CV Organisation

What should go on a CV and how should it be organised?

This is something that's stressing many on the market, even to the point of debating membership of professional bodies.

One friend of mine told me that he'd had more interviews since lumping all his publications into a single list (peer review journal articles marked by an asterisk). Nonetheless, it seems that that's not the consensus view on how best to structure a CV. My eye was caught by the discussion here.

Spiros suggests that some things, including conference proceedings, popular culture books, online reviews (except NDPR) and any edited volume not by a big name editor/press shouldn't be included on the CV at all. That seems a bit extreme to me, although I think it probably is best to clearly distinguish these items from peer-reviewed research.

My CV has a section for 'research and publications'. (This allowed me to list, in a separate sub-section, working papers and those under review, without being accused of trying to pass them off as publications). Until recently, that was simply divided into 'research articles' and 'book reviews'. The problem with this is that there are one or two items in the latter category that are quite substantial (e.g. I wrote a 2,500 word book review for Res Publica that underwent - an admittedly fairly light - peer-review). On the other hand, not all of my research-related publications are really that impressive. I recently had a summary of my PhD published in an online journal (see here); which is clearly research but it feels a bit wrong trying to pass that off alongside my articles in ETMP, Philosophy and Utilitas.

My latest CV, prepared for another assault on the job market, divides publications into 'scholarly research articles' and 'other pieces' (which includes notes, replies, reviews, introductions, etc). This allows me to put the pieces I want to draw attention to up front, while still including things like the EJPE piece or popular philosophy contributions in the latter, along with my book reviews (I'd consider them to have about equal weight - which I know is virtually none). I also put my 'working papers' sub-section between the two, so people associate it with further scholarly research on-going.

I'm quite happy with the current layout, but others should feel free to discuss their preferred layouts or advice.

Bleg: Name An Article?

Ok, unusual call for help. I have a revise and resubmit on an article on democracy and non-voting. In it, I point out that behind a lot of recent arguments for compulsory voting is the (often implicit) assumption that it is democratically better if more people vote. I argue that this is not obviously the case and that non-voting may actually be helpful - e.g. because it tends to be those most affected by a decision who are more likely to vote on it and there are democratic reasons to think that they ought to have more say.

At the moment, the article is simply called 'Democracy and Non-Voting.' I quite like this title actually - it's not especially clever or catchy, but short and too the point. One of the referees did ask, however, whether I might be able to come up with something a bit more engaging. Any suggestions gratefully welcomed.

EJPE

The latest (summer 2009) issue of the Erasmus Journal for Philosophy and Economics is available here (I assume that link will be here in future). I mention it only because they include a selection of recent PhD thesis summaries, including mine.

Longest Piece of Music

It's another old philosophical question: if a tree falls in the forest, and there's no one there to hear it, does it make a sound? (It's one relatively easily answered, unlike this variant.)

Here's a new one though: if a composer creates a 1,000 year long piece of music, then no-one will ever hear the whole thing, so what's the point?

Should We Save Animals First?

Interesting discussion on the BBC about whether it's right to spend large sums on an animal hospital rather than putting the money towards saving human lives.

Can Maggots Create Art?

We've all heard the one about chimpanzees typing out Shakespeare. I'm not so sure that maggots, of their own accord, could create a piece of art. Nonetheless, if a human decides to use them to create a piece of art, then I guess that makes him still the artist...

Is Nudity a Crime?

Apparently - according to this BBC article - nakedness as such isn't a crime in the UK, only if it 'offends decency'. I'm not sure this is really much more liberal, given that surely anyone naked could be accused of this and arrested, so there will certainly be a 'chilling' effect. Nonetheless, a useful case to remember next time I'm teaching Mill's On Liberty.

Are Coin Flips Fair?

Interesting discussion here (via Thom).

Personally I'm inclined to think this isn't much of a problem, at least provided that parties don't have/try to use this knowledge. The fairness of a coin flip rests on epistemic randomness - because it may be the case that I have flipped the coin already, so the answer is determined but unknown to you when you call (since the coin is covered by my hand).

