Areas of Expertise

Applied Philosophy, Ethics, Academic Writing, English as a Second Language

Teaching Interests

Michael Mc Gehee is passionate about improving students’ reasoning and writing capabilities. He really enjoys the moment in class when students suddenly understand something, and things click into place for them – the “aha” moment. He’s also a strong advocate of student-centered and project-based learning. He helps students take ownership of their education, including giving them the freedom to choose their paper topics and creative projects, facilitating active discussions of the texts and topics of the day, and giving them opportunities to teach the rest of the class. Michael’s goal is to empower students to express themselves clearly, strongly, and free from logical fallacies.

Michael’s teaching interests include philosophy, music, history, and creative writing. As an academic, he has done work in ethics and political philosophy, specifically on how individuals can live a meaningful, ethical, and fulfilled life. As a teacher and a researcher, he strives to do work that not just advances theoretical and academic conversations but that also has tangible applications to impacting and improving the lives of his students and readers. Some of Michael’s favorite philosophy works are “Famine, Affluence, and Morality” and “Animal Liberation”, both by Peter Singer, “On Liberty” by John Stuart Mill, and “The Dao De Jing” attributed to Laozi and translated by Stephen Mitchell.

Michael has been teaching since 2013 and at Temple University, Japan Campus since 2022. He currently teaches Analytical Reading and Writing and Intellectual Heritage. Michael’s office is 509W, so feel free to stop by for a chat!

Subjects Taught

Humanities, Philosophy, Applied Ethics, Logic and Critical Thinking, English Composition, English as a Second Language, Comparative Religion, Music Theory, Music Performance, Art

Education

MA in Humanities, University of Chicago, 2013

BA in Philosophy and History (minor in Music), Cornell College, 2009

Professional Associations

The Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT)