The Philosophers' Cocoon

A safe and supportive forum for philosophers.

Owned & Moderated by Marcus Arvan (University of Tampa)

Contact: marvan@ut.edu

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Job-Market Reporting Thread (2026-27)
Job-Market Discussion Thread (2026-27)

  1. In the adjunct-y role I’m currently in, I’m a bit all over the place. There are some classes I’ve taught…

  2. I have a decent teaching profile for history (have taught Chinese philosophy, can also teach early modern and early analytic/pragmatism),…

  4. Should you ask references to update their letters every single year? I’ve been on the market 4 years in a…

  5. Just saw that there’s a new editorial assistant at AJP. Is this related to what Anonymous of Oct. 10 says…

recent posts

about

  • What are your teaching habits?

    In our new “how can we help you?” thread, a reader asks?

    Just a curious question on teaching habits: I would be interested in the variety of teaching. Do you teach new classes each semester? And are you mostly aquainted with the material you teach beforehand (before you put the syllabus together, say)? Or do you learn with your students? How much variety in topics is there overall in your teaching? And do you teach more specialist texts or more basic texts? Is there more advantage to specialize your teaching (I guess you will be better, then in subject-knowledge), or to teach broadly?

    Lots of good questions here? Anyone willing to share some of your answers?

    6

  • Undergrad journal and conference tips?

    I received a query by email asking about good places for a strong philosophy undergraduate to “find a journal to submit work to, or a conference to present at, or both.” More specifically, the query was: are there “[a]ny good undergrad journals or conferences she might enjoy? Or “regular” conferences that she could participate in as an undergrad?”

    Any helpful tips from readers?

    4

  • How can we help you? (October 2026)

    Now that it’s mid-October, it’s time for a new “how can we help you?” thread.

    For those of you unfamiliar with this series, this is a chance for you to post openly or anonymously in the comments section below on anything you could use help with related to the profession. After you post your query in the comments, I will then post new threads for readers to discuss your query. 

    As usual, feel free to ask questions on anything (within the Cocoon’s mission) that you could use help with. Ask away – we’re here to help! 

    Finally, a quick reminder of the following RULE: Please do not submit replies to other comments in this thread. It makes these threads unwieldy and difficult for me to keep track of. If you’d like to respond to a comment in this thread, please wait until I dedicate a new post to the person’s query myself and comment in that thread instead! I have not been enforcing this rule consistently recently, but need to recommit to it as it has been hard to manage these threads. Thanks!

    4

  • Post-acceptance publication delays?

    In our September “how can we help you?” thread, a reader asks:

    We often talk about delays before acceptance: unresponsive editors, slow reviewers, and papers stuck in limbo. But how much variation is there once a paper is actually accepted?

    A paper of mine was recently accepted by a reputable journal with a major publisher. Peer review took nearly a year, but I’ve now spent almost three months waiting for it to appear online. Proofs were delayed, and despite returning everything and signing the contract straight away, it has gone completely quiet.

    When post-acceptance drags on like this, is the bottleneck typically with the journal’s editorial team or the publisher’s central production department?

    I’d be curious to hear other people’s experiences, and whether there are noticeable differences between publishers and journals.

    Do readers have any helpful insights to share?

    6