AAPT Members American Association of Philosophy Teachers

The Hattiesburg American is reporting that operating cuts to make up a 15 million dollar shortfall this year will land particularly hard on Philosophy and Religion at the University of Southern Mississippi. From the article:

USM faculty, staff cuts begin

Philosophy and religion department hit hardest

Hit especially hard was the department of philosophy and religion, which saw three tenured professors let go. They are religion professor Daniel Capper and newly-tenured philosophy professors Morgan Rempel and Chris Meyers.

A follow up article this morning reprints the letter from the President announcing the cuts, but offers no real justification for the apparent targeting of Philosophy and Religion. The letter claims that:

29 USM Faculty cut today  read more »

The Mail and Guardian (South Africa) has a short bit on the Philosophy department at UJohannesburg, which is, according to Thaddeus Metz (chair), "probably the most well-rounded [Phil department] one in the country, offering first-rate instruction in all three areas" (Analytic, Continental, African):

UJ philosopher on 'the meaning of life'

Always good to see a little Philosophy coverage in the press no? Now how do I get the local press to cover my inauguration as chair of our department? I can barely get our PR office to return my calls!

 The Queen's Courier published a short story today profiling John Chaffee's success at building a program at LaGuardia Community College.  According to Chaffee:

The students enjoy the courses and find them to be valuable and tell others about the courses and that really fuels the growth of it.

And:

A crucial ingredient in the development of the program has been the excellence of the teaching,” Chaffee said. “They really inspire students and really bring them into an understanding of everything philosophy has to offer.

Congratulations to John Chaffee! Sounds like an excellent program you've got going there.

 The BBC has a nice little article about work by William Irwin (King's College in PA and the 'Philosophy and Popular Culture' series) and Christopher Bartel (Appalachia State)'s teaching Philosophy with superhero comics:

Teaching Philosophy with Spider-Man

Time published an article this morning by Coeli Carr on the 'Philosophy And...' books:
The Meaning of Mad Men: Philosophers Take on TV - TIME
There really isn't that much there - it reads something like a press release. But still, any coverage of philosophy in the popular press is a good thing right?

Two of my Senior Philosophy Majors - Ryan Allnut and John Modica - were interviewed on local radio about their nonprofit 'First Global Visions'. They were even asked why their major in Philosophy was relevant to their work!

This section was a part of a large clip that interviewed Jim Hindman, one of our alumni, who is the founder of Jiffy Lube. Mr. Hindman is starting a new venture on energy efficiency:

http://www.1430wnav.com/jimhindman

(It's an Mp3, even though it doesn't like it from the URL)

In a quick note about the 'Askphil' app for the iPhone (which got me through the last graduation ceremony I attended),  Lisa Heldke opens with this brilliant bit: Dial PHI for Philosophy - Posted on July 16th, 2010 by Lisa Heldke

Are you stranded in a boat in the middle of the ocean that you are repairing one plank at a time/stranded in a crowded lifeboat in the middle of the ocean with only enough supplies for half the people aboard/lost in the Clouds Cuckooland/suddenly in control of the switching mechanism of a train track on which hundreds of people are milling about, oblivious of the train bearing down on them/standing in a paint store where the shade of blue you need to complete your living room–the shade you know must exist–is just plain missing?

Thought y'all might get a kick out of it...

Our own Peter Worley inspired a very nice article on 'Teachers.tv,' a website for British teachers at the (American) pre-college level:
Should philosophy be taught in schools? | Teachers TV

On another note, the BBC has an article where Julian Baggini and Raymon Tallis 'debate' deep thinking:
That thinking feeling

While there are great problems in the way the UK supports (or fails to support) academic philosophy, they are light years ahead of us when it comes to recruiting students in the pre-college set.  I do wish we'd improve. Which would take, of course, a cultural shift so that those with interests in pedagogy and *gasp* pre-college pedagogy were no longer see as failures or sellouts. And that's a long, long ways off...

Three stories here in quick succession. The first announces the move:
Middlesex philosophy department moves to Kingston (From Enfield Independent)

MIDDLESEX philosophy department will move to Kingston University following a six-week campaign to stop it being shelved.

The second a follow-up:
Middlesex promises 'seamless transition' for philosophy school (From Enfield Independent)

MIDDLESEX University has promised the moving of its philosophy school to Kingston University next year will be a "seamless transition".

And the third - which is actually interesting - is a commentary from the Financial Times comparing those who cut university programs to Franco's fascists (really):

FT.com / Weekend Columnists / Harry Eyres - To cut or not to cut

No politician or bureaucrat in our time would dare to cry “death to intelligence” but closing down successful university philosophy departments, such as the one at Middlesex University currently facing the axe, amounts to pretty much the same thing.

 read more »

The MIT student newspaper has an article covering Haslanger's dual awards this year:

Sally Haslanger receives two major awards in philosophy

"I'm deeply honored to receive these awards," Haslanger said. "I’m especially pleased to be recognized in philosophy as a philosopher and a feminist who is making a difference in how philosophy is done and also, in who is doing it."