Author: amymcools

Amy M. Cools, PhD, is a historian, author, and educator. Her doctoral thesis, ‘The Life and Work of James McCune Smith (1813-1865),’ is the first completed book-length biographical study dedicated to this pioneering intellectual, scientist, and physician. She is currently a historical researcher and writing assistant and part-time educator. As time allows, she is also currently working on a full-length scholarly biography of McCune Smith and on compiling and editing his complete written works. Amy holds a PhD in History from the University of Edinburgh (2021); an MA in Intellectual History with Distinction from the University of Edinburgh (2018); a BA in Philosophy: Ethics, Politics and Law, Summa Cum Laude from California State University at Sacramento (2013), and an AA in Humanities and Fine Arts from Riverside City College (1999).

Amy has written theses, peer-reviewed articles, conference papers, and essays on McCune Smith, Frederick Douglass, the history of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century civil rights movements, the history of philosophy, United States history, and other historical and philosophical topics. Links to these and/or full articles can be found at her website OrdinaryPhilosophy.com – for which she plans to resume writing more frequently as soon as her busy schedule allows – which also features photo-illustrated writings about her history- and philosophy-themed travels and other topics. Born in California, USA, she now makes her home in beautiful Edinburgh, Scotland.