Philosophy Ph.D. Candidate Wins Newcombe Fellowship
By Katya Hrichak
Migdalia Arcila-Valenzuela, a doctoral candidate in philosophy, has been selected as a recipient of the Robert M. Adams 鈥� Charlotte W. Newcombe Fellowship in Philosophy.
Administered by the Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation, Arcila-Valenzuela is one of 20 recipients of Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowships for the 2025-26 academic year, selected from nearly 600 applicants.
Arcila-Valenzuela is studying how praise and pride reflect the values a given society embraces and thus serve both aims of liberation and oppression in her dissertation, titled, 鈥淧raise, Pride, and Pedestals: The Ethics and Moral Psychology of Black and Indigenous Movements in Colombia.鈥�
鈥淏eing a Robert M. Adams 鈥� Charlotte W. Newcombe Fellow gives me the opportunity to dedicate the necessary time to write a dissertation that can enrich discussions in ethics and moral psychology, a growing discipline that can benefit from an active engagement with the concrete social realities and intellectual traditions from Latin America,鈥� said Arcila-Valenzuela.
Coming from Colombia, this research鈥攁nd its conclusions鈥攊s of personal interest.
鈥淎s a scholar from the Global South and as a philosopher specializing in ethics, moral psychology, and Latin American philosophy, I aim to contribute to the theoretical understanding of the motivations behind social movements in the Global South,鈥� she said.
Founded in 1981, the Newcombe Fellowship was established to provide funding to Ph.D. candidates in the humanities and social sciences writing ethically focused dissertations at American institutions to allow for 12 months of full-time dissertation writing.
鈥淭he Charlotte W. Newcombe Fellowship will allow me to become part of a vibrant community of scholars committed to advancing new research in ethics, morality, and values across a wide range of disciplines,鈥� said Arcila-Valenzuela. 鈥淚t offers me the opportunity to go beyond the methodological boundaries of philosophy, opening up new possibilities to enrich my research and connect with an international network of scholars.鈥