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Minorities and Philosophy (MAP) Seeking Organizers

Minorities and Philosophy (MAP), a 104-chapter network of philosophy graduate students “that aims to examine and address issues of minority participation in academic philosophy,” is seeking to hire two international organizers. (more…)

Diversity in Philosophy Journals

The Pacific Division meeting of the American Philosophical Association (APA) will include a session on diversity in philosophy journals, with several speakers and an additional panel consisting of representatives from nearly 20 academic philosophy journals. (more…)

The Racial Diversity of Philosophy Majors (guest post by Eric Schwitzgebel)

The following is a guest post * by Eric Schwitzgebel, professor of philosophy at University of California, Riverside. It first appeared at his blog, The Splintered Mind.

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Harassment and ‘Splaining at the American Society for Aesthetics

The American Society for Aesthetics (ASA) recently convened in New Orleans for its 75th Annual Meeting. In its wake, the art and philosophy blog Aesthetics for Birds has published a pair of posts (one from A.W. Eaton and another from Paul C. Taylor) complaining about sexual harassment and the treatment of attendees from traditionally underrepresented groups there, a..

A Way Western Philosophy Is Racist

Mainstream philosophy in the so-called West is narrow-minded, unimaginative, and even xenophobic. I know I am leveling a serious charge. But how else can we explain the fact that the rich philosophical traditions of China, India, Africa, and the Indigenous peoples of the Americas are completely ignored by almost all philosophy departments in both Europe and the Engl..

Analytic Philosophy’s Egalitarianism and Standpoint Epistemology’s Privileging

“My views about how to do metaphysics as a feminist are undergoing a radical transformation… chiefly because of the Hypatia affair.” (more…)

Philosopher Calls for Interdisciplinary & Empirically Informed Study of Black Manhood

In an interview at Inside Higher Ed, Texas A&M philosophy professor Tommy Curry (who was the recent target of harassment and death threats, recall) discusses some of the ideas in his recent book, The Man-Not, which calls for a distinctive kind of black male studies he says is rejected by others in the humanities.

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All Members of President’s Committee on Arts & Humanities Resign

All 17 of the non-governmental members of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities (PCAH) today submitted a group resignation letter (posted below), effectively disbanding the committee. (more…)

The Targeting of Philosopher Tommy J. Curry

Mr. Dreher’s post sent words racing across a network that was primed for racial outrage—like New York City’s black-radio scene circa 2001, but much more powerful. The internet’s right-wing news belt had expanded under President Obama. Websites like Infowars and Breitbart, once on the fringe, had found a champion in President Trump, who seemed passionate about def..

Why A Philosopher of Color Declined To Contribute To A Special Issue On Current Politics

The Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal (KIEJ) recently published a special issue, Trump and the 2016 Election. In an editorial note, KIEJ editor-in-chief Rebecca Kukla (Georgetown) discusses two things the special issue is missing—articles that present a positive view or are in some way supportive of Trump’s policies or politics, and articles by people of color–..

A Philosophical Symposium on ‘Black Lives Matter’ Without Any Black Authors

Recently, the Journal of Political Philosophy published an issue with a special symposium section on “Black Lives Matter.” It’s an important and timely subject, and fits with recent calls to bring the tools of philosophy to bear on matters of pressing public concern. A philosopher told me about the symposium last week. I took a quick look and put it in the Heap of..

A Statement of Support for Tommy Curry

In response to the news that Tommy Curry, professor of philosophy at Texas A & M University, has been receiving racist hate mail and death threats owing to a mispresentation of his words by pundit Rod Dreher, and that the president of his university, Michael K. Young, publicly reiterated this misrepresentation, graduate students from across his university have autho..

Philosophy Professor Receiving Death Threats (updated with transcript, letter from colleagues)

Tommy Curry, professor of philosophy at Texas A & M University, has been receiving racist hate mail and death threats in the wake of an opinion piece at a conservative website that frames remarks of his in a misleading way—and among those apparently misled, it now appears, is Texas A & M president Michael K. Young. (more…)

Hypatia’s Editor And Its Board President Defend Publication of Tuvel Article

“I firmly believe, and this belief will not waver, that it is utterly inappropriate for editors to repudiate an article they have accepted for publication… Editors must stand behind the authors of accepted papers. This is where I stand. Professor Tuvel’s paper went through the peer review process and was accepted by the reviewers and me.” (more…)

Focus On The Fire, Not The Spark (guest post by Sally Haslanger)

The following is a guest post * by Sally Haslanger, Ford Professor of Philosophy and Women’s & Gender Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, regarding the recent Hypatia controversy.

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Millions Of Students Fail To Protest Curriculum (updated)

Millions of college students over the past decade have not protested their curricular requirements or assigned readings, a new study reports. The study, by Daryl B.X. Sepshuns and Yuall Nothis (both of Common Sense University) was published as news was breaking of students making unusual academic demands of their schools. (more…)

Cosmopolitan Racism, Trump, and Philosophy (guest post by Bharath Vallabha)

The following is a guest post * from Bharath Vallabha, former assistant professor of philosophy at Bryn Mawr College.

“Trump is actually much more aligned with the dominant norms of academic philosophy in America than with the KKK”

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That Philosophy Is A “Cushy Gig” Explains Some Of The Profession’s Problems

Philosophy is largely male, white, cis, straight, able-bodied—why? Well, maybe it has little or nothing to do with philosophy.

That appears to be the view of philosopher Albert Atkin (Macquarie), in response to Richard Marshall when he raises the topic of diversity in philosophy in an interview at 3:AM Magazine. (more…)

Data on Diversity in (mostly) US Philosophy

The American Philosophical Association (APA) has released a new report on its membership demographics over the past three years. Has philosophy become more demographically diverse during this period? It’s not easy to tell from the data.

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Anglo-American Philosophy: “A Site of White Supremacy”

“A perverse feature of American life is that calling a white person racist is allegedly a very wounding insult.”

That’s Lionel McPherson (Tufts), in a post currently up at Philosopher. I start with that quote because reflection on it might forestall some knee-jerk reactions to some of the other things McPherson says. It is worth noting the relative seriousness wi..

Philosophy and the Racial “Epistemic Horizon”

Looking back, I brought something special to those spaces that are predominantly white at Duquesne. And I don’t think that white philosophers can offer what I offered to those Black students and students of color. There is a certain discourse, certain assumptions, a shared discourse, a shared worldview, a shared style. There is also a certain understanding of where ..

Diversity in Philosophy: Is the Problem Lack of Pre-College Exposure?

Recall these figures from “What is the State of Blacks in Philosophy?” by Tina Fernandes Botts, Liam Kofi Bright, Myisha Cherry, Guntur Mallarangeng, and Quayshawn Spencer: though blacks in the U.S. make up over 13% of the general population, they make up just 1.32 percent of the total number of people professionally affiliated (as grad students or faculty) with U.S..

Managing Classroom Discussions of Race and Police

A Daily Nous reader sends in a question concerning classroom discussions of recent events and the controversial and sensitive subjects they involve: (more…)

Police Shootings of Blacks in the U.S.; What Can Philosophers Do or Say in Response?

News from the past week: