She is an Associate Professor of Philosophy in the Department of History & Philosophy, and a department member in Women's & Gender Studies. Her research focuses on Continental Philosophy, especially Phenomenology and Existentialism. She explains, “Basically you think about, what is human experience like? What makes it meaningful? What kinds of structures are involved in making it the kind of thing that it is?” Dr. McMahon is also interested in Social & Political Philosophy and Feminist Philosophy, and uses Phenomenology--the science of experience--to think about how social and political structures are implicated in the very functioning of human experience. She also thinks phenomenologically about the nature of freedom and political transformation. In her classes, she works to connect students' life experiences and ideas with insights from philosophical texts, to illuminate, but also to transform, the students' own perspectives on matters important to their own lives. “I really want students to experience these texts as personally meaningful,” she says. Though Dr. McMahon misses teaching in person since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, she has been excited to find that online forums, where students can write their thoughts each week linking philosophical topics to the changing world around them, has been an interesting avenue to learning more about what students are thinking. She said, “The internet, especially for young people who are so used to it, could be an interesting resource to incorporate into more traditional liberal arts education. It's especially interesting during these pretty wild times to see how people are making sense of things, and what's on their mind.” Thank you Dr. Laura McMahon for your passion and dedication to EMU students! #TRUEMU #EMUCAS