Janna Thompson received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Minnesota in 1964, a Bachelor of Philosophy from the University of Oxford in 1966, and a Diploma in Education from Monash University in 1974. In 1966 she was appointed as a lecturer at the University of Manchester, until she moved to Monash University (1970-74). In 1975 she began a long association with La Trobe University, where she held the position of Lecturer (until 1981), Senior Lecturer (1981-2000) and Reader/Associate Professor (2000-07). In 2007 was appointed Professor, until her retirement in 2012. Between 2003 and 2005, she took leave from La Trobe to take up the position of Director of the Melbourne University Division of the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics.
Professor Thompson was a prolific author. She published numerous articles and books over her long career, including contributions to journals such as the Australian Journal of Professional and Applied Ethics, the Australasian Journal of Philosophy and Ethics. She contributed numerous chapters to edited volumes and her books include the influential Justice and World Order: A Philosophical Inquiry (1992), Discourse and Knowledge: Defence of a Collectivist Ethics (1998) and Taking Responsibility for the Past: Reparation and Historical Justice (2002). Her final monograph, Intergenerational Justice: Rights and Responsibilities in an Intergenerational Polity, was published in 2009.
Janna Thompson will be remembered as an outstanding scholar and kind, generous teacher whose contributions to her field are of considerable significance.
Professor Thompson passed away on 24 June 2022. We extend our deepest sympathies to her family, friends and Professor Thompson’s colleagues.
Read an obituary for Janna Thompson written by Robert Young (PDF, 276 kB)
