1000-Word Philosophy - Call for Essays

This is a call for essays for materials that are ideal for teaching philosophy in many contexts:

1000-Word Philosophy is a constantly-growing collection of original essays on important philosophical topics. These essays are introductions rather than argumentative articles. Each essay is as close to 1000 words (while never going over!) as the author can get it. A 1000-word essay takes between five and ten minutes to read. That’s about the length of a bus ride or a waiting room stay or the lead-up to a class meeting.

We’re always looking for authors to contribute and seek a diverse set of essays, on a wide range of philosophical issues, questions, figures and traditions. If you’re interested in contributing a 1000-word essay (or essays) on a philosophical topic that interest you and that you think would interest our readers, email us. Please either send us your full essay for review, or an essay proposal, or any other inquiries regarding the appropriateness and desirability of your topic and approach.

We are especially interested in essays on topics frequently addressed in introductory courses, as well as topics that are difficult to cover in introductory courses because the relevant literature is difficult for first-year students. We especially welcome material addressing under-represented philosophical traditions, including global philosophy, philosophy of race, LGBTQIA issues, and more.  

Why contribute? 1000-Word Philosophy currently has a few hundred online visitors each day, and we are working to increase those numbers, so your essay will be highly visible to a global readership. We are also looking into ways to try to track the use of the essays, for example, in teaching and as sources for online discussion. We are also planning to eventually compile the essays into an open-access and open-source print collection that will be ideal for classroom use, as well as the general reader. If you are interested in developing ideal materials for both teaching and public philosophy, then 1000-Word Philosophy is for you.

https://1000wordphilosophy.com/ 

Essay Rubric

If you are looking for an awesome essay rubric, here's one, in a number of formats, by Micah Lewin:

Philosophy Paper Grading Rubric (on One 11x17 PDF Page, on Multiple 8.5x11 PDF Pages, or as a JPEG). 

Philosophy is a Great Major . com

A new page of interest and value! Philosophy is a Great Major . com

@ www.PhilosophyIsAGreatMajor.com

(See also www.WhyStudyPhilosophy.com)

Call for Outstanding Philosophy Teachers

Open call for Philosophers in the Classroom: Essays on Teaching

We write to solicit names of outstanding teachers who might be interested in contributing to a volume of reflective essays on the teaching of philosophy to be published by Hackett Publishing Company in 2019. We are primarily seeking dedicated philosophy teachers who have received an institution-wide teaching award (or some equivalent recognition) for their work in the classroom.

Essays will be approximately 4,000 to 7,000 words and reflect upon some aspect of the philosopher's experience as a teacher. Essays might address:

• the teaching of a particular class (e.g. intro, ancient, modern, logic or critical reasoning);
• the teaching of a particular student population (e.g. first-years, advanced majors, pre-college students, economically disenfranchised students, religious students, graduate students, or prisoners);
• the impact philosophy teaching can have in the world;
• a specific experience that has come to have broader significance for the author; or
• some other topic that will educate and inspire teachers of philosophy.

This will not be an anthology of SOTL (scholarship of teaching and learning) papers or "how-to" papers, but an anthology of literary, narrative essays on the lives of distinguished philosophy teachers and their love for teaching.

Please recommend your best philosophy teachers for this project by e-mailing their names, and, if possible cvs, to alexandrabradner@gmail.com with the subject line "Hackett teaching book" by Wednesday, February 8, 2017. If you've received an institution-wide teaching award (or some equivalent recognition) and have an idea for an essay, please send your cv, along with a paragraph or two about your idea, to that same e-mail address by Wednesday, February 8, 2017. 

Decisions will be announced sometime in May 2017. We plan to assemble our final list of contributors through our review of the submissions generated by this call and through some number of invitations. We are aiming for a list that is diverse in all respects: institutional affiliation, career status, philosophical orientation, gender, ethnicity, etc.

