Michael A. Portal

I am an assistant professor of philosophy in the Department of Philosophy and the director of the Jewish Life & Learning Initiative at the University of Louisville. My position is generously supported in part by the Jewish Heritage Fund of Louisville. I am the managing editor of Arendt Studies and a book review editor for Derrida Today.

I teach and research in Jewish and French/francophone philosophy. I am writing a manuscript on phenomenology and Jewish messianism. You can follow my work on PhilPeople.

I completed my PhD in the Department of Philosophy at Texas A&M University in 2025 under the direction of Drs. Claire E. Katz and Daniel Conway. I wrote my dissertation on Emmanuel Levinas, Maurice Blanchot, and the ethical significance of what is "otherwise than being."

I am a former Fulbright scholar (2022–23) who conducted research on Jewish community in Antwerp, Belgium at the invitation of Drs. Vivian Liska and Stijn Oosterlynck at the University of Antwerp. While there I was primarily affiliated with the university's Institute for Jewish Studies. 

You can find my complete CV here.

I enjoy continental philosophy and pastrami on rye. 

You can reach me at michael.portal@louisville.edu.