women in philosophy
TagCuration, Digitization, Path Dependence, and the Urgency of the History of Philosophy
Philosophy, and especially the history of philosophy, is not known for being in a rush. But an appreciation of the factors that go into shaping our discipline and its self-understanding might give us a sense of urgency. (more…)
Escaping the “Feedback Loop” of Sexism in the History of Philosophy
“Some of the women discussed in this Issue cannot be slotted easily into a history that did not include their ideas in the first place.” (more…)
Mentoring Workshop for Early Career Women in Philosophy
The Mentoring Project Workshop, an initiative of the Women in Philosophy Task Force, aims to provide women in the early stages of their careers in philosophy with feedback on their current work and longterm professional guidance. (more…)
Ignored Editor Departs PGR, Raising Questions About Its Leadership & How to Best Guide Prospective Philosophy Grad Students (updated)
As mentioned in an update to last week’s post about the new edition of the Philosophical Gourmet Report (PGR), a ranking of the reputations of some PhD programs in philosophy, one of its editors, Berit (“Brit”) Brogaard (Miami), has announced that she is no longer associated with it. A statement made this evening by her and Carolyn Dicey Jennings (UC Merced) provide..
Simons Wins 2021 Distinguished Woman Philosopher Award
Margaret “Peg” Simons, Professor Emerita at the University of Illinois at Edwardsville, is the winner of the 2021 Distinguished Woman Philosopher Award. (more…)
Women in Philosophy: Recent Reports (updated)
Two studies have recently been conducted on the status of women in the philosophy profession, with one published by the British Philosophical Association (BPA) and the Society For Women In Philosophy (SWIP), and the other described in a post at the Canadian Philosophical Association (CPA) site. (more…)
Networking and Mentoring Workshop for Graduate Student Women in Philosophy
Athena in Action, a networking and mentoring workshop for women graduate students in philosophy, will be taking place in June, 2022 at Rutgers University. (more…)
Percentage of Women Graduating with Philosophy Degrees Increases
In 2020, 39% of undegraduates leaving colleges with degrees in philosophy were women, up from 35% in 2017, reports Eric Schwitzgebel (UC Riverside). (more…)
How What It Is Like to Be a Woman in Philosophy has Changed over the Past Decade
How have things changed for women in philosophy over the past decade? (more…)
Ann Garry Named Distinguished Woman Philosopher of 2020
Ann Garry, professor emerita of philosophy at California State University at Los Angeles, was named the Distinguished Woman Philosopher of 2020 by the Eastern Division of the Society for Women in Philosophy (ESWIP). (more…)
The Professional Status of “Pro-Life” Positions on Abortion
Should junior job seekers try to avoid outing themselves as “pro-life”? (more…)
SILFS Prize for Women in Logic and Philosophy of Science Awarded
The Società Italiana di Logica e Filosofia delle Scienze / Italian Society of Logic and Philosophy of Science (SILFS) has announced the recipients of its 2020 Prize for Women in Logic and the Philosophy of Science. (more…)
“Philosophy By Postcard” Questions & Answers
Last year, In Parenthesis launched a public philosophy project with An Post, the Republic of Ireland’s postal service, called Philosophy By Postcard. (more…)
Gertrude Ezorsky (1926-2019)
Gertrude Ezorsky, professor emerita of philosophy at Brooklyn College and the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center, died this past April. The following is an obituary written by Nanette Funk and Andrew Wengraf. It describes Professor Ezorsky’s notable career and character, as well as the remarkable hurdles she had to overcome in her career. (more…)..
Journal of the History of Philosophy Stops Accepting Papers in Early Modern (updated w/ reply from editor)
(NOTE: The moratorium reported on in this post was lifted in July 2018. The journal is now accepting submissions in all areas of the history of philosophy.) The Journal of the History of Philosophy, one of the leading history of philosophy journals, has announced that it will no longer be accepting submissions on “early modern philosophy up to but not including Kant..
