People Feature

Yana Stoykova

DPhil in Politics

I am a political philosopher, currently a DPhil candidate in Politics (Political Theory). My research interests lie at the intersection between social, legal and political philosophy, and feminist theory.

My thesis aims to contribute to the feminist critique of the consent framework. It is provisionally entitled "Queering Consent: Moral Risk Management and the Normative Power of Intimacy". I intend to interrogate the heteronormative intellectual history of consent, explore alternative mechanisms of moral permissibility, and consider their methodological and legal implications. Practically, I am interested in substantiating a sexual ethics that shifts the focus of the debate from waiving negative rights (i.e. consent) to the fulfillment of active, positive desire. My guide in this puzzle will be Prof. Cécile Laborde, and my DPhil studies are generously funded by a Nuffield College - Clarendon Fund Scholarship.

Aside from my thesis, I recently developed a research interest in queer philosophy. I am currently working on a project on the social metaphysics of gender, and one on the phenomenology of sexuality. Both of these grew out of research I did during my MPhil in Philosophy at the University of Cambridge, which was kindly sponsored by a Philosophy Faculty studentship. I also hold an MA in Legal and Political Theory from UCL, where I earned the Department of Political Science Best Dissertation Award, and a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from King's College London.

Outside academia, I play the drums, flirt with fiction, and practice yoga. My pronouns are she/her.

Yana Stoykova