The Philosophers' Cocoon

Participate in a survey on non-academic careers (guest post by the APA non-academic careers committee)

The APA Non-Academic Careers Committee is seeking input and feedback on how it can better serve philosophers in and out of the profession. To this end, the Committee has created a survey: 

https://delaware.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3JCIC4U196id4ma

While the Committee is particularly interested in hearing from philosophers who have left academia or are considering doing so, we would like to invite philosophers at all career stages and types to respond to the survey. 

Preliminary results from a prior version of this survey have been useful. We look forward to receiving additional feedback from new survey participants! 

- Lynn Chiu on behalf of the Non-Academic Careers committee

Does hybrid conferencing "degrade" the conference experience?

I am grateful to the APA for their decision to implement (at least as a test) the proposal that Philosophers for Sustainability launched to have one of the divisional conferences go virtual. They agreed to implement our proposal starting 2025.

I think this is a step in the right direction. Academic flying culture excludes many people from conference participation and is also harmful for the environment. Our individual actions alone will not solve the climate crisis, but can mitigate it. 

So it was with some disappointment that I saw the letter for the CFP for the APA Pacific divisional conference in San Francisco next year which says up front that videoconferencing and remote participation won't be available. Note that between that time and the implementation of 2+1 there will be two years that people will not be able to attend an APA remotely, except for a few exemptions. Here's the relevant excerpt:

Up front: Videoconferencing and remote participation are not available

While it might seem easy in theory to offer remote presentation to anyone who requests it, the technological logistics of doing so would be complex and costly for a number of reasons. Meeting rooms would have to be equipped with extensive A/V packages and hard-wired internet connections that are not standard in most hotel meeting rooms, which would cost tens of thousands of dollars at a minimum. Moreover, if too many participants present remotely, not only will the overall in-person meeting experience be degraded, but also the APA will incur large financial penalties for failing to meet its contractual obligations to the meeting hotel. As a result, offering remote presentation on a large scale would make the entire meeting unviable.

For these reasons, remote presentation will be offered in only two situations: government travel restrictions and accessibility accommodations. More details may be found on the APA website.

Cocoon meetup(s) at the Central APA?

I'll be at the Central APA from Wednesday through Saturday this week and was thinking it could be fun to hold some kind of Cocoon meetup. Helen wrote a while back about how conferences can be rife with prestige hierarchies, and how it can be difficult for early career people to meet other people and network. This was my experience too, as earlier in my career I'd often attend APAs but feel on the outside looking in, as it were. APAs were a bit of a lonely experience: I was never very comfortable approaching people I didn't already know, and wished there were some more inviting way to be able to do so.

Anyway, no pressure at all, but if you are heading to the Central, please do feel free to drop me a line either over email ([email protected]) or PM me on social media. Assuming there are enough people who are interested, I'll try to put something together (and, of course, do what I can to ensure that it is a supportive environment, in line with this blog's mission)!

APA job-market webinar

This is just a quick note that the APA has an upcoming webinar for those heading out on the job market (see below). I think it is great that the APA is increasingly pursuing initiatives such like these (see also here), and think it is good to amplify and support these kinds of endeavors:

To help philosophers navigating the academic job market, as well as faculty advising students and colleagues about applying for academic jobs, the APA virtual programming committee has organized a webinar: Preparing for the Academic Job Market.

.....

This webinar will address what is expected in academic job applications: how do you determine your AOS or AOC, and what are the features of strong cover letters, diversity statements, or teaching portfolios? What do different kinds of institutions look for in a successful applicant? How has the academic hiring process changed in recent years? After the panel discusses these and other topics, the audience will have a chance to ask the panelists questions on their experiences and advice for academic job searching.

The panelists for the webinar are as follows:

• • Helen De Cruz, Professor, Danforth Chair in the Humanities and Professor of Philosophy, Saint Louis University
  • Richard Legum, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Kingsborough Community College of the City University of New York
  • Shannon Spaulding, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Oklahoma State University
  • Benjamin S. Yost, Professor of Philosophy (Adjunct), Cornell University (formerly Professor of Philosophy, Providence College)
  • Lauren Ashwell, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Bates College (facilitator/moderator)

The webinar will be held on Wednesday, August 18 at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time / 12:30 p.m. Pacific time. To participate, register on the APA website. Registration will be available until 10 a.m. Eastern time / 7 a.m. Pacific time on the day of the webinar, and access information will be provided to registrants at least one hour prior to the start of the webinar. Registration is limited to current APA members.

