I am an American-Canadian philosopher and Associate Professor at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.  I work in the philosophy of language, social ontology, and the places where the two intersect.

Within the philosophy of language, I have written on foundational theories of meaning, the semantics/pragmatics distinction, metaphor, the nature of conversational maxims, and theories of reference. I’m also interested in speech act theory and semantic minimalism, among other topics.

Within social ontology, I have written on the nature of social conventions and the metaphysics of social institutions.

Beyond my main research areas, my teaching interests also range into epistemology, logic, critical thinking, and ethics.