Gender, Race and Philosophy: The Blog

PIKSI 2013

PIKSI 2013 

Philosophy in an Inclusive Key: A Summer Institute for Undergraduates

Philosophy: Experience, Reflection, Transformation

ROCK ETHICS INSTITUTE, THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY

August 3–August 10, 2013

Ellen K. Feder, Director Associate Professor of Philosophy, American University

Guest Faculty: Linda Alcoff, Professor of Philosophy, CUNY

Brad Elliott Stone, Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, Chair, African American Studies, Loyola Marymount University

Mariana Ortega, Professor, Department of Philosophy, John Carroll University

Along with works in feminist, critical race, disability, and queer theory, students will read historical and contemporary philosophical texts that explore recurring human concerns and investigate the ways in which experience informs philosophical reflection. In addition, writing assignments, visiting lecturers, and mentoring will help students learn that their own perspectives matter to philosophy.

Participants will be named Iris Marion Young Diversity Fellows.

Designed to encourage undergraduates from underrepresented groups to consider future study of philosophy, PIKSI emphasizes the on-going project of greater inclusiveness that is transforming the discipline, inviting students to be participants in the conversation. Undergraduate women or men from underrepresented groups such as African Americans, Chicano/as and Latino/as, Native Americans, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, LGBTs, economically disadvantaged communities, and people with disabilities are urged to apply. Transportation and lodging are provided. Stipends are awarded to all.

APPLICATIONS DUE: April 15, 2013

For more details see:  http://rockethics.psu.edu/piksi

Co-Sponsors: APA • FEAST • Penn State’s Rock Ethics Institute, College of The Liberal Arts, and Department of Philosophy• Iris Marion Young Diversity Scholars Fund.

2012 Institutional Co-Sponsors: Stony Brook University • Michigan State University • University of Washington • Ann Arbor Philosophers’ PIKSI Funding Initiative.

To download a flier for posting, please go to http://rockethics.psu.edu/education/piksi/

 

PIKSI 2013

PIKSI 2013 FEAST/APA

Philosophy in an Inclusive Key

A Summer Institute for Undergraduates

ROCK ETHICS INSTITUTE, THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY

August 3–August 10, 2013

Philosophy: Experience, Reflection, Transformation

Ellen K. Feder, Director, Associate Professor of Philosophy, American University

Guest Faculty: Linda Alcoff, Professor of Philosophy, CUNY

Brad Elliott Stone, Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, Chair, African American Studies, Loyola Marymount University

Mariana Ortega, Professor, Department of Philosophy, John Carroll University

Along with works in feminist, critical race, disability, and queer theory, students will read historical and contemporary philosophical texts that explore recurring human concerns and investigate the ways in which experience informs philosophical reflection. In addition, writing assignments, visiting lecturers, and mentoring will help students learn that their own perspectives matter to philosophy.

Participants will be named  Iris Marion Young Diversity Fellows.

Designed to encourage undergraduates from underrepresented groups to consider future study of philosophy, PIKSI emphasizes the on-going project of greater inclusiveness that is transforming the discipline, inviting students to be participants in the conversation. Undergraduate women or men from underrepresented groups such as African Americans, Chicano/as and Latino/as, Native Americans, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, LGBTs, economically disadvantaged communities, and people with disabilities are urged to apply. Transportation and lodging are provided. Stipends are awarded to all.

APPLICATIONS DUE: April 15, 2013

For more details see:  http://rockethics.psu.edu/piksi

Co-Sponsors: APA • FEAST • Penn State’s Rock Ethics Institute, College of The Liberal Arts, and Department of Philosophy• Iris Marion Young Diversity Scholars Fund.

2012 Institutional Co-Sponsors: Stony Brook University • Michigan State University • University of Washington • Ann Arbor Philosophers’ PIKSI Funding Initiative.

