The Philosophers' Cocoon

A safe and supportive forum for philosophers.

Owned & Moderated by Marcus Arvan (University of Tampa)

Contact: marvan@ut.edu

Blog mission & moderation policy

IMPORTANT NOTE on how to ensure anonymity in commenting
Job-Market Reporting Thread (2025-26)
Job-Market Discussion Thread (2025-26)

recent posts

about

  • Is “readership” relevant when choosing which generalist journals to submit to?

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

    Is the readership consideration still relevant when choosing which generalist journal to submit to?

    I know that in the past it used to be worthwhile to publish in journals that had more subscribers because you could expect more people to find your article when flipping through the pages of physical copies of the journal. Nowadays, from what I gather, most people only “browse” the specialist journals that are relevant to them, and no one opens up generalist journal websites casually looking for new stuff to read. Instead, people find stuff on depositories like PhilPapers with helpful search engines, and there isn’t really much a difference between journals aside from the prestige. Is this true?

    I’m not sure–though I suspect as with most things there may be considerable variance in terms of people’s journal-reading practices.

    Do any readers have helpful insights to share?

    3

  • Written assignments for CC interviews?

    A reader writes in by email:

    I was recently invited to interview for a tenure track community college position. Part of the interview is a prompt and written answer. I have never been asked to complete a written assignment during an interview. What kind of questions or topics are addressed in these? Is there a good way to prepare? What is expected?

    I know this sort of thing is common outside of academia, but hadn’t heard of it for an academic interview until now.

    Do any readers have helpful insights to share?

    3

  • Helpful tips/resources for a first-time instructor?

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

    I’m starting to teach soon. Do people have recommendations for books or any other material on teaching methods, assignments, evaluations etc, that are useful for philosophy classes?

    Does anyone have helpful tips or resources to share?

    8

  • “Share your failures” thread

    In the comments section of our previous post, “Dealing with rejection in academic philosophy?“, a reader wrote:

    it helps hearing about others’ failures! It makes it seem less personal and shameful and more just part of the deal. So, wildly successful academics, please share your failure stories! In fact, maybe we need an open thread? A series of posts? I’d write one but it probably wouldn’t be any good.

    Another reader seconded the suggestion, and I think a thread like that could be helpful. So, share away! Do you have a “failure story” you’re willing to share?

    21