Best,

Steven M. Cahn, Former Chair, APA Committee on the Teaching of Philosophy

Alexandra Bradner, Chair, APA Committee on the Teaching of Philosophy

Andrew Mills, President, American Association of Philosophy Teachers

Calls for Abstracts

The American Philosophical Association Committee on the Teaching of Philosophy invites abstracts for two sessions to take place at the APA Eastern Division meeting, January 4–7, 2017, in Baltimore, MD.

Teaching Philosophy across the Pre-College/College Boundary

This session, organized with the APA Committee on Pre-College Instruction in Philosophy and the American Association of Philosophy Teachers, will explore the teaching of philosophy across the boundary between pre-college and college classrooms. We invite conversation about pedagogy among philosophers who have some experience teaching philosophy in both of these settings: What practices in the college classroom might transfer well to the K–12 philosophical inquiry classroom? What pedagogical practices specific to philosophy for children might engage college students?

The deadline to submit abstracts for this session is Monday, August 29. More information about the session, including detailed instructions on how to apply, is available on the APA website.

Philosophy under Fire: How to Convey to Stakeholders the Value of Teaching Philosophy

This session, organized with the APA Committee on the Status and Future of the Profession and the American Association of Philosophy Teachers, will approach ways to articulate and convey the value of philosophy teaching to administrators, board members, and government officials. We are looking, in particular, to share the experiences of philosophers who recently have had to fight for the survival of their departments.

The deadline to submit abstracts for this session is Wednesday, August 31. More information about the session, including detailed instructions on how to apply, is available on the APA website.

We look forward to receiving your submissions!

Best wishes,

Alexandra Bradner
Chair, APA Committee on the Teaching of Philosophy

The Character Experiment

During the Spring 2015 semester in my introductory ethics courses, I tried something new that I first heard about through my friend Russell DiSilvestro. I suspect this assignment will sound strange to many philosophy professors. I asked the students to complete a project, “The Character Experiment,” in which they would pick 3 virtues to attempt to cultivate over the course of the semester.

“The purpose of our examination is not to know what virtue is, but to become good, since otherwise our inquiry would be of no benefit to us.”
-Aristotle 

Prior to describing and giving them the assignment, we read Greg Bassham’s “Virtue-Centered Approaches to Education: Prospects and Pitfalls,” Virtues in Action, Michael W. Austin, ed. (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013), pp. 11-22. This set the stage and offered a rationale for completing this type of experiment, recognizing some of its potential strengths and weaknesses. We also read James Gould, “Becoming Good: The Role of Spiritual Practice,” Philosophical Practice 1, no. 3 (2005): 135–47, to offer a framework and some practical suggestions. And we discussed the relevance of the experiment to the theories and issues we studied over the course of the semester.

"Teaching Practical and Applied Ethics" Facebook Group

David Killoren has created an engaging Facebook group "Teaching Practical and Applied Ethics" with this description:

This is a group for people who teach applied ethics (including biomedical ethics, business ethics, etc.). Let's share articles and news stories that are relevant to applied ethics, discuss pedagogical problems and their solutions, tell funny stories from the classroom, and so on.

It is a "closed" group, but anyone can ask to be added. (Shared with David's permission!)

Your one-stop Intro to Philosophy shop

Update: This site has been given an attractive redesign and is now edited by Erin Tarver.

Villanova's John Immerwahr, an ISW reader and enthusiast, has alerted me to his attractive new website, Teach Philosophy 101. As its name suggests, Tø101 is an open source collection of materials and resources for teaching to Introduction to Philosophy, with good stuff both for those new to the special challenges of Intro and those looking to refresh or revamp their Intro courses. John's site is nicely organized and he's looking for other links and resources related to teaching Intro. I'd encourage everyone to head over and check it out.

