Progress Seminar." Presented my manuscript, co-authored with Deborah Little, "Caresharing and Care-Pooling: Lessons from Disabled Parents and Young Carers." South Hadley, Massachusetts, on March 1, 2019.

Symposium participant, "Maternal Interventions for Ethical, Political, and Spiritual Transformation" focusing on the book The Obligated Self by Mara Benjamin. Held at Mt. Holyoke College on February 28, 2019.

Panelist, "The Political Glass Ceiling--Cracked but not Shattered." Organized by the League of Women Voters/Port Washington-Manhasset and held at the Port Washington Library. Port Washington, NY. April 2017.

Other Work

Pedagogy Presentation

Levy, Traci. "Presentation Cafe: How to Structure Student Presentations to Decrease Anxiety." Adelphi's 2023 Teaching and Learning Conference. AUTLC23. February 16, 2023.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Workshops

Levy, Traci. Co-Creator & Co-Facilitator (with Renaire Frierson, J.D.) of "Gender Bias & Title IX," Three-hour workshop that is part of Adelphi's Diversity Certificate program for faculty, staff, and administrators. I generally co-facilitated two workshops/semester for the Adelphi community from fall 2016-spring 2020. We began running the workshop with area public schools in 2018.

Higher Ed Publications

Levy, Traci. (23 March 2022) "Helping Students Overcome Presentation Anxiety," Inside Higher Ed.

Levy, Traci. (26 May 2021) "Writing Accountabilitiy Groups for Game Designers," Chain Reactions. (Blog from the Reacting to the Past Consortium.)

Levy, Traci. (21 January 2020), "Ditching the Syllabus Monologue." Inside Higher Ed.

Op-Ed

Levy, Traci and Elizabeth Palley. (11 May 2021). “Yes, Care is Infrastructure.” Real Clear Policy. May 11, 2021.

Theses Advised

Since 2016 (most recent first):

Billy Smith, Thesis: "Understanding Undecided Voters (working title). 2021-2022.

Luke Colle, Thesis: "A Philosophical & Practical Examination of the 2016 Raise the Wage Act." Spring 2018.

Jacqueline Condon, Thesis: "The Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 and Beyond: Agenda Setting, Implementation, and What it Means for the Future." Spring 2017.

Sarah O'Connor. Thesis: "When Vogue is Your Bible: How the High-Fashion Modeling Industry has the Components of a Cult." Spring 2016.

Sebastian Souchet. Thesis: "Democracy and Anarchism: An Analysis of Sheldon Wolin’s Democratic Theory." Spring 2016.

Honors and Accomplishments

"Professor of the Year" from Adelphi's Student Government Association and the Center for Student and Community Engagement, May 2025

"Teaching Excellence Award" for non-tenured faculty, from Adelphi University, 2005-2006

"Academic Adviser Recognition Award" from the Adelphi University Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa, May 2006

“Women’s Recognition Dinner Faculty Award” (one of two given) for “Outstanding Service, Leadership, and Commitment to Excellence,” from the Adelphi Student Government Association and Center for Student Involvement, March 2008.

Professional Activities

Participant, NEH Summer Institute: Philosophical Perspectives on Care, 3 weeks in residence in July 2022

Proposal/Paper Reviewer, Caring Futures: Contradictions, Transformation, and Revolutionary Possibilities (scheduled for May 2024).

Member, American Political Science Association (APSA), 1999 to present

Member of following APSA sections: Foundations of Political Theory,
Women and Politics, and Politics, Literature, and Film

Member: Reacting to the Past Consortium, 2016-present

University Service

Please see my c.v.