UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO (SUNY), Buffalo NY. 2 Year Non-Tenure Track Full Time Faculty Position, beginning Fall 2012.

Four courses per year (2 per semester; Graduate and Undergraduate levels), along with normal non-teaching duties (i.e. student advisement, participation in departmental events, etc.). Salary: $45K plus benefits. AOS: Philosophy of Mind. AOC: Open. PhD preferred, but ABD considered for exceptional candidate. Summer teaching (2013, 2014) may be possible.

To apply, all candidates should submit a cover letter, a current CV, a writing sample of up to 25 pages, evidence of teaching effectiveness (such as syllabi and student evaluations), and arrange to have at least three letters of reference sent to: Mind Search Committee, Department of Philosophy, 135 Park Hall, University at Buffalo, Buffalo NY, 14260-4150. Application materials may be sent in hard copy OR emailed to phi-philosophy@buffalo.edu (please include PHIL MIND SEARCH in the subject line of the email).

For further information about the department please consult our website, http://philosophy.buffalo.edu/. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Successful candidates will be contacted for interview via Skype. UB is an EO/AA employer. Members of under-represented groups are strongly encouraged to apply.

by Katy Meyers (via Inside Higher Ed)

During my first PhD anthropology theory course, it was suggested to us that we should start writing every single day. Our professor told us that we needed to sit down for an hour every single day, or most days of the week, and just write. We shouldn’t focus on a specific topic, or try to answer a question, but rather we should just write whatever is on our mind. Honestly, I’ve been a fairly good writer since high school, and I wrote a lot in undergrad, so I wasn’t concerned with it. I had to do half a dozen 25 page papers during my masters, and I had just finished writing my thesis. Practicing writing was the least of my worries.

However, writing was a slow process for me. I wrote out detailed outlines, took weeks to fill them in with perfect sentences and dozens of citations. For a final paper I had to begin the process of writing at least a month or two in advance so that I could carefully make my way through it. My thesis only took two months to write, but I spent nearly 8 months planning out every single detail.

Then I started writing my blog. It was literally a way for me to keep up to date with journal articles. I figured that twice a week I would read a journal article that had nothing to do with my own personal interests, but something broadly from archaeology. I would then writeup a summary of the article, add some of my own critiques and publish them online. Honestly, I didn’t even think that people would read it.

My first post was August 2010, and I’ve written almost two posts per week since then, coming to a grand total of 180 posts to date. The posts are about 600 to 800 words long depending on the length of the journal article or my opinion. It used to take me about two hours two write that many words. Now it’s about an hour, and the posts always range on the longer end of the spectrum. I honestly didn’t realize until recently the writing benefits that I had been getting from an activity I consider to be a hobby. I now have the power to sit down at my computer and pound out 800 words with little difficulty.

Since writing is a major part of graduate school, its important that we start developing this skill. That way when we get to the dissertation we’re not paralyzed by the writing. Here are some tips:

1. Write almost every day: My suggestion is not that everyone start writing a blog, but try writing more often. Try sitting down every other day and just writing for an hour or even a half hour. Emails and facebook messages don’t count. Writing isn’t a big deal if you’re doing it all the time.

2. Break it down: Writing a ten page paper isn’t daunting, but writing a 200 page dissertation is. Don’t think about the ultimate goal, think about the proximate ones. Instead of listing ‘finish thesis’ on your to do list, write down each chapter, or even sections within the chapter. If you’re practice writing a thousand words a week, getting out a section won’t seem so scary.

3. Strive for progress, not perfection: The writing doesn’t have to be perfect. We’ve got computers so we can write really rough drafts and edit them later. Don’t worry about getting it right the first time, just get it out! I think of it as doing a ‘mind vomit’. Just get the ideas down on the screen and make them pretty later.

4. Take a break: After you’ve finished your brain dump at the computer, and the words are roughly strewn across your screen, walk away. Take a breather, go for a run, maybe even close the document down for a few days. When you come back to it you’ll be refreshed and ready to make those rough ideas into a document you’ll be happy with.

So just do it. Sit down. And Write, Damnit! I promise it’ll hurt less the more you do it.

The Department of Philosophy at Dalhousie University invites
applications for a Two-Year Limited Term Appointment at the Assistant
Professor/Lecturer level, effective July 1, 2012.  This position is
subject to budgetary approval.  Area of specialization: Moral
Psychology and/or Philosophy of Law and/or Feminism. Areas of
competence: Philosophy of Sex and Love, Environmental Ethics.
Expertise in some aspect of the History of Philosophy is an asset.