To download a flier for posting, please go to http://rockethics.psu.edu/education/piksi/

Hypatia Reviews Online

Hypatia Reviews Online (HRO) - NOW LIVE - January 15, 2013

We are pleased to announce that HRO - the new online venue for Hypatia  book reviews – is now up and running!  We launch HRO with five new Hypatia book reviews and a very full archive of past reviews: a set of reviews that appeared online in 2004, and links to all the reviews since published in regular issues of the journal.

HRO is open access; all HRO reviews are available online at: http://hypatiaphilosophy.org/HRO

If you’re interested in reviewing for HRO, or can recommend books for review, please contact the Hypatia Book Review Editor, Sharyn Clough, either directly or through the Hypatia Editorial Office:[email protected] / [email protected].

Hypatia Announces new editors for 2013-2018.

The Hypatia Board of Associate Editors are delighted to announce that Sally Scholz and Shelley Wilcox have been appointed the new Editors of Hypatia for a five year term beginning July 2013. The editorial office will move to Villanova University at the end of June where it will be managed by Sally; Shelley will serve as book review editor based at San Francisco State University. We look forward to the next exciting five years for Hypatia under the watch of Sally and Shelley.

Diversity in Philosophy: Call for Abstracts

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS/PANELS

for a conference on

DIVERSITY IN PHILOSOPHY

May 29-May 31, 2013

University of Dayton, Dayton, OH

 

This conference examines and addresses the underrepresentation of women and other marginalized groups in Philosophy. Participants will focus on hurdles and best practices associated with the inclusion of underrepresented groups. It will focus on such questions as:

• Why do white males continue to be over-represented among Philosophy majors, graduate students, and faculty members, especially given that most other fields in the sciences and humanities are increasingly diverse?
• What are some effective ways to improve the recruitment, retention and advancement of women and other underrepresented groups?
• What roles do implicit bias and stereotyping play in who advances in Philosophy?
• How can the climate for women and other marginalized groups be improved?
• What role can philosophers who study marginalized groups play in advancing underrepresented groups in Philosophy?
• What can Philosophy learn from National Science Foundation ADVANCE initiatives that address how to recruit and advance women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields?
• How can we improve the climate for all underrepresented groups in Philosophy, including those who are LGBTQ, disabled, first generation in college, or economically disadvantaged?

Goals of the conference include creating opportunities for networking and building supportive communities as well as sharing cutting edge research.

We invite papers arising from relevant research programs, or about insights arising from relevant professional experience, including research, service and teaching work.  We invite individual presentations of 20 minutes with 10 additional minutes of discussion, or panels consisting of three 15 minute presentations with a total of 15 additional minutes of discussion. You may submit abstracts of papers (200-300 words) or panels (up to 3 abstracts) below.  Only one submission per person.  Panels should only be submitted once.  To submit an abstract or panel, click on “Diversity in Philosophy Conference May 29-31, 2013” in the left sidebar at www.apaonlinecsw.org.

We encourage presenters to give accessible, engaging presentations.  All conferences rooms can accommodate PowerPoint.  Every effort will be made to accommodate participants with disabilities.

Submission Deadline: February 1, 2013

On June 1, 2013, immediately following the conference, there will be a workshop for training members of CSW-sponsored site visit teams. These site visits are designed to improve the climate for underrepresented groups in Philosophy departments.   For further information, please click on "Site Visit Program" in the left sidebar at www.apaonlinecsw.org.

Organizing Committee:
Peggy DesAutels, University of Dayton, Chair, APA Committee on the Status of Women
Carla Fehr, University of Waterloo
Sally Haslanger, MIT, Convener, Women in Philosophy Task Force

Sponsors:
American Philosophical Association
American Philosophical Association, Committee on Inclusiveness
American Philosophical Association, Committee on the Status of Women
American Philosophical Association, Pacific Division
University of Dayton, Office of the Dean in the College of Arts and Sciences
University of Dayton, Department of Philosophy
University of Dayton, Women's and Gender Studies Program
University of Dayton, Office of Alumni Chair in Humanities

