Overview of Jobs, 2017

Last year (2016) there was a sudden, dramatic increase in the number of tenure-track jobs aimed at least in part at Chinese, Asian, Non-Western, or Comparative Philosophy. Was it the beginning of a trend, or a blip? A review of this year’s offerings suggests that a real change may be taking place. I list here 20 positions that have been advertised for the current job season — approximately the same number as last year. I have included positions with Chinese, Asian, Non-Western, or Comparative in any AOS disjuncts — admittedly, in some of these cases, the job is not aimed narrowly at our field — and I have also included jobs with an Open AOS that further specifies some sort of interest in our field. I also include three interdisciplinary Asian or Chinese Studies positions that explicitly include philosophy. On the other hand, I have not included jobs with specific (i.e., non-Open) AOSes that include Chinese/Asian/Non-Western/Comparative as an AOC. The list is alphabetical. If I have missed any that should be included, or if you have any comments or corrections, please share!

(Note that this post is primarily for the purpose of reflection on the state of the field; the application deadlines for some of these jobs have already passed.)
Revision, 5 November 2017: This list is limited to English-language teaching positions, and as a result I have removed Wuhan University (which requires Mandarin, a fact Paul D’Ambrosio brought to my attention), and revised the number of total jobs to 18. See comments below for a reference to the Wuhan job and at least one other Mandarin-language job.
Revision, 14 November 2017: Added Washington College and revised total to 19.
Revision, 28 November 2017: Added Seton Hill University and revised total to 20.

Calvin College
Asian Studies, explicitly including philosophy

Chinese University of Hong Kong
Chinese philosophy (esp. Pre-Qin)

Claremont Mckenna College
AOS: Philosophy of race, philosophy of ethnicity, philosophy of social class, philosophy of gender, philosophy of disability, or non-western philosophy
Colgate University
Open, with AOC in history of philosophy (list of possibilities includes Asian Philosophy)

College of New Jersey
Area of specialization and area of concentration open, but the program has particular needs in applied ethics, ancient, modern, feminist philosophy, political philosophy and Asian philosophy

College of William & Mary
Non-western philosophy or 20th Century Continental Philosophy

Georgetown University
AOS includes Asian Philosophy. We are looking for candidates who take a philosophical approach to race, or whose work is substantively engaged with a disadvantaged or marginalized racial, ethnic, or regional group

Gettysburg College
Metaphysics or Ethics, both broadly construed, embracing traditions, areas, and figures not normally included in conventional “Western” philosophy”

Loyola Marymount University
Comparative Philosophy

Marquette University
AOS: non-Western Philosophy. ‘Non-western philosophy’ is broadly understood to include but not be limited to Asian/Asian-American philosophy; Latinx philosophy; indigenous philosophy, etc.

Nazarbayev University
Asian Studies, explicitly including philosophy

Seton Hill University
Asian Philosophy, Logic, and Ethics

Skidmore College
Ethics (broadly construed) or Feminist Philosophy (“The department welcomes Non-Western philosophical traditions and pluralist approaches”)

University of Arizona
Chinese Studies (ancient period / early texts)

University of Hong Kong
Asian Philosophy

University of Macau [review of applications began 21 August 2017]
Chinese philosophy and religious traditions (open rank)

University of Massachusetts Lowell
The history of philosophy broadly construed: ancient philosophy, modern philosophy, 19th century or non-Western philosophy

University of Toronto
Metaphysics and Epistemology (“broadly conceived” … “The ability to teach courses in non-western philosophy will be a positive asset”)

University of Toronto at Scarborough
Ancient Philosophy (explicitly defined to include Asian Philosophy as a possibility)

Washington College
Ancient Chinese philosophies

9 replies on “Overview of Jobs, 2017”

  1. Let me add that if you read through all these, you may notice some trends worth remarking on; please share. One thing I have noticed is the use of phrases like “broadly construed,” applied to history of philosophy, to ethics, and to epistemology and metaphysics. The intent is explicitly to include non-Western approaches to these subjects within the scope of consideration.

    • That is indeed a reassuring trend in hiring descriptions. Thanks so much for sharing this stuff! It certainly helps allay some of the anxiety for those of us on the job market. And it helps alert us to positions we may not have seen before.

    • The job at Wuhan also requires “fluency in Mandarin.” At East China Normal University we are basically always accepting applications, but we require teaching in Mandarin as well–which shouldn’t surprise anyone who wants to teach Chinese philosophy in Mainland China.

    • Thanks, Paul, I had missed that! I have removed the Wuhan job from the list and revised the text above a bit. See here for the Wuhan job.

  2. Hello, Steve. My college has just gotten our HR approval and we can now add to your list of open positions for 2017.

    The ad can be found at this address:
    http://philjobs.org/job/show/9146

    Best,
    Dr. Jennifer Benson,
    Chair of Philosophy and Religion Department Washington College

Leave a Reply to Steve Angle Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.