Undergraduate Diversity Institutes in Philosophy

A number of undergraduate diversity institutes in philosophy are now accepting applications for their 2016 sessions. These institutes operate independent of one another, but they share the overarching goal to encourage and support undergraduates from underrepresented groups in philosophy. Each institute normally accepts 10-20 students per year. The following institutes are now accepting applications: Philosophy in an Inclusive Key (PIKSI) – PIKSI-Rock (June 13-22, 2016) and PIKSI-Boston (July 17-23, 2016). Application deadline: March 21, 2016. Rutgers Summer Institute for Diversity in Philosophy – July 10-17, 2016. Application deadline:May 9, 2016. Summer Immersion Program in Philosophy  at Brown University (SIPP@Brown) – July 17-30, 2016. Application deadline: March 15, 2016. UCSD Summer Program for Women in Philosophy – June 20-July 1, 2016. Application deadline:March 1, 2016. UMass Dartmouth Summer Program for Diversity: Logic – May 22-28, 2016. Application deadline:April 18, 2016. Undergraduates and recent graduates from underrepresented groups, including women, African Americans, Chicano/as and Latino/as, Native Americans, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, LGBTs, individuals from  economically disadvantaged communities, and people with disabilities, are urged to apply. We encourage you to spread the word about these and other opportunities  to your undergraduate students, and to consider serving as their sponsor. Faculty sponsors mentor students, helping them to prepare their applications, and, when possible and appropriate, work with the students after the summer institute to help further the gains the students have made. All the best, Amy E. Ferrer Executive Director

Don't Forget to Participate in the APA's Teaching Workshop

Don't forget to participate in the APA's Teaching Workshop over at the APA Blog.

Teaching Questions

The APA's Teaching Committee has been working hard to launch a Teaching Workshop as part of the newly minted APA blog. This initiative is an important way to make sure that supporting pedagogical development remain central to the APA's mission and to the profession. Please consider submitting your questions to us. And if you're interested in contributing answers, please get in touch as well.

PhilTeacherWorkshop (at) gmail.com

Critical thinking and democracy?

Readers,

Can any of you point me to work linking critical thinking and democracy? I'm particularly interested in work that proposes that education in critical thinking is a particularly apt or essential goal for education in democratic societies. Thanks!

Announcing new Wilson Prize for essay on philosophy teaching

REMINDER: The submission deadline is October 1, 2015.

Teaching Philosophy is pleased to announce a new essay prize, the Arnold Wilson Prize. Details here and below the fold.

Call for abstracts: 'Our Obligations to Adjuncts'

Call for Abstracts: 2016 Pacific APA Session

“Our Obligations to Adjuncts”

Organized by the APA Committee on the Teaching of Philosophy

Deadline: Friday, October 2, 2015

The American Philosophical Association (APA) Committee on the Teaching of Philosophy invites abstracts for its upcoming session, “Our Obligations to Adjuncts,” planned for the 2016 Pacific Division Meeting of the APA on March 30-April 3, 2016, in San Francisco, CA. 

According to the AAUP Research Office, non-tenure-track faculty now comprise more than 70% of the professoriate (http://www.aaup.org/sites/default/files/Faculty_Trends_0.pdf). In the humanities, the most recent data from the Delphi Project suggest that 46.2% of all humanists teach part-time, while 22.2% teach full-time, but off the tenure track (http://faqs.thechangingfaculty.org/). We suspect these numbers are on the rise. In this session, we’re calling upon the philosophical community to think about these statistics and the individuals hidden behind them.

The Committee is particularly interested both in presentations from ethicists and social-political philosophers who might use their expertise to think about our obligations to contingent faculty and in presentations from department chairs at institutions with particularly humane adjunct policies. In the spirit of active learning, the Committee asks that presenters not read a paper, but plan a more interactive way to engage their audience of peers.