Feminist Philosophy and Essentialism Conference

HUMBOLDT-UNIVERSITÄT ZU BERLIN, GERMANY INSTITUT FÜR PHILOSOPHIE SYMPOSIUM SERIES:

FEMINIST PHILOSOPHY AND… ESSENTIALISM

Dates: 19 – 20th of July 2012

Location: Senatssaal, Humboldt-Universität Main Building (Unter den Linden 6), Berlin

Description: Would you be the same individual if you were gendered differently? The workshop asks this and related questions with a special emphasis on Charlotte Witt’s recent book The Metaphysics of Gender (Oxford University Press, 2011). According to Witt, most ordinary social agents find the answer to the above question to be an obvious ‘No!’ and they have no difficulties providing an intuitive answer. By contrast, most academic feminists working on gender find the answer neither obvious nor easy. What generates such divergent views and why are ordinary agents so secure in their gender ascriptions? In her book, Witt provides an articulation of this and offers an account of gender essentialism that is based on Aristotelian unification essentialism: gender (being a woman/ man) functions to unify social individuals so that an individual – rather than an aggregate of diverse parts – exists. The workshop interrogates Witt’s view, considers alternatives to it and discusses the role of gender essentialism in feminist philosophy.

Speakers:

Dan López de Sa (Universitat de Barcelona, Spain)

Eva von Redecker (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany)

Natalie Stoljar (McGill University, Canada)

Alison Stone (Lancaster University, UK)

Charlotte Witt (University of New Hampshire, USA)

Attendance is free but places are limited. To register, please email [email protected] by 30th of June 2012. We hope to be able to provide travel bursaries for students/ unwaged participants. If you would like to be considered for one, or have any queries regarding the Symposium Series/ this event, please contact the organiser Mari Mikkola ([email protected]). ---

Prof. Dr. Mari Mikkola Juniorprofessorin für Praktische Philosophie/ Junior Professor in Practical Philosophy Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin Institut für Philosophie Under den Linden 6 D-10099 Berlin Germany Website: http://www.philosophie.hu-berlin.de/institut/lehrbereiche/politik/mikkola/mitarbeiter/mikkola_mari

Number of women faculty in U.S. doctoral programs in philosophy

The list of "Tenured/tenure-track faculty women at 98 U.S. doctoral programs in philosophy" has just been updated.  Thanks to Julie Van Camp for doing this.

The 2011 list can can be found here.

Conference on Bias

HUMBOLDT-UNIVERSITÄT ZU BERLIN, GERMANY INSTITUT FÜR PHILOSOPHIE
SYMPOSIUM SERIES:  FEMINIST PHILOSOPHY AND…

THE INAUGURAL EVENT ON BIAS

25 – 26th August 2011

Location: Kleiner Senatssaal (Humboldt-Universität Main Building, Unter den Linden 6, Berlin)

The concept of bias has played a key role in shaping feminist epistemology and philosophy of science. It is not, however, an uncontested concept. Feminist philosophers disagree amongst themselves on how the concept should be understood, and whether bias is inevitable. They further disagree on how feminists should respond to and deal with bias. For instance, are biases always detrimental to our knowledge seeking activities? Or, can certain explicit biases (like feminist and anti-racist ones) make our epistemic practices more robustly truth-seeking?

More recently, political and ethical discussions have started making use of the concept of bias. Both philosophers and psychologists alike have begun examining certain sorts of widespread implicit biases about members of stigmatised social groups. The holders of these biases are generally unaware of them, and often have sincere and explicit egalitarian beliefs. On one understanding, implicit biases are unconscious prejudices that unduly affect our ways of both positively and negatively perceiving, evaluating, and interacting with others. The recognition and analysis of such biases has wide-ranging consequences for feminist philosophy and politics, as well as for every other movement seeking social justice. Implicit biases may explain why members of particular groups still find it hard to ‘make it’, despite the lack of overt obstacles to positions of power and authority.  Given its centrality to a number of feminist debates, this conference examines the notion of bias (broadly conceived).

