November 2014
Possible Graduate Strike at Univ. of Oregon (Updated)
Graduate student teaching fellows at the University of Oregon have published a letter expressing their intent to strike, starting on December 2nd, over the university administration’s unwillingness to offer the graduate teaching fellows (GTFs) two weeks of paid leave for illness or childbirth. The conflict between the negotiating parties has been exacerbated by the ..
Jonathan Trejo-Mathys (1979-2014) (updated)
Jonathan Trejo-Mathys, an assistant professor of philosophy at Boston College, has died. Trejo-Mathys worked mainly in political philosophy and critical social theory. Prior to his appointment at Boston College, he had been a Fulbright Scholar as well as a fellow at the Justitia Amplificata Centre for Advanced Studies in Frankfurt. He received his PhD in 2009 from N..
Colorado Won’t Allow Outside Observer at Barnett’s Hearing (updated)
A faculty group is concerned that David Barnett, the tenured University of Colorado philosophy professor fighting for his job will not be allowed to have an outside observer at his dismissal hearing next week.
Barnett and the Colorado conference of the American Association of University Professors sought to have one of the group’s members watch a closed-door facul..
Update on Khatami Plagiarism Case
University of Tehran philosophy professor Mahmoud Khatami, who has been accused of extensive plagiarism (including his Durham University PhD, several articles, and an allegedly ghost-written book about him) is on sabbatical in Canada and has not yet responded to inquiries about the charges, according to sources in Iran.
The story has been pursued in several Irani..
Whiting from Toronto to Pittsburgh
Jennifer Whiting, currently at the University of Toronto, has accepted an offer to become professor of philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh, starting January 2015. Professor Whiting has written extensively on ancient philosophy; her research interests include metaphysics, ethics, and philosophy of mind, both ancient and modern. (via Anil Gupta)
Philosophers Protest the Murder of 43 Students
Over a month has passed since the forced disappearance of the normalistas (student teachers) of the Raúl Isidro Burgos Rural Teachers College of Ayotzinapa, and still 43 remain missing.
On September 26, members of the Iguala municipal police and the Guerreros Unidos drug cartel ambushed the caravan of students as they traveled by bus within their home state of Gu..
Philosopher Accuses Queen’s University of Intimidation Tactics
Adèle Mercier, associate professor of philosophy at Queen’s University, has accused the school of using “intimidation tactics to silence her and two other professors” since she complained about gender discrimination in her department in 2008. That year, after being approached by several female graduate students, she and two other female philosophy professors filed c..
Happy Thanksgiving
I am posting this today in the hope that I will not be spending tomorrow in front of a glowing screen.
For Thanksgiving, I am writing to express my appreciation of you, the people who visit Daily Nous, read the posts, comment on them, send in news, suggest topics, share posts, retweet tweets, write with an encouraging word, and keep me in line. If Daily Nous has ..
“The Cuts Make No Academic Sense”
As reported last month, the University of Southern Maine has announced drastic cuts to faculty and staff and an academic restructuring so as to make up for a budget shortfall. The philosophy department there was merged with the English department, and there is one (unconfirmed) report that one philosopher was forced into retirement on pain of termination with reduce..
How Many Police Shootings Are Too Many?
Let’s step back and be honest. This is a big country. Thousands of dangerous confrontations occur between police and civilians, decisions need to be made in a split second and under duress. Tragic mistakes will happen. And beyond innocent mistakes” we can surely foresee some “mistakes” that won’t be innocent. In investigating these cases we can, sadly, also predict ..
Philosophers Among 2014 AAAS Fellows
The American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS) has announced its elected fellows for 2014. Among the 401 new fellows are two philosophers: Joseph Pitt (Virginia Tech) and C.Kenneth Waters (Calgary).
APA Protests UIUC Treatment of Salaita
The American Philosophical Association (APA) Board of Officers have written a letter in which they “protest the action of the Chancellor and Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in withdrawing the offer of a tenured position to Professor Steven Salaita.” The Board condemns the actions of these officials based on considerations of free ..
Sit-in At Northwestern Re: Ludlow Suit (updated)
A group of graduate and undergraduate students at Northwestern University, including members of the department of philosophy, are planning a sit-in for tomorrow at the office of university president Morton Schapiro to protest the university’s decision to mediate its lawsuit with Peter Ludlow (previously), rather than continue with it in court. The university is only..
Financial Return on Humanities Degrees
Jeffrey Dorfman, an economics professor at the University of Georgia, has analyzed the value of undergraduate degrees in a variety of fields and reports some of the results in a column at Forbes. Conventional wisdom may hold that philosophy and other humanities fields are “destined to produce underemployed graduates, struggling to pay off their student loans, and pe..