CFA: Teaching students to read philosophy

Call for Abstracts: Central APA Session

“Teaching Students How to Read Philosophy”

Organized by the APA Committee on the Teaching of Philosophy

Deadline: Monday, September 14, 2015

The American Philosophical Association (APA) Committee on the Teaching of Philosophy invites abstracts for its upcoming session “Teaching Students How to Read Philosophy,” planned for the 2016 Central Division Meeting of the APA, March 2-5, 2016, Chicago, IL. With this session, we are interested in exploring challenges and techniques associated with teaching students how to read philosophy’s dense, antiquated, and/or translated texts. The Committee is particularly interested in fresh approaches to this problem and in pedagogical strategies that instructors have employed successfully in the classroom. In the spirit of active learning, the Committee asks that presenters not read a paper, but plan a more interactive way to engage their audience of peers.

Philosophers' Magazine -- on teaching

The Philosophers' Magazine, a well-known UK publication, will focus its next issue on teaching. Preview below the cut:

AAPT: Workshop on Teaching and Learning in Philosophy

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

The American Association of Philosophy Teachers (AAPT)

“To Improve The Quality Of Instruction In Philosophy At All Levels”

Teaching & Learning in Philosophy: Dallas/Ft.Worth

Location:                     North Texas University, Denton, TX

Date:                           Saturday, September 26, 2015

Time:                           9am – 5pm

Application Deadline: August 15, 2015

Description

Participants will read some of the best literature regarding how learning happens, how to design maximally effective courses, and how to improve classroom practice. The goal is not only to provide tips, although we will provide some. Rather, the seminar is designed to enhance participants’ ability to make effective pedagogical choices. The interactive sessions provide opportunities for participants to reflect with colleagues on how to individualize evidence-based best teaching practices to one’s own idiosyncratic teaching contexts. Participants will learn how to identify and select challenging and transformative learning objectives and how to design and assess sequences of learning activities to make the achievement of those goals highly likely. 

Comments from Past Participants

“The seminar shifted and honed the way I think about and practice teaching in substantial ways”

“Inspiring, fascinating, and incredibly helpful”

“A must for anyone who cares about students”

“An intensive boot-camp for learner-centered education”

“Not at all like the typical (mostly useless) “teaching orientation” that most graduate students get”

APA session: The philosophy major

The APA Committee on Teaching Philosophy is seeking participants for a panel on the philosophy major, to be held at the Eastern Division meeting (January 2016, Washington D.C.). The deadline to volunteer is August 10. More details here.

APA session: Advice for job candidates on the teaching demo

The APA Committee on Teaching Philosophy is seeking participants for a panel (Eastern meeting, January 2016, Washington DC) to advise job candidates on teaching demonstrations. The deadline to volunteer is August 17. More details here.

CFP: Teaching Philosophy, etc., at Indiana Philosophical Association

Call for Papers

Indiana Philosophical Association

Fall Meeting, 13-14 November 2015

Earlham College (Richmond, Indiana)

Keynote Speaker

Walter Brogan

Villanova University

Papers in any area of philosophy are welcome. Submitted papers should be (i) no more than

3000 words, (ii) prepared for anonymous review, and (iii) accompanied by a separate page that

includes title, author information (name, affiliation, and contact information), and an abstract

not exceeding 150 words. Materials should be submitted to Prof. Sam Kahn at

indianacfp@gmail.com. Suggestions for commentators and sessions chairs (including self-nominations) are also welcome.

In an effort to draw more diverse submissions, the IPA will host four Special Sessions. They will

address respectively:

• Teaching Philosophy
• Feminist Philosophies
• Environmental Philosophy
• Ancient Greek Political Philosophy

If you are applying for a special session, please indicate so in your e-mail and on your cover

page.

Graduate Paper Prize

The IPA will present an award to the best paper submitted by a graduate student. The award will be

accompanied by a cash prize of $100. Graduate student papers submitted for the competition should be identified as such on the title sheet.

Deadline for Submissions: 1 September 2015

Deadline for Notifications: 1 October 2015

http://ipa-online.info