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Agenda-Setting, Area-Defining, Influential Philosophy Textbooks

Philosophy textbooks—anthologies or introductory-level commentaries—can take on roles beyond the pedagogical purposes for which they’re put together. Through editorial and authorial choices of inclusion and exclusion such works can define or clarify fields of study, canonize specific works, identify a subdiscipline’s central problems, and, depending on uptake, s..

Conversation Starter: Teaching Philosophy in an Age of Large Language Models (guest post)

Over the past few years we have seen some startling progress from Large Language Models (LLMs) like GPT-3, and some of those paying attention to these developments, such as philosopher John Symons (University of Kansas), believe that they pose an imminent threat to teaching and learning (for those who missed its inclusion in the Heap of Links earlier this summer, yo..

Teacher, Bureaucrat, Cop (guest post)

“We can free ourselves up to pursue a wider range of educational goals when we see that fairness is not an absolute demand for all classroom life, but only one goal among many. And sometimes, we can trade away some degree of fairness in the pursuit of other goals.” (more…)

The Philosophy Special (guest post)

“I suspect I’m not alone among philosophers in finding colloquia almost universally frustrating: the speakers are more interesting than the conventional talk allows them to be…” (more…)

Intergroup Dialogue in the Philosophy Classroom (guest post)

“Over 70% of our students… reported being more likely than before to listen to someone who held an opposing viewpoint…” (more…)

Seeking Feedback on “Good Practices Guide” – Part 2

This is the second of several posts soliciting comments on a draft “Good Practices Guide” for advancing diversity in philosophy. (more…)

Philosopher Wins State-Wide Teaching Award in Texas

Manuela Alejandra Gomez, professor of philosophy at El Paso Community College (EPCC), was named a 2022 Piper Professor, an honor bestowed by the government of Texas to recognize excellence in teaching. (more…)

Encouraging Participation in the Classroom

“What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas,” an advertising slogan for Las Vegas tourism, has been adopted by a professor of government at Claremont McKenna College as a motto for one of his courses, as a way of creating a “safe space” for students who might be worried about their comments in class getting taken out of context, or showing up on social media. (more…)..

Comparatively Lower Grades in Philosophy Courses: Facts, Explanation, Effects, Fixes?

Informal conversations with students and professors suggest that it is harder to get a higher grade in philosophy courses than in courses offered by many other departments. (more…)

SDSU Reassigns Philosophy Professor for Mentioning Racial Epithets in Courses on Racism, Critical Thinking

The administration of San Diego State University has stripped J. Angelo Corlett, professor of philosophy at San Diego State University, of his critical thinking course and his course on race and racism this semester, following lessons in those courses in which he provided examples of racial epithets. (more…)

Philosophy Reading Group “Blueprints” & What’s Not Taught at University

Students and others may be interested in a philosophical topic, yet not have access to a course on it. One option is for them to form a reading group, but it’s not always easy to figure out what to read, in what order, what to pay attention to in the readings, what questions to discuss, and so on. Now there’s a new resource that provides “blueprints” for readings gr..

Service-Learning in Philosophy Courses

“Moral problems, like global and local food insecurity, aren’t just abstract problems; they are practical problems with practical solutions. It’s important not just to present students with the problems, but also to empower them with real-world actions they can perform to help alleviate these problems.” (more…)

Assigning Public Philosophy Projects to Undergraduates (guest post)

In some of his recent courses, Daniel Munro, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Toronto, has tried assigning something different from the traditional essays and exams: creative public philosophy projects. (more…)

How to Bring Traditionally Underrepresented Areas of Philosophy into Your Courses

A new initiative taking place this summer aims to “equip philosophy professors with the competency to integrate modules on traditionally underrepresented areas of philosophy into their undergraduate philosophy courses.” (more…)

In Defense of Benchmarking (guest post)

There’s a reason for instructors to meet with their teaching assistants to grade some sample assignments together, but it’s not what you think. (more…)

10 Initiatives Win APA Grants

The American Philosophical Association (APA) has announced the winners of its Diversity and Inclusiveness Grants and Small Grants. (more…)

How Much Do Philosophy Professors Grade?

A professor at a liberal arts college writes in because she has seen signs of confusion in her department about “what is manageable or expected” in the number and kind of assignments students have to complete in a course “when the professor does the grading.” (more…)

How Philosophers Respond to Objections

Michael Cholbi, professor of philosophy at the University of Edinburgh, has put together a useful handout for students and others interested in philosophy about the different ways philosophers respond to objections. (more…)

Making the Abundance of Philosophy on Video More Usable

An effort is underway to curate the vast number of philosophy videos that can be found on YouTube, Vimeo, Instagram, and elsewhere on the web. (more…)

Free Software for Advanced Logic Courses

Students nowadays might struggle in more advanced logic courses not just because the material is difficult, but because they’re used to learning logic with software, which is commonly used in introductory courses, but less so in higher-level ones. (more…)

The Value of Stepping Back from Current Events

It’s not unusual for philosophy professors to think it’s important to demonstrate to their students the relevance of course material to current events, both because of the importance of those events and also to maintain student interest. But there may be value in keeping a distance from today’s news and issues. (more…)

Logic Course Breaks University of Sydney Enrollment Record — Or It Doesn’t

Over 2200 students at the University of Sydney are currently enrolled in “Philosophy 1012: Introduction to Logic,” setting a university-wide record for highest enrollment in any course the university has ever offered. (more…)

Are We Serious About Critical Thinking?

In 1979 philosopher Douglas Stalker (University of Delaware, now retired) adopted the stage persona Captain Ray of Light, a pseudo-science hawking speaker whose humorous presentations educated his audience about pseudo-science and poor thinking. (more…)

University to Faculty Concerned about Covid: “Beg”

“We are discouraged from “sharing Covid data that is not related to the course.” Presumably, nattering on about the state’s overburdened hospitals, worn-down physicians, and increasing death counts might constitute “pressure,” and faculty “should not pressure students to get vaccinated or wear a mask.” The most we can do is “encourage.” In practice, these guidelines..

Academic Freedom & COVID-Related Topics

How are universities regulating how faculty may discuss COVID-related topics such as mask wearing and vaccinations with students? (more…)