CLAUDIA MILLS (Princeton, Ph.D. 1991) joined the faculty of the University of Colorado Philosophy Department in 1992. Before that, her checkered past included working in children’s book publishing at Scholastic in New York City, earning a master’s degree in library science (specializing in the study of children’s literature), and spending a decade as editor and director of publications at the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy at the University of Maryland. There she wrote articles on topics ranging from nuclear deterrence, the regulation of air pollution, the preservation of endangered species, and the political uses of food, to racist and sexist humor, children’s television, privacy in the computer age, and her most popular essay, “Why Life Is Disappointing.”

Prof. Mills’s current research interests focus on ethical questions regarding the family, such as the rise in the use of behavior-altering medications for children, conflicts between parents and non-parents in the workplace, and intercultural adoption. She also publishes widely on moral and philosophical questions in children’s literature. In addition to her many scholarly articles, she is the author of 40 books for children, including Makeovers by Marcia, Ziggy’s Blue-Ribbon Day, 7 x 9 = Trouble!, and Being Teddy Roosevelt (more here: www.claudiamillsauthor.com). She loves occasions when she can bring her love of children’s literature into the philosophy classroom. For example, when she teaches Nietzsche in her Intro to Ethics class, she always reads aloud to the class from the sappy picture-book classic The Rainbow Fish and then leads a discussion with her students on why Nietzsche would have hated the book. In 2005, she was a judge of the National Book Award in the category of Literature for Young People.

• "The Canary and the Nightingale": Performance and Virtue in Eight Cousins and Rose in Bloom Children's Literature, vol. 34 (2006)
• "Are There Morally Problematic Reasons for Having Children?" Philosophy & Public Policy Quarterly (Winter 2005)
• "Bragging, Boasting, and Crowing: The Ethics of Sharing One's Glad Tidings with Others," Philosophy & Public Policy Quarterly (Winter 2004)
• "Duties to Aging Parents," Harris Lecture, Department of Philosophy, Miami University of Ohio (November 7, 2002)
• Friendship, Fiction, and Memoir: Trust and Betrayal in Writing from One's Own Life, Colloquium on the Ethics of Life Writing, University of Indiana at Bloomington (October 25, 2002)
• "Powders and Pills to Help Cure Children's Bad Habits: The Medicalization of Misbehavior in Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle," Children's Literature Association Quarterly, vol. 26, no. 4 (Winter 2001-2002): 28-37
• "Workplace Wars: How Much Should I Be Required to Meet the Needs of Your Children?" Philosophy & Public Policy Quarterly, vol. 21, no. 1 (Winter 2001)
• "What Do Fathers Owe Their Children?" Association for Practical and Professional Ethics, Washington, D.C. (February 25, 2000)
• "Choice and Circumstance," Ethics, vol. 109, no. 1 (October 1998)
• One Pill Makes You Smarter: An Ethical Appraisal of the Rise of Ritalin, Report from the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy, vol. 18, no. 4 (Fall 1998)
• "Goodness as Weapon," The Journal of Philosophy XCII, no. 9 (Septempber 1995)
• "From Obedience to Autonomy: Moral Growth in the Little House Books," Children's Literature, vol. 24 (1995)
• "Multiculturalism and Cultural Authenticity," Report from the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy (Spring/Summer 1994)