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philwomen2014

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Profile Information

  • Application Season
    2014 Fall
  • Program
    Philosophy

philwomen2014's Achievements

Decaf

Decaf (2/10)

15

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  1. Yes, I received the smaller SSHRC and will be taking it abroad.
  2. Received my letter on Monday in Toronto; score of 12, whatever that might mean!
  3. whoops, wrong account, hang on
  4. Please feel free to link women you know who are currently prospectives to this post.
  5. A lot has happened since we formed this group, so I thought it deserved a new thread here, one that's representative of where we're at right now, not just where we were at when we were only an idea. So here's the deal: philosophy is wonderful and choosing a school is exciting, but, as a discipline, philosophy is still working out some issues. A lot of these issues have to do with the treatment of women. Some schools are more supportive spaces for women than others, and it's not always easy for women to figure this out before accepting an offer. We are currently maintaining a Facebook group page and private message thread for women who have applied to philosophy programs this season and are considering their offers. Membership in the group is 'secret', and the group page, its members, and their posts are invisible to people who are not members. The private message thread, because it happens in the inbox, is similarly confidential. To keep things maximally secure, the private message thread is open only to women who plan to begin a PhD or MA in the fall of 2014. The group page, however, is also open to women who are applying next season (ie, who plan to begin a PhD or an MA in the fall of 2015). These venues (the group page and message thread) are meant to be safe spaces where we can chat frankly about our decisions processes and share the things that we've heard about other programs. Some of us did our BAs or MAs at schools that others of us are considering; some of us have large social networks and people we can solicit information from on each other's behalves. Sometimes we discuss climate issues more generally, whether to exchange strategies or just to share bad experiences in a place where we can count on the sympathy and support of our audience. There are around thirty of us so far, so many more than the handful I expected, and that's incredible. I was the only woman in my MA cohort and, although my program was very supportive, I sometimes felt alienated just by virtue of being an outlier (I am also a member of another marginalized group, which has sometimes contributed to those feelings). It has been a transformative experience to suddenly be connected to so many other women who share my ambitions and face the same (and often far greater) challenges. It's been amazing to have a peer group that is actively looking out for each other. I have never felt so much solidarity before, or, for that matter, optimism. You can get involved by sending me a private message via these forums. I'll give you my FB information and, if you add me, I'll be able to add you to the relevant group(s). If some other member of the group feels comfortable posting her contact information publicly here, then perhaps that might be a way for women not registered on these forums to get in touch with our network. If you do not have Facebook, but are a woman who is looking for information about a school, you can message me queries or just post them here -- I will gladly pass them on, and hopefully other people will reply. I think on the whole, though, one thing that makes the group feel safe is the fact that all of the participants have identities and histories that are visible to the other participants. If you are currently in a PhD program and want to make yourself available to women who are currently applying, you can post here and hopefully people will get in touch with you either via private message on thegradcafe or through other contact information (if you include any in your post). Feel free to post if you are a member of another marginalized group, too, or just feel like you might be able to offer some special insight into how things are for anyone at a particular school. If you don't feel comfortable posting, you can message me, and I can privately pass your contact information on to the other members of the group. My hope is that women will continue to organize in a similar way next season and benefit from the same things that we have so far. My other hope -- one for right now -- is that more women who are currently prospectives get involved in what we're doing!
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