Mentoring Workshop For Women Graduate Students In Philosophy
Athena in Action is a networking and mentoring workshop for graduate student women in philosophy. Applications are now being accepted for its third annual workshop, which will be taking place this summer. (more…)
The Job Insecurity of Philosophy Instructors: A Case Study
“I love being a professor. I have been a professor my whole life. I don’t know what I am going to do.” That’s Pamela Ryan, who has been a philosophy instructor at Morehead State University for 15 years. This past Friday she was called into the office of the Dean of the Caudill College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at Morehead, M. Scott McBride, and told t..
Is Philosophy Too “Stupid” For Women? (updated)
Women in Philosophy: What Needs to Change?, a collection of essays edited by Katrina Hutchison (Macquarie) and Fiona Jenkins (ANU), is reviewed by David Papineau (KCL, CUNY) in The Times Literary Supplement. Papineau reviews the book with the question in mind of why there are so few women in philosophy. Things are not as overtly sexist as they were in the bad old da..
Conference Anti-Harassment Wiki
The Geek Feminism Wiki, a site aimed primarily at people involved in computing and technology, has a “Conference anti-harrasment” page. Brought to my attention by Maarten Steenhagen (thanks!), the site has a sample conference anti-harassment policy, a resource page with suggestions and answers to frequently asked questions, and other information.
In answer to the..
Sexism in Academic Hiring — A Myth? (updated)
A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences produced findings that appear to show that hiring practices in certain fields are not biased against women. Here is the paper’s “significance” summary:
The underrepresentation of women in academic science is typically attributed, both in scientific literature and in the media, to sexist ..
Lockwood v. Tooley on “Sexual Assault on Campus”
Heidi Lockwood (Southern Connecticut) and Michael Tooley (Colorado) met at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) earlier this month for a debate sponsored by VCU’s Department of Philosophy. The subject was “Sexual Assault on Campus.” A video of the event was kindly provided to me by Mikhail Valdman, who moderated the event and cleared its release with the relevant ..
This Is What We Look Like Campaign
“This Is What We Look Like” is a new campaign aimed at “Promoting the presence, awareness, and progress of women in traditionally male dominated fields,” including philosophy. They’d like to fill the web with images of women doing what is stereotypically considered men’s work. You can buy one of their shirts at their storefront, and then send in a photo of yourself ..
Women in Philosophy: A Case for Optimism
Clara Fisher, Newton International Fellow at the Gender Institute at London School of Economics, makes “the case for a tentatively optimistic reading of women’s contemporary place in philosophy” in an article in the Dublin Review of Books. She writes:
On the one hand, structural inequalities, such as women’s representation and inclusion, seem utterly entrenched, ..
Gender Discrimination Alleged at Sam Houston (updated)
Diana Buccafurni-Huber, assistant professor of philosophy at Sam Houston State University in Texas, has accused her department chair, Frank Fair, of intimidation and retaliation, resulting in her being denied tenure. From The Houstonian:
An untenured philosophy professor claimed gender discrimination against her department at a recent Board of Regents meeting. As..
The Lost Women of Modern Philosophy
A new website aims to provide comprehensive information about women philosophers from the modern era (roughly 1600-1800). Called Project Vox, “the website will be the virtual hub for an international network of scholars to work together in expanding our research and teaching beyond the traditional philosophical ‘canon’ and beyond traditional narratives of modern phi..
Recruitment Weekend & Department Climate
Many graduate programs set aside a time for all prospective students to visit and learn about their departments and universities. Lauren Leydon-Hardy, a philosophy graduate student at Northwestern University, writes in with some information about one aspect of their “recruitment weekend”:
When I visited Northwestern as a prospective student in 2011, I used an opp..
The Intellectual Costs of Misconduct (guest post)
The following is a guest post* from a woman graduate student in philosophy who wishes to remain anonymous.
Lately, I’ve been reflecting on the complicated ways issues of equity connect with intellectual and professional respect. On philosophy blogs there has been extensive discussion regarding the climate for women in philosophy, issues of sexual misconduct, ..
More on Innate Talent and Philosophy (updated)
Alison Gopnik (Berkeley) has written a piece for the Wall Street Journal about the study by Sarah Jane Leslie et al that we discussed last month on innate or “raw intellectual talent” and academia’s gender and race gaps. In her article, she writes, “From a scientific perspective, the very idea that something as complicated as philosophical success is the result of “..