Kathryn Sophia Belle

Kathryn Sophia Belle, formerly known as Kathryn T. Gines Much of her work has focused on increasing diversity within philosophy, and she is the founding director of the Collegium of Black Women Philosophers. Prior to her appointment at Penn State, Belle was an assistant professor of Africana and diaspora studies at Vanderbilt University, with a cross-appointment in the department of philosophy.

Collegium of Black Women Philosophers Belle founded the Collegium of Black Women Philosophers in 2007 to provide a positive place and support network for black women philosophers, and also to simply help identify how many black women were active as academic philosophers. The Collegium's annual conference now hosts around thirty visiting Black women faculty and students of philosophy, offering a variety of professional development workshops and other tracks.

Research and publications Belle has written one book, Hannah Arendt and the Negro Question.

Belle's primary areas of interest include Africana philosophy, continental philosophy, black feminist philosophy, critical philosophy of race. Much of Belle's research has focused on critical approaches to issues of race, racism, feminism, and intersectionality. and argues that the preservation of a unique and positive racial identity can be a critically empowering act.