Confluence, a New Online Philosophy Journal
Confluence: Online Journal of World Philosophies, is a new bi-annual, peer-reviewed journal of comparative philosophy and thought. From its mission statement:
It seeks to explore common spaces and differences between philosophical traditions in a global context. Without postulating cultures as monolithic, homogenous, or segregated wholes, it aspires to address ke..
Support for Cheryl Abbate (updated w/ statement from Marquette Pres.)
As reported a few days ago, Marquette University philosophy graduate student and instructor Cheryl Abbate has been the subject of defamatory and hostile politically-motivated blog posts by Marquette associate professor John McAdams. The story has predictably spread across the internet, and has now appeared on the Fox News website with a lying headline, typical slant..
Letter of Support for Abbate from Marquette Dept Chairs
The heads of several departments in Marquette University’s Klingler College of Arts and Sciences met about the Abbate case and have written a letter to their administration, below, which they invite other members of the Marquette University community to sign by posting their names in the comments. (Note: such “signings” will be the only comments allowed on this post..
Why Did You Go Into Philosophy?
It’s World Philosophy Day, but for some reason my school is not giving me the day off. What’s up with that?
Anyway, let’s do something to mark the day. The profession has had its share of bad news and controversy lately, and much of that has filled the pages of Daily Nous. Let’s take a break from that for a moment, right here, and recall what it is that’s so att..
Monton Resigns from Colorado
Brad Monton will resign from his position as associate professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado, effective June 1st, 2015. In exchange, the university will pay him an additional $120,000 and halt its investigation into him for possible violations of its policies regarding amorous relationships with students. Monton is currently on paid leave, and will n..
College Pressures Philosopher to Withdraw Novel
Stephen Grant, until recently a lecturer in philosophy at Richmond upon Thames College, was asked by the school to stop the publication of his novel, A Moment More Sublime. While a lecturer there, he was a union representative and involved in the labor disputes at the school, and the novel is partly based on his experiences working there. He says that the story of t..
Jill North and Ted Sider from Cornell to Rutgers
Jill North and Ted Sider, both currently at Cornell, will be taking up positions in the department of philosophy at Rutgers University. North, who works in philosophy of physics, philosophy of science, and metaphysics, will be associate professor of philosophy there. Sider, who works in metaphysics and philosophy of language, will hold the department’s new Mellon Ch..
Philosophy Grad Student Target of Political Smear Campaign (several updates)
A philosophy graduate student and instructor at Marquette University is the target of a political attack initiated by one of her students, facilitated by a Marquette political science professor, and promulgated by certain advocacy organizations.
Cheryl Abbate, a Marquette PhD student working on a dissertation in ethics, has provided me with information about the ..
Patrick Suppes (1922-2014) (several updates)
Patrick Suppes, emeritus professor of philosophy at Stanford University, has died. Suppes was known for his work in several areas, most notably philosophy of science. Stanford University has posted a memorial notice here. His complete bibliography and the text of an intellectual autobiography he wrote in 1978 can be found here, and here is another site that collects..
Video Interview Do’s & Don’ts
Many departments are turning towards the use of Skype and other forms of video-conferencing for first-round interviews, and such interviews are sometimes among the first times candidates and search committee members have used such technology. Noting this, Professor Mitzi Lee, placement director at the University of Colorado, writes in with a request to discuss some ..
Job Market Mentoring for Women Philosophers
A group of women philosophers — Amanda Greene (University of Chicago), Corinne Gartner (Wellesley College), Sarah-Jane Leslie (Princeton University), Tamar Schapiro (Stanford University), Kristin Primus (New York University), Jennifer Frey (University of South Carolina), Daniela Dover (UCLA), and Sara Bernstein (Duke University) — have created Market Boost, “a n..
$3.6m for Georgetown Ethics Chair and Ethics Lab
Georgetown University received a $3.6 million gift from alumna Kathleen “Kathy” McNamara Hugin and her husband, Robert. The gift will fund a faculty chair in ethics and the further development of Georgetown’s Ethics Lab, a project of the university’s Kennedy Institute of Ethics. Further information about the gift and the lab are here.
More Details Emerge on Boxill’s Role in UNC Scandal
As was reported last month, a detailed investigation at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill revealed an academic fraud scandal in which philosopher Jan Boxill played a central role. Previous evidence focused on her role as an academic advisor who directed students towards fake or “paper” classes, helped students write papers, ignored academic dishonesty ..
Journal of Philosophy in Schools
The inaugural issue of Journal of Philosophy in Schools (JPS) is now online. It is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal, based in Australia, which will appear twice a year. Its aim is “to encourage academic reflection and research into the growing field of philosophy in schools with the intention of making such information widely available through the use of an open..