Register now.

APA resources for non-academic careers

Shane Wilkins (Management Analyst at USDA), a member of the APA’s Committee on Non-Academic Careers, writes in about two new resources the APA is offering for philosophers interested in non-academic careers:

The first resource is the new Beyond Academia webpage to replace the old print edition. The goal of the website is to provide useful, actionable information for departments, graduate students, and others who are interested in a career switch. The website should be accessible to everyone.

The second resource is an upcoming APA webinar  on “Launching a Non-Academic Career” to be held 4/28/2021 at 1pm eastern time. The three panelists for the discussion will be 

• • Gina Helfrich, PhD (Non-profit technology sector)
    Program Officer for Global Technology, Internews
  • JC Lau, PhD (Video game development)
    Producer, Harebrained Schemes
  • Shane Wilkins, PhD (Public administration)
    Management Analyst, U.S. Department of Agriculture

The facilitator for the panel will be Sherri Lynn Conklin. Please note that registration is required for the webinar, and there will be a video recording available after the fact but registration and the video link are both restricted to members of the APA.

We hope that these two resources will be helpful to an important constituency within the philosophical public and would greatly appreciate your help in making sure that everyone who would like access to this content is aware of it.

Does the APA cost too much?

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader writes:

I've just signed up for a completely virtual meeting of the APA, to the tune of $190. I am completely regretting the fact that I agreed to be involved in one of the meetings, and have promised myself to always say 'no' to any future requests to be involved in the APA meeting in any respect.

Why do organizations and people continue to submit and go to this expensive meeting? Hasn't it outlived its usefulness? There are so many organizations and meetings without exorbitant fees going on throughout the year. $190 for a completely virtual meeting is highway robbery.

So this is more a plea then a question. With all this talk of justice in the profession, we've allowed this organization to prey upon philosophers even while itself offering less and less of value. However much people like seeing their grad school buddies, it's not worth the ridiculous fees. And even if someone has a great expense account (I'm not one of those people) is this the best way to spend it? Can't we, as a profession, move away from this hotel-conference model? This model has outgrown its usefulness, and has always been a burden on those without large expense accounts or disposable income. Can we adopt more collaborative, diffuse, and equitable methods of networking and meeting? Any thoughts/ideas?

Another reader submitted the following response:

On the one hand I agree with you. I spent a lot of money to attend the APA, and present at one of the group meetings, and we did not even have equipment in the room (this was probably the last REAL meeting). It was very disappointing. It cost me a lot, as I was coming from far away. On the other hand, in principle, the APA serves a very important function. It represents the profession. And this is essential in the USA, where other disciplines have organizations representing them. Now, unfortunately, the organization is dominated by people from elite schools, so it does not represent the profession as it really is. That is another issue. But, as someone later in their career, you do want such an organization, whether you go to their conferences or not.

Here are some of my own quick thoughts.

Author Meets Critics this Friday

If anyone is interested, the Eastern APA is holding a virtual Author Meets Critics session on my book, Neurofunctional Prudence and Morality: A Philosophical Theory, this Friday from 11am-1pm EST. Here are the session details:

5B. Author Meets Critics: Marcus Arvan, Neurofunctional Prudence and Morality: A Philosophical Theory

Chair: Denise Vigani (Seton Hall University)

Critics: David Killoren (Australian Catholic University), Neil Sinhababu (National University of Singapore), Caroline Arruda (University of Texas at El Paso), Gregory Robson (Iowa State University)

Hope to see some of you there!

APA Leadership Nominations

This is just a quick note that nominations for APA Leadership positions have been extended to Sunday, November 8th. Given the state of higher education and the COVID pandemic, the coming months and years are likely going to be crucial for the profession. There are quite a few seats open, so if you are an APA member, do consider submitting nominations (including self-nominations, which are allowed!).

APA webinar: supporting non-academic careers

This is just a quick note that the APA’s Committee on Non-Academic Careers has organized a webinar for APA members, Supporting Non-Academic Careers: What Can Faculty Do?, for next Monday (October 26th) at 4pm EST. I think this is a great endeavor, and hope it receives strong participation, in part to incentivize more endeavors and events like this in the future. Here's a quick description of the event and scheduled speakers:

The webinar will include recommendations about steps departments and faculty can take to support and facilitate careers outside of academia, as well as experiences from faculty working to promote career diversity. The webinar may be especially useful for faculty in leadership positions in graduate programs, such as chairs, directors of graduate studies, and placement/career services officers.

