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 (2025-26)
Job-Market Discussion Thread (2025-26)

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  • Compensation for reviewing for Cambridge Elements?

    In our January “how can we help you?” thread, a reader writes:

    A very specific but small question: I’ve been asked to review for the Cambridge Elements Series. This is therefore reviewing a book. The email does not mention any payment, something that I have got for reviewing other books. Is this normal? Do they not pay (or pay in books) for Elements reviews, even though that is otherwise the norm when being asked to review books?

    I haven’t heard of this–maybe it’s because Cambridge Elements books are really short (between 20-30K words)? Do any readers have any insights?

    4

  • Do hiring committees care about scholarly impact/citation numbers?

    In our January “how can we help you?” thread, a reader writes:

    Do hiring committees care about scholarly impact (number of citations, etc.)? I would imagine for senior hires maybe this matters, but what about junior hires? I’m just a few years post-Ph.D. but some of my papers have already been cited several times, sometimes in prestigious venues. Do hiring committees care about this? If so, what’s the best way to communicate/make visible one’s scholarly impact to a hiring committee?

    What do readers think? Any helpful tips?

    6

  • Bias against job applicants w/postdocs in China?

    In our January “how can we help you?” thread, a reader writes:

    I posted in the job market thread but realised I might be better off asking here. I am on the job market for the first time, and I’m applying for a number of post docs that have been advertised with people who directly work in my area based in China. I am wondering whether anyone knows if there is a bias against applicants who have done post-docs in China/difficulty going into a different market afterwards. I have seen conflicting opinions online about this. The market where I live now is very bad, so it would be good to go somewhere else for a while whilst things shake out and I think these post-docs would be beneficial for publishing, but I’m not sure if there’s a bias against these jobs that might effect my chances of getting a permanent position in e.g. Europe somewhere down the line.

    I’ve never heard of this being a concern. What do readers think?

    2

  • Listing books under review on a CV?

    In our January “how can we help you?” thread, a reader writes:

    Brief question: if you have a book ms under review with a press, is it appropriate to list the book project as under review with the press on your cv?

    Not sure–maybe if it’s a really prestigious press?

    What do readers think?

    4