COVID-19
TagPhilosophy Graduate Admissions Spreadsheet
There’s an open-access spreadsheet all about philosophy graduate program admissions, including relevant links and information about application deadlines, fees, requirements, funding packages, and which departments have suspended admissions for the next academic year. (more…)
University Pandemic Policies as Business Ethics Case Studies
Earlier this week, the University of South Carolina noted on its COVID-19 “dashboard” that 27.7% of the students tested for the virus were infected with it. (more…)
2021 Eastern and Central APA Meetings Moved Online
The American Philosophical Association (APA) has announced that its 2021 Eastern Division Meeting, scheduled for New York City from January 4th to 7th, and its 2021 Central Division Meeting, scheduled for New Orleans from February 24th to 27th, will instead both be taking place online. (more…)
Tips for Teaching Online Synchronous Courses
Many of us will be teaching online synchronous courses this term, and some of us have already begun. What have you learned about doing so that you think others might benefit from knowing? And what do you want to know about it? (more…)
A Good Time To Try “Additive Grading” (guest post by Ian Schnee)
In this guest post*, Ian Schnee, Senior Lecturer and Director of Undergraduate Studies at the University of Washington, shares an interestingly flexible approach to grading that might be especially well-suited for a time in which we might expect a higher likelihood of disruption to our students’ lives. (more…)
U. Chicago Philosophy Suspends PhD Admissions This Year
The Department of Philosophy at the University of Chicago has made an announcement concerning applications to its PhD program this year. (more…)
One Week Into Semester, UNC Chapel Hill Switches to Fully Online (Updated)
One week into the semester, the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill administration reversed its decision to open its campus for teaching and housing, and moved all instruction online, owing to its inability to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus among the student population. (more…)
The Pandemic’s Largest Online Philosophy Conference to Date?
What may be the largest philosophy conference to have switched to an online format because of the COVID-19 pandemic is starting today.
Philosophers On Reopening Colleges and Universities in a Pandemic
Six philosophers discuss various issues related to the operation of institutions of higher education this fall, in this edition of Philosophers On, guest edited by Lisa Fuller. (more…)
How Should We Grade Students During a Pandemic? (guest post by Wes Siscoe)
How, if at all, should instructors grade their college students this coming term? In the following guest post*, Wes Siscoe, a postdoctoral fellow at Florida State University and the Mellon Course Design Coordinator for the Philosophy as a Way of Life Project at the University of Notre Dame, offers some suggestions.
Yes, There’s Still Time to Design an Excellent Fall Course (guest post by Paul Blaschko)
It’s almost August (sorry!). Do you know what you are doing in your courses this fall? Don’t panic. Paul Blaschko is back with another guest post* to explain how you still have time to put together a great course. (more…)
Hybrid & Online Teaching: Four Helpful Workshops
Julia Staffel, assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and Zak Kopeikin, a new graduate of the PhD program there, recently conducted four online workshops on hybrid and online teaching, sharing what they know about online teaching strategies and technology to save others the time and trouble of researching and figuring out various o..
Major Videogame Developer Partners with Philosophy Department
Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, currently one of the world’s most popular video games, and Unreal Engine, a virtual 3D design tool, has partnered with the Faculty of Philosophy at Moscow State University (MSU) in Russia. (more…)
Philosophers, Epidemiologists & Others Call for Human Challenge Trials for COVID-19 Vaccine
125 experts in various fields have signed a letter to the director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Francis Collins, calling for the U.S. government “to undertake immediate preparations for human challenge trials” for a vaccine for COVID-19. (more…)
Trump Administration Abandons Plan to Revoke Visas of International Students with Online-Only Schedules
The Trump administration has withdrawn a plan proposed earlier this month to withhold or revoke visas of international students at U.S. schools whose courses have all been moved entirely online. (more…)
Six Ways to Use Tech to Design Flexible, Student-Centered Philosophy Courses (guest post by Paul Blaschko)
As the pandemic continues, there are lots of uncertainties about how universities will function in Fall 2020, but it is likely that many courses will be taught entirely online or have substantial online elements. In this guest post*, Paul Blaschko provides some advice for making those courses go well. (more…)
Homeland Security To Ban International Students From U.S. If Their Colleges Adopt Online-Only Instruction
The U.S. Department of State will not issue visas to students enrolled in schools and/or programs that are fully online for the fall semester nor will U.S. Customs and Border Protection permit these students to enter the United States. Active students currently in the United States enrolled in such programs must depart the country or take other measures, such as tra..
An Argument to Move College Students to Follow COVID-19 Guidelines
Though the COVID-19 pandemic is strengthening in parts of the United States, many universities here are planning to reopen their doors in the fall to educate, house, feed, and entertain students. (more…)
Hybrid or Blended Classes: How Can They Be Done Well?
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, some universities are telling students that, this fall, they will be able to choose to take particular courses either in-person or online. This means some professors will face the challenge of teaching simultaneously to students sitting in a classroom with them and to students who are videoconferencing in to the class session. (..
The Ethics of Social Distancing (and Why It Doesn’t Rule Out Protesting) (guest post by Travis N. Rieder)
“When I began writing this essay, public health-minded folks were arguing that social distancing is morally required, and expressing dismay at the pictures of partiers and beach-goers that surfaced after Memorial Day weekend. Just a couple weeks later, however, attention had shifted to the nationwide demonstrations against racism and police brutality, which was supp..
The 2020 International Philosophy Olympiad: Online and Inclusive
The International Philosophy Olympiad (IPO) is a philosophy writing competition and set of workshops and lectures for high school students, sponsored by the International Federation of Philosophical Societies (FISP). Held in various cities around the world since its start in 1993, the IPO was to take place this year in Ljubljana, Slovenia, but owing to the pandemic,..
BU Philosophers Object To University’s Fall 2020 Plans
Two philosophy professors at Boston University (BU), Russell Powell and Daniel Star, have authored a statement objecting to their administration’s plans for how teaching during the Fall 2020 term will proceed, in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. (more…)
The Status of “Philosophy Labs” this Fall
Mohamed Mehdi, chair of the Department of Humanities and Philosophy at Oakton Community College, updated his faculty on the plans regarding their “philosophy labs” for this coming fall. (more…)
Fordham Grad Students Seek Support
Graduate students at Fordham University are seeking support in their call for their administration to take various steps to help them, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and its broader effects. (more…)
Cambridge: All Lectures Online Until Summer 2021
There will be no in-person lectures at the University of Cambridge until the Summer of 2021 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the school announced today. (more…)
Ending Face-to-Face Instruction Before Thanksgiving Break
Earlier this month we looked at the University of South Carolina’s plan to offer in-person courses this coming fall term. The university has now updated its plans by announcing a change to the fall term schedule. (more…)
If Given the Choice Whether to Teach In-Person or Remotely in the Fall…
Last week, the University of South Carolina announced it is planning to have in-person teaching in the fall, but also that each faculty, staff, and student will be allowed to make for themselves a “decision to either return or delay their return”. Other schools are considering similar arrangements. (more…)
Fast Science and the Philosophy of Science (guest post by Jacob Stegenga)
“So much science having so much impact, yet philosophers of science have been relatively quiet…” (more…)