The panelists for the webinar are the following:

• • Mark Barber, PhD, associate chair of the APA Committee on Non-Academic Careers
  • Carolyn Dicey Jennings, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Cognitive Science, University of California, Merced
  • Shane Wilkins, PhD, member of the APA Committee on Non-Academic Careers
  • Kevin J.S. Zollman, Professor of Philosophy and Social and Decision Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University

To participate, register on the APA website. Registration will be available until 10 a.m. Eastern time / 7 a.m. Pacific time on the day of the webinar, and access information will be provided to registrants at least one hour prior to the start of the webinar. Registration is limited to current APA members.

Interested readers can register for the event here. However, if you can't make it, a live recording of the event will be made available to APA members afterward. 

How Can I Be a Philosopher in a Non-Academic Career? (APA Blog Interview)

The Blog of the APA has a great interview up today with Gina Helfrich, who received her PhD at Emory and "is now program officer for global technology at Internews, an international nonprofit dedicated to empowering local media worldwide." A couple of choice passages:

Q: Tell me about the twists and turns.

....

There were a lot of unexpected moments. Sometimes, it seemed as if a perfect job fell from the sky with the job description written just for me. Other times, I had to work very hard to find a position.

My first full-time job, as assistant director of the Harvard College Women’s Center, fell from the sky. I saw it come across a mailing list I was on as a result of my graduate fellowship working in the Center for Women at Emory University, and it was a great fit with my scholarly focus in women’s and gender studies.

After a promotion to director and four years at the women’s center, I felt restless. So I read books like What Color Is Your Parachute? I did informational interviews. And eventually, I networked myself into a tech job at a startup—but I got laid off after a year, and I then was stuck with this bizarre resume.

So I did what you do: I put myself out there, chased a lot of opportunities that didn’t pan out, and eventually landed a communications position with NumFOCUS, a nonprofit that supports open-source scientific research. Around the same time, I cofounded a staffing and consulting business to support better diversity and inclusion in technology. We started getting a lot of attention, and even got some venture capital, so at a certain point I was basically forced to leave my full-time/regular job. But the business didn’t work out, and after seven months of “funemployment,” I found my way back to NumFOCUS for few more years.

Then, something else fell from the sky. When I heard about my current position, I thought it was perfect—the candidate needed to understand open source software communities and be conversant in issues of diversity and inclusion. I submitted my resume and cover letter, and got the job.

Honestly, even that summary of my career feels a little too neat; it was very messy and unexpected. So that’s the non-academic path—terrifying, but beautiful!

.....

Q: What can philosophy faculty do to help their students pursue non-academic careers?

The most important thing is to be supportive. Graduate school can really undermine one’s self-confidence. But you need self-confidence to get a job—and faculty support helps.

Another thing faculty can do is get familiar with some basic resources to help graduate students find careers—things like the book Designing Your Life by Stanford University professors Bill Burnett and David Evans.

Faculty have to reckon with the fact that PhD students fund their lifestyles, but there are not enough academic jobs for every PhD student. So faculty really owe it to PhDs to support them in the search for all types of work. Our community should also do more to encourage and support hybrid careers for PhDs—you work in tech, for example, but also teach a course or write philosophical articles.

APA webinar: Philosophers Beyond Academia

This is just a quick note that the American Philosophical Association is holding a member webinar, "Philosophers Beyond Academia: Experiences in Navigating Diverse Career Paths" on May 20th at 1:30pm EST.

Although those of you who are APA members probably received their announcement about this by email, I would like to add that I think it could be a very good idea for Cocoon readers who are APA members to attend. I for one am delighted that the APA is devoting more attention to non-academic careers, and suspect that the more successful events like this are, the more likely the APA will be to do more things like this going forward. This, it seems to me, is the kind of support for early-career job-marketeers that people have long been clamoring for--so if you agree, please do consider registering and attending!

APA Grad Student Council (GSC) statement

The APA released today a statement by its Graduate Student Council entitled, "Supporting grad students during COVID-19." I think it's a really good statement worth reading, disseminating, and acting upon to whatever extent possible.