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

    I’ve increasingly come to appreciate how much rejection figures in academic philosophy. It’s not easy. What strategies do you all have for dealing with rejections, whether it be from journals, programs, jobs, summer-schools, etc.?

    Yep, this sure is an unending issue in an academic career. ¯\(ツ)/¯ : (

    Do any readers have any tips or strategies the OP might find helpful?

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

    I was recently admitted to a PhD programme at the University of Notre Dame and will be starting this autumn. However, an American professor I know mentioned that since it’s a Catholic university, there might be some cultural differences that could take time to adjust to.

    As an international student with no background in or prior exposure to Catholicism, I’m not entirely sure what that actually means in practice. I’m starting to feel a bit anxious about it.

    Does anyone here have concrete experience with Notre Dame or with studying at a Catholic university in the U.S.? I would really appreciate any insights about what to expect, especially in terms of campus culture and academic life.

    Does anyone have helpful insights to share?

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

    I’m an Asian student and was fortunate to receive a strong offer this application cycle. I’ll be starting a PhD in the U.S. in Fall 2026. However, I’m very worried about language issues. In philosophy, classroom discussion is extremely important, and I know my spoken English will never be as fluent as that of native speakers. My reading and writing skills are actually very strong, but my listening and speaking are quite weak. In my home country, no one speaks English to me in daily life, and I’ve basically never had real opportunities to speak it out loud.

    Sometimes I really miss how articulate and intelligent I sound in my native language… In English, I feel like a much less capable version of myself. Do professors tend to doubt a PhD student’s academic ability if their spoken English isn’t very good? Will limited oral fluency be interpreted as limited intellectual ability?

    Do any readers have any helpful experiences or insights to share?

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

    I was at a conference and began talking with one of the reps from OUP. I got to talking about a few of my articles, a couple of places the articles had been picked up, and then decided to just take the plunge and gave a broad overview of a book idea (only two sentences). Then I asked if that was something it may be worth talking to OUP about. The rep gave me the email of one of the area editors and told me to get in contact.

    Is this just a polite, “Please go away” thing that reps sometimes do? Or is it worth it to go ahead and reach out to the editor?

    I don’t know exactly how much to take away from a meeting with a press’s “rep” at a conference (are they an editor?), but in any case I would definitely follow through. The worst that can happen is that the editor isn’t interested. The best that can happen is that they are!

    Do any readers have helpful insights to share?

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