COVID-19
TagSounding the Alarm: 2021-2022 COVID Risks at Unprotected Colleges and Universities (guest post)
Some faculty will be teaching this fall at schools in areas with low vaccination rates, whose administrators cannot or will not require vaccinations, mask-wearing, or social distancing. What, if anything, should faculty at such places, and possibly elsewhere, do? (more…)
Good Conferences in a Time of Pandemic—and Afterwards (guest post)
“The global pandemic has forced philosophers to develop skillsets and approaches toward the social side of our work that we otherwise would not have developed. Outside the bounds of the pandemic, that skillset can be used to help advance the profession in ways that might not have been evident to us before.” (more…)
Some Results from the Teaching Philosophy Online Survey
Recently, Thomas Nadelhoffer (Charleston) conducted a survey of those who had taught philosophy courses online over the past year. What did he learn? (more…)
Junior Yearly Progress Reports in Pandemic Times
A junior faculty member has questions about the assessment of faculty on the tenure-track over the past year, particularly regarding how such faculty should, if at all, discuss how the challenges of the pandemic affected their progress. (more…)
Philosophy Threatened at Baker University
The administration of Baker University in Kansas has decided that in order to address the financial difficulties it is facing owing to the pandemic, its students should no longer be able to major in philosophy. (more…)
Have Philosophy PhD Programs Received More Applications for 2021?
Recently, an undergraduate applying to Ph.D. programs in philosophy wrote with an anxious query about a possible increase in the number of people doing so this year, in comparison to previous years. (more…)
Will Conferences Recover? Should They?
With promising news of a vaccine, one might hope not just for saved lives, but a return to “normal life,” including the regular features of academic work. Among these are the typically in-person events of conferences, workshops, and talks. (more…)
Much Fewer Academic Philosophy Jobs Advertised This Season
Compared to previous years, the number of academic jobs advertised this season is much lower. (more…)
A Pandemic Ethics Book Club with the General Public (guest post by Jesse Hamilton)
“If philosophy is to thrive, it must be sensitive and responsive to the world it is meant to engage with. The non-philosophers in our reading group shed light on a world that may be difficult for us philosophers to see and point out aspects of lived experiences that we may not have access to.” (more…)
The Effects of the Pandemic on Journal Submissions
Journal editors: how has the pandemic been affecting submissions to your journals over the past eight months? (more…)
Conversations with Philosophers about the Pandemic
Over the past few months, Sahana Rajan (University of Delhi) and Alan Nelson Isaac have been conducting interviews with philosophers, with a focus on “exploring the philosophical dimensions of pandemic situation.” The result is In Limbo Conversations. (more…)
Notre Dame President and Philosopher Contracts COVID-19 after White House Visit
John Jenkins, president of the University of Notre Dame and member of the univerity’s Department of Philosophy, has contracted COVID-19 after visiting the White House at the end of last month for the ceremony announcing the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. (more…)
Philosophy 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…)