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 (2026-27)

  1. When is it time to pull a paper and resubmit at a different journal. I’m a postdoctoral researcher. I’ve had…

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  • Job-market discussion thread (2026-27 season)

    Given that jobs are beginning to be posted on PhilJobs for the next job cycle and things have been a bit slow around here, I figured now might be a good time to start this season’s job-market boards.

    As many readers of the Cocoon may recall, each job season the Cocoon hosts two different job-market threads:

    1. A job-market discussion thread (the present thread): to commiserate about the market, discuss particular job ads, the market in general, questions about application materials, interviewing, alt-ac opportunities, and so on.
    2. A job-market reporting thread: to post news about interviews, on-campus visits, offers, rejection notices, etc.

    This post will serve as the discussion thread, and as in the past I will open the reporting thread at a later date, closer to when most job applications become due (in the meantime, feel free to continue posting at the current reporting thread).

    Because someone always asks, “Why two threads?”, there are a couple of reasons. First, some people may want to discuss the market but not stress over daily news regarding which jobs they still do or don’t have a chance for. Conversely, others may not want to discuss the market but just want news about the jobs they’ve applied for. Second, these threads can get very long already, so I think the best way for people to get the information they want in a well-ordered format is simply to have two threads.

    A few final notes:

    • This thread (the post you are reading right now!) will be the home of this year’s job-market discussion thread. So, if you want to discuss this year’s job-market, just comment below.
    • Please reserve job-market news (i.e. interviews, on-campus visits, hires, etc.) for the job-market reporting thread (which again will be posted at a later date).
    • A ‘permalink’ to this thread will be on the upper right of blog’s right sidebar for the rest of the job season. –>
    • Because of Typepad’s functionality limitations (which only permits 100 comments before starting a new comment page), readers may elect to bookmark each new page of comments as each new page emerges. I recognize that it can be frustrating to scroll through page after page to get to new comments, and I think this is probably the best solution given Typepad’s functionality limitations.

    Finally, as always, readers are asked to please bear in mind the Cocoon’s supportive mission. I try not to moderate with too heavy of a hand, as I don’t like to squelch reasonable discussion and debate. I also realize that the job-market can be an emotional roller-coaster, and that passions can run deep on job-market issues. But the Cocoon has always been intended to be an unique oasis of sorts: as a refuge for early-career philosophers to support each other and discuss issues related to their careers and the profession in productive, supportive way. So, I will moderate carefully to ensure that these threads remain a welcome environment for everyone–and, of course, if anyone has any concerns, please do not hesitate to let me know.

    All that being said, discuss away!

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  • How are you (not?) using AI?

    Now that it’s mid-summer, I’ve been in the grip of doing research but also starting to think about the fall semester. Basically, I’ve been doing things the old-fashioned way, not using AI in research or teaching (as I have a ton of concerns about it)–and my sense, at least anecdotally, is that many in the humanities are pretty resistant to it too.

    That said, I am interested to hear whether people are using AI in research and/or teaching, and if so how. (I’m also interested to hear from those who aren’t!).

    Any readers willing to share?

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  • What to do when it’s been months and a journal hasn’t found referees?

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

    May I ask what to do in this situation? Thanks! My paper has been with a prestigious journal since early January. The editor invited referees in two rounds, in February and March. In early June, I nudged the editor and they looked for referees for another round. It is now mid-July, and either no referee or fewer than two referees have been secured. My two questions:

    (1) When would it be appropriate to inquire again? It is summer. People are busy. I do not want to annoy the editor. They appear willing to help but seem to be dealing with an overwhelming workload.

    (2) When would you consider withdrawal? Withdrawing now in the summer seems also poorly timed. But at some point, I may have to consider it, given the job market pressure.

    Some background information: the topic has a fairly decent number of philosophers currently working on it. The handling editor does not work in this field and may not know the right persons to ask, which may be a small contributing factor here.

    Any input will be hugely appreciated!

    What do readers think? Personally, unless the journal has already secured 1 referee and they are going to just require one review to reach a verdict, I think I’d probably withdraw at this point. 6 months just seems way too long to me for the paper to basically not be under full review.

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  • Call for submissions: New Work in Philosophy

    This is just a quick note that New Work in Philosophy, a Substack that I co-manage with Barry Maguire and Willa Saadat from the University of Edinburgh, is always open to new submissions.

    For those of you who may not already aware of it, NWiP’s mission is to feature short, accessible blog posts, videos, and other multimedia (such as pictures, audio recordings, elaborate argument maps, etc.) in which philosophers promote, discuss, and disseminate their new(ish) work (published articles and books), or the work of others (including article and book reviews, etc.).

    NWiP currently has over 4,400 subscribers–so it is a great opportunity to share your philosophical work with a broad audience that includes academics and members of the general public. If you’d like to share your work, just send a contribution (a post, or a video, podcast, etc.) my way at marvan@ut.edu!

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