Laura W. Kane is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at WSU and the Academic Director of the Clemente Course in the Humanities in Worcester, MA. Her research examines social phenomena such as families, states, and social media networks through a feminist lens.

Her book, The Social Family: Sociality and the Ethics of Supporting Families, argues for an inclusive definition of the family that recognizes diverse caregiving relationships and outlines distinct familial and governmental obligations based on a taxonomy of needs. In doing so, it de-emphasizes marriage, biological ties, or shared values as the basis for familial relationship in social and legal contexts. The Social Family account prioritizes families as the starting place for thinking through moral and political obligations, and advocates for state policies that support family caregiving relationships by granting rights, privileges, and protections to groups engaged in intimate, interdependent care.

A second project focuses upon accountability relationships on the internet, especially those that result in ‘shaming’ and ‘doxxing’ culture. The common thread that ties these two trajectories together is the claim that an undervaluing of relationship in social, political, and digital contexts has precipitated current practices that misplace responsibility and the important goods that are associated with it.

Kane received her Ph.D. in Philosophy, as well as a Certificate in Interactive Technology and Pedagogy, from The Graduate Center of the City University of New York in 2017.