People with the knowledge here may be able to eke out a slight advantage, but then the knowledge can also be used to counteract such gamesmanship (e.g. by 'randomizing' whether you flip the coin in your hand after catching it). A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, at least if it's the preserve of the few, but if all have it the problems can be overcome.

Laws of Attraction

Good news: it seems that intelligent men are attractive to the opposite sex.

Bad news: being round attractive women makes men stupid(er).

Does this mean that intelligent men are likely to date lots of ugly women?

Jobs by Lottery

It's finally happened: jobs are being allocated by lottery! There's no sign of any further selection procedures, bar age (over 18) and Italian residency (and, presumably, the capacity to spend 28 euros doing one's shopping), although being in supermarkets it's probably fair to assume all ticket holders are qualified for the job. Moreover, it probably beats cronyism and nepotism which, I'm told, play a large part in the allocation of many jobs in Italy.

Why Not Socialism Update

I mentioned in my Cohen obituary that I wasn't sure about the status of his new book. I have an answer here, thanks to Harry. Even better, you can read the gist of it reported in the New Statesman.

p.s. See also further tributes and anecdotes on Leiter.

The Simpsons on Art

I only caught the last ten minutes or so of The Simpsons last night (which I rarely watch at all these days, due to not watching a lot of TV at all and it being a bit early for mealtime, even on C4+1). It was this episode, in which Homer becomes an 'outsider artist.' I may have to see whether I can work a reference to this into my Aesthetics lectures; particularly this quote:
[Homer floods the town as an art project]
Bart Simpson: Are you sure this is art, not vandalism?
Homer: That's for the courts to decide, son.

Intellectual Play

I found this reflective post by Colin Farrelly interesting.

Only one year into my career as 'faculty member,' I'm less clear on my long-term goals although, in the short-term, I aspire to find another job (my current contract has another year to run) and publish more articles (hopefully in top journals). I'll see where that leads me, although I also have other, non-academic goals (i.e. settling down somewhere - buying a house and, probably one day, starting a family).

Local Happenings

I noticed a scaffolding bridge over the river near my house the other day and men doing some kind of work on the wall near the castle: now I know what's going on thanks to the picture and commentary here.

Computer Instructions

For parents and other 'not computer people' - see here.

Paying for Degrees

Chris' post amused me.

I haven't actually taken my Oxford MA yet. I'm due to graduate my D.Phil in October (I hope), so was tempted to do this at the same time - although I'm not sure it's worth paying for given that I haven't bothered to take my M.Phil degree, which would be free.*

One problem with this, of course, is it may be that I would technically be expected to wear my D.Phil gown to various official occasions (most don't do this because the MA is technically the higher degree!).

*The graduation itself would be free, but one cost is that I would have to deposit a hard-bound copy of the thesis in the Bodelian - costing more than £10 certainly.

Norrington Table 2009

The preliminary undergraduate league table is available here. Corpus a very pleasing 4th. (Three 1sts and four 2.is out of our seven PPE finalists.)

Most Confusing Comic Ever?

Probably not, but I found this pretty amusing. (Hat tip: Ben Colburn)

Death: G. A. Cohen

This has just been confirmed by emails to Philos-L and the Oxford Philosophy Faculty: G. A. Cohen died in the early hours of this morning, following a suspected stroke. I didn't know him as well as many, so I won't try to pre-empt the tributes that will no doubt soon come his way. I'll just say that I always found him a kind, entertaining and inspiring teacher. His valedictory lecture and the subsequent conference in his honour serve as reminders of just how widely he was liked and admired. No doubt all who knew him will miss him greatly.

See also Chris Brooke, Thom Brooks, Chris Bertram (and links here), Michael Rosen's account of the funeral (on Leiter), Nick Vrousalis and Stuart White. Also Times obituary and the Guardian.

It seems that his Why Not Socialism? is to be published posthumously - I assume this was already in the works, but I don't know whether the book is an expansion on or simply a reprinting of the essay already published in this collection.

Random Awards

It turns out that maybe some things shouldn't be allocated randomly...