Public Philosophy at UC Riverside -- an Invitation to PhD Applicants
Not everyone knows it yet, but starting next fall, Barry Lam, host of the awesome philosophy podcast Hi-Phi Nation, will be joining the Philosophy Department at UC Riverside. This will -- in my (not at all biased, I swear!) opinion -- make UCR one of the best places in the world for public philosophy, and I hope that students interested in pursuing a PhD in philosophy with a strong public philosophy component will consider applying here.
The following faculty all have significant profiles in public philosophy:
Myisha Cherry, who also has a terrific podcast: The UnMute Podcast. Her book The Case for Rage had great public reach, and her forthcoming The Failures of Forgiveness is also likely to draw a wide public audience. Cherry has also written op-eds for leading venues including The Atlantic, The New Statesman, and the Los Angeles Times.
Carl Cranor, who regularly writes for broad audiences on legal issues concerning toxic substances, for example in Tragic Failures: How and Why We Are Harmed by Toxic Chemicals.
John Martin Fischer, who has written for broad audiences especially on the issue of death and near-death experiences, for example in his book Near-Death Experiences: Understanding Visions of the Afterlife and related public pieces in The New York Times and elsewhere.
Barry Lam, whose Hi-Phi Nation podcast is one of the best and most-listened-to philosophy podcasts. Barry is invested in building up public philosophy instruction here. He plans to teach a regular graduate seminar on writing and producing philosophy in various forms of mass media, including trade books, magazines, newspapers, podcast, and online video, as well as an interdisciplinary podcast production course aimed at students and faculty in the humanities. Barry has connections with regional and national media organizations to help students who want to pitch op-eds, articles, podcast segments, etc., and he welcomes graduate student research and reporting for Hi-Phi Nation.
Eric Schwitzgebel who has, I'm sure you'll agree, a pretty good philosophy blog! I've also published op-eds in the Los Angeles Times, Salon, Slate, The Atlantic, and elsewhere, as well as philosophically-themed science fiction stories in Nature, Clarkesworld, F&SF, and elsewhere. A Theory of Jerks and Other Philosophical Misadventures contains several dozen of my favorite blog posts and other popular pieces. Students interested in philosophical science fiction might also note that UCR has an interdisciplinary graduate program in Speculative Fiction and Cultures of Science which awards students a "Designated Emphasis" in the area alongside their primary degree.
I'm hoping that UCR will soon develop a reputation as a great place to go for training in public philosophy.
[image of Barry Lam by Melissa Surprise Photography]