The successful applicant will teach courses at introductory,
intermediate and advanced undergraduate/graduate levels, with some
limited graduate student supervision and committee work. Excellence in
teaching and research is required. Applicants must hold (or be about
to receive) a Ph.D. in Philosophy. Salary will depend upon
qualifications and experience. Course load will be the equivalent of 3
and 3.

Applications should include: a complete curriculum vitae, transcripts
(undergraduate and graduate), writing sample, teaching dossier
(including evidence of teaching effectiveness),  a statement of
research and teaching interests and philosophies, and three
confidential letters of recommendation (in hard copy, forwarded
separately by the referees). A record of publication will be an asset.

Applications should be sent to Duncan MacIntosh, Chair, Department of
Philosophy, Dalhousie University, 6135 University Avenue, PO Box
15000, Halifax, NS, Canada B3H 4R2. (Please use dalphil@dal.ca for
correspondence).  The closing date for applications is May 1, 2012.

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians
and permanent residents will be given priority. Dalhousie University
is an Employment Equity/Affirmative Action employer. The University
encourages applications from qualified Aboriginal people, persons with
a disability, racially visible persons and women.

Write Better By Talking

(via http://www.academicladder.com/)

We Write Alone

Writing is a solitary process. It must be. You’re writing your own ideas. Yes, you are in “conversation” with other scholars, but your writing is your individual contribution to that conversation.

But writing can be very isolating, can’t it? If writing is your primary activity, your days can be pretty lonely. If you are squeezing your writing into a busy day, the solitude can be a relief, but it is still you, writing silently.

We urge you to speak up! At some time (usually multiple times!) in every writing project, you need to find a person and actually speak.

Why Should You Talk?

You think while you talk. How often do you say to a friend or family member, “Can I talk this over?” or “Would you like to talk about it?” or “I was saying to our friend….” You do think through your ideas using speech.

But the unwritten rules in academia are “Don’t admit that you’re unsure,” or “Don’t let anyone know what you’re thinking.”

It’s time to contradict those messages! We’re all unsure at some point in our writing! There’s no shame in sharing your partially-formed ideas!

When you speak, you have to make sense. You can hear your unclear places much better when you actually use your voice. That’s the reason that writing experts recommend reading your written work out loud: what makes sense to your eye does not necessarily make sense to your ear.

Talking with someone else also reduces the isolation we can experience. As important as solitude is, and as valuable as written exchanges between scholars are, spoken interaction is one of the best tools in your writing kit.

When Should you Talk?

Talking with another person is a big, scary step, but it pays big dividends. Some strategic points in your writing process that call for conversation are:

• You are excited about a new idea and thinking through its potential
• You are stuck in your project and can’t quite work out how to frame a key argument
• You are debating between two organizational structures
• You are shifting gears, such as moving to revision
• The writing will be presented orally, as at a conference or in an interview
• You are just plain stuck and feel hopeless

• Could I talk over my ideas for this project with you?
• I’d like you to listen and take notes, and then tell me what you heard me saying.
• If you don’t understand something, would you stop me so I can clarify?
• These are my goals. After you listen, could you tell me whether you think I met them?
• I want to talk about this challenge with you. Can I think out loud about the pros and cons?
• My feelings say this is hopeless, but I believe it is actually feasible. Could you convince me that my feelings are wrong?
• I will buy the coffee.

It’s time to talk!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

21st Annual Women & Society Conference – 2012
October 19 & 20, 2012
Marist College, Poughkeepsie New York

CALL FOR PROPOSALS
Proposals and abstracts are being solicited for the 2012 Women & Society
Conference. This feminist conference is interdisciplinary and
multi-disciplinary, covering all aspects of women & gender being studied
in the academy. The conference mentors and models feminist
inquiry/scholarship for undergraduate students, so joint faculty/student
papers and excellent student papers are also considered. Undergraduates
may attend at no cost.

