Shelley Tremain has asked for me to post the following on her behalf:
A Reminder to Search Committees
As deadlines for philosophy faculty positions approach and pass, members of search committees should bear in mind how structural, institutional, disciplinary, material, and other factors have marginalized many philosophers, reproducing the profession and discipline as homogeneous along axes of power such as disability, race, sexuality, nationality, language, and gender. Disabled philosophers have been virtually excluded from the profession and discipline. In my introduction to the Fall 2013 issue of Disability Studies Quarterly (DSQ, vol. 33, no. 4 http://dsq-sds.org/issue/view/108) whose theme was Improving Feminist Philosophy and Theory by Taking Account of Disability, I estimated that 4% of philosophy faculty in North America are disabled. This figure was based upon past surveys conducted at a couple of APA conferences. Clearly, that estimate was too generous: according to recent membership surveys conducted by the APA and CPA, less than 2% and less than 1% (respectively) of philosophy faculty (any rank) are disabled.
In the DSQ intro, I identify many of the factors that have shaped the ableism of the discipline and profession. Entitled "Introducing Feminist Philosophy of Disability," that article can be accessed from the link above or read here: https://www.academia.edu/5812065/Introducing_Feminist_Philosophy_of_Disability. I also discuss the marginalization and exclusion of disabled philosophers from the profession in "Disabling Philosophy" which appeared in the April issue of The Philosopher's Magazine. That article can be read here: https://www.academia.edu/6651947/Disabling_Philosophy.
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