The Philosophers' Cocoon

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

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  • Journals that publish articles on teaching?

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

    Does anyone know of journals publishing articles on teaching other than Teaching Philosophy? Preferably open access ones.

    Do readers have any tips?

    6

  • Do US jobs sponsor visas or deprioritize candidates who need them?

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

    Having had limited luck during the Fall job cycle, I’m now banking on something working out during the Spring cycle. However, I’m not a US citizen, and last year a few places turned me down because they wouldn’t sponsor a visa. My question is, how common is this? Some places explicitly mention not sponsoring visas, but my concern is that even the places that don’t mention it might deprioritize my application. I’d appreciate any experience people have in this area, since I’m trying very hard to stay in the country (I know…).

    Do any readers have any helpful insights?

    8

  • Writing/publishing an exploratory paper?

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

    How does one write an exploratory paper?

    I have come across a small but interesting phenomenon in my area (phil language/speech acts) that I’m pretty sure nobody has written about before. I want to write a paper which boils down to ‘X is interesting, and we should all talk about it more!’ wtih some comments on X and it’s variations. What’s the best way to do this?

    I ask because, as a final year PhD student, all the writing I’ve done (especially the published writing) has been clearly *argued* for some position, generally against someone else’s position. The only more exploratory thing I’ve written is my thesis, which is obviously a very different beast.

    Could people recommend:
    – strategies for framing and structuring the paper
    – existing work of this kind that they think works especially well? (good models)
    – advice on finding/choosing publication venues

    Does anyone have any helpful tips or thoughts about this?

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  • Using (some) letters of recommendations from other disciplines in grad applications?

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

    For an interdisciplinary student looking at applying to grad school, what is a good balance of recommenders from each discipline? I’m a double-major in Economics and Philosophy with significant experience working in a sociology lab. I migrated from social science to philosophy and will have solid philosophy work to showcase in my application. My (uninformed) preference would be to have letters showcasing my experience in the different fields, but I don’t know how that would be received. Would an interdisciplinary CV with only philosophy recommenders be seen as missing something? Alternatively, does having non-philosopher recommendations contribute anything in the eyes of a typical committee?

    I suspect that this may depend on the departments one is applying to and who serves on their admissions committees. Why? Because some philosophers (and departments) seem to value interdisciplinarity, whereas others may not.

    What do readers think?

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