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Linda Martín Alcoff
Dr. Linda Martín Alcoff will be delivering the keynote address on Friday,
October 19th. A Professor of Philosophy at Hunter College and the CUNY
Graduate Center who focuses on social identity and race, epistemology and
politics, sexual violence, Foucault, and Latino issues in philosophy, Dr.
Martín Alcoff has written two books: Visible Identities: Race, Gender and
the Self, which won the Frantz Fanon Award in 2009, Real Knowing: New
Versions of the Coherence Theory; and she has edited ten, including
Feminist Epistemologies co-edited with Elizabeth Potter; Thinking From the
Underside of History co-edited with Eduardo Mendieta; Epistemology: The
Big Questions; Identities co-edited with Eduardo Mendieta; Singing in the
Fire: Tales of Women in Philosophy; The Blackwell Guide to Feminist
Philosophy co-edited with Eva Feder Kittay; Identity Politics Reconsidered
co-edited with Michael Hames-Garcia, Satya Mohanty and Paula Moya; and
Feminism, Sexuality, and the Return of Religion co-edited with Jack
Caputo. She is currently at work on two new books: a book on sexual
violence, and an account of political epistemology. A co-editor of
Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy, she has held an ACLS Fellowship
and a Society for the Humanities at Cornell University Fellowship. In 2006
she was named one of the 100 Most Influential Hispanics in the United
States by Hispanic Business magazine.
Please send your 250 word abstract with a brief bio by July 15, 2012.

Papers, workshops, roundtables and panels are welcome; please include
abstracts and bios for all participants, with one contact person. Please
include all contact information–including home and e-mail addresses for
summer correspondence to:
Women & Society Conference c/o Shannon Roper
School of Communication & the Arts
Lowell Thomas 219
Marist College
Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
OR submit online:
www.marist.edu/liberalarts/womenstudies/conference.html

For more information email: Shannon.Roper@marist.edu

The WGSS Program at the University of Houston invites applications for a
Postdoctoral Fellowship to begin in the Fall Semester 2012. This may become a
tenure track position.

Applicants may be working in any discipline, on a topic concerning women and/or
gender. The recipient will teach one course per term, assist with some
programming,and devote the rest of the time to research. The initial appointment
will be for one year, with the possibility of renewal for a second. Salary will
be $40,000 with full benefits.

The applicant must hold a PhD degree at the time of the appointment. A letter of
application, together with CV, a writing sample and three letters of
recommendation should be submitted on or before April 27, 2012, to Postdoc
Search Committee, WGSS Program, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204-3005.

The University of Houston is a Tier One research institution, with more than
39,000 student enrolled this year. Located in the center of Houston in a
550-acre park, the university provides an excellent environment for teaching and
research, within a dynamic city.

The University of Houston is an Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity employer.
Minorities, women, veterans and persons with disabilities are encouraged to
apply.

The Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) is one of Germany’s leading research universities. The University draws its strengths from both the diversity and the proximity of scientific and engineering disciplines on a single, coherent campus. This highly dynamic setting enables students and researchers to work across traditional boundaries of academic subjects and faculties. The RUB is a vital institution in the Ruhr area, which has been selected as European Capital of Culture for the year 2010. *FULL PROFESSORSHIP (W2) IN PHILOSOPHY, AOS: ETHICS AND AESTHETICS, AOC: EARLY MODERN PHILOSOPHY*

The Ruhr-Universität Bochum – faculty of Philosophy and Educational Research – invites applications for the position of a Full Professorship (W2) in Philosophy, AOS: Ethics and Aesthetics, AOC: Early Modern Philosophy, to start as soon as possible. The person appointed will be expected to make an outstanding contribution to the teaching and research profile of the department in the areas of ethics and aesthetics, and he or she will also be expected to contribute regularly to the teaching of a required introductory module in early modern philosophy.

The teaching load is 9 hours per week and includes undergraduate teaching as well as teaching in the Masters, Masters of Education and PhD programs in Philosophy. Positive evaluation as a junior professor or equivalent academic achievement (e.g. habilitation) and evidence of special aptitude are just as much required as the willingness to participate in the self-governing bodies of the RUB and to generally get involved in university processes according to RUB’s mission statement. We expect further more:

* high commitment in teaching

* readiness to participate in interdisciplinary work

* willingness and ability to attract external funding

The Ruhr-Universität Bochum is an equal opportunity employer. Complete applications with CV, proof of degrees, a list of publications and an electronic version of five relevant publications should be send via email to the Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy and Educational Research of the Ruhr-University Bochum no later than April 21st 2012. Please apply via e-mail: dekanat-pe@rub.de [For further information visit: http://www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/philosophy/i/index.html.de . For further inquiries contact corinna.mieth@rub.de]

If you have not seen this article on Inside Higher Ed already, here is gradhacker on “Your Academic Twidentity, or, More About Twitter and Academic Identity.” Yes, it is a brave no longer oh so new, but still new world you are entering into. Good hack!