CONFIRMED SPEAKERS:

Louise Antony (University of Massachusetts, Amherts, USA): "Different Voices or Perfect Storm? Explaining the Dearth of Women In Philosophy"

Jennifer Saul (University of Sheffield, UK): "Formal Equality of Opportunity and Affirmative Action"

Matthew Drabek (University of Iowa, US): “A Model of Feedback Bias in the Social Sciences”

Catherine Hundleby (University of Windsor, Canada): “Bias and Fallacies of Argumentation: The Case of Androcentrism”

Kristen Intemann (Montana State University, US) & Inmaculada de Melo‐Martín (Weill Cornell Medical College, US): “Bias and the Commercialization of Scientific Research: Can a Feminist Conception of
Impartiality Help?”

Peter Kirwan (University of California, Irvine, US): “Implicit Bias: Mapping the Dark Matter of Social Psychology”

Heidi Lockwood (Southern Connecticut State University, US): “Why does Diversity Matter in the Academy”

Susanne Pohlmann (Freie Universität Berlin, Germany): “Accountability and Underpinning Attitudes of Biased Beliefs”

This conference also serves as the inaugural event for the new Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin Symposium Series Feminist Philosophy and…. It will be followed by further regular events on topics relevant and of interest to feminist philosophers and all philosophers working on issues to do with social justice. Planned future topics include Feminist Philosophy and: Gender, Pornography, Race, Sex work.

Attendance is free but places are limited. To register, email [email protected] by 11th August 2011. For further information about the Symposium Series and the event on Bias, please contact Prof. Dr. Mari Mikkola ([email protected]).

Blacks in Philosophy

Nathaniel Adam Tobias Coleman has brought to my attention the following important facts and raises a call for action:

1. Only 50 out of 14,000 professors in Britain are black 

The data in item #1 is reported here http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/may/27/only-50-black-british-professors?intcmp=239, and here http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/mortarboard/2011/may/27/black-professor-shortage-failure-to-nurture-talent. To my knowledge (and I am a citizen of Britain), none of these 50 black professors specialises in philosophy.

2. Fewer than 125 out of 11,000 members of the American Philosophical Association are black

3. Fewer than 30 out of 11,000 members of the American Philosophical Association are black women

The data in items #2 and #3 are drawn from Kathryn T. Gines. Being a black woman philosopher: Reflections on founding the Collegium of Black Women Philosophers. Hypatia 26(2): 429-43.

Together, these facts add weight to the conclusion that there is a global lack of blacks in professional philosophy. I urge the philosophical professioriat to take immediate and positive action to combat this global lack. Please do convey my entreaty to your readers.

Comments?  Suggestions?

TIWAFLL flickr stream

MIT Women's and Gender Studies has undertaken a campaign to make feminism more visible.  Many people accept the basic principles of feminism (anti-sexism!?) but resist the f-word.  Our thought is that by showing that feminism is a broad-based movement that includes people of all kinds, we can defuse some of the anxiety about the word and build connections and coalitions more easily. 

We began by using International Women's Day as an occasion to wear a sticker saying "This is what a feminist looks like" and then moved on to photograph members of the MIT community wearing their stickers.  You can find it on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mit.wgs?ref=ts#!/media/set/fbx/?set=a.1436127642686.52869.1817835690
Our most recent effort was at the MIT Open House celebrating MIT's 150th anniversary (4/30).  We set up a photo booth and offered a tote bag printed with "This is what a feminist looks like at MIT"  to anyone who would have their photo taken with a sign saying the same thing.  We were busy all day and over 175 people participated.  It is an AMAZING display and includes the president of MIT, Susan Hockfield, the Dean of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Deborah Fitzgerald, the former mayor of Cambridge, Denise Simmons, and many many more from around the area and around the world.  Find it here:

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjuDf3n3

It is an important reminder that feminism is a broad-based and much loved movement.  Show your feminist pride!