Invitation: There are
undoubtedly a great many countries for which there are simply not
available organized materials like those below. In order to
maximise the usefulness of this page, I would like to invite anyone
with familiarity of philosophy academia in a given country (whether as
a graduate student or a faculty member), to contribute something.
It could be a short e-mail, or something longer. It can also be
published anonymously, to avoid concern with repercussions (although I
would need to know your identity, as a means of keeping track of the
reliability of postings). The issues are simply enough described:
what should someone know who is considering either studying or teaching
in your country. You may have information on the practicalities
of getting a job, the likelihood of tenure, what the pay is like,
whether graduate schools are overcrowded or well-balanced, etc.
Basically, anything you feel would be useful. If anyone is
interested in helping out, send your contribution to Tony, webmaster@philosophylists.info.
I have attempted to ensure that none of the material included on this
page is copyrighted. However, if you own the copyright to
something included here and would like it removed, just contact me and
I will be happy to do so.
Discussing
More than One Country
A visitor to the site has supplied a very
informative table (prepared by the Associazione Dottorandi e Dottori di Ricerca
Italiani -
Italian PhD Association), which compares academic life in various
countries, in terms of pay and average time taken to reach professional
appointments (eg. Reader, Professor): Comparative table.
There is also an excellent study from UNESCO
called "Doctoral
Studies
and Qualifications in Europe and the United States".
Answers
to a questionnaire from Eurodoc, describing the situation for
researchers in various countries in Europe.
A short table from Eurodoc on "The
Situation of Early Stage Researchers in Europe".
A report from the Research and Training Network, "Women
in European Universities, Final Report 2000-2003". The
various studies to which the report refers are all available at http://www.women-eu.de.
A report by the Network for Education and Academic Rights on "The State of Academic Freedom in Sub-Saharan Africa".
A report from UNESCO called "A Survey of the Current State of Academic Freedom in Six Latin American Countries".
A 2007 report from UNESCO on the teaching of philosophy around the world: "Philosophy: A School of Freedom".
Germany
There is a very interesting discussion here
of hiring practices in German philosophy departments, including the
central role of patronage, and why Germans who leave for graduate study
abroad (let alone foreigners who have never studied in Germany), are
unlikely to be able to secure a regular position in a German department.
Italy
A similar questionnaire
answer form from Eurodoc specifically for Italy.
An article on "Academic
Scientific Careers in Italy". It specifically addresses the
situation in the sciences, but the information it provides is not
actually science-specific.
United States
of America
Those interested in academic life in American philosophy departments
should take an occasional look at Brian Leiter's blog. It is only
partially devoted to discussions of academic life, so you should also
expect to find a large number of passionate political postings, along
with any other subject that takes his fancy (it is, after all, his
personal blog). However there are enough professional philosophers who
take part in discussions of academic life on the site that it is well
worth the occasional visit.
A study of "Tenured/tenure-track faculty women at 98 U.S. doctoral programs in philosophy".