Judy et al.:

This is an interesting question. I try really hard to make ASBH and FEAST, but I
think that philosophers need a place like APA where we can encounter sub-fields
other than our own (let we, say, find it all to easy to hold the view that
certain specializations aren't "really philosophy").

Is attendance dwindling at all APA division meetings, or mostly Eastern?

I only ever went to Eastern for job interviews. Central and Pacific, I have gone
to for other reasons, and I heard some fantastic talks at Central APA 2013 in
New Orleans.

I wonder if dwindling attendance has anything to do with:
- always expensive hotels in expensive cities
- reduced funding support for academics, and relatively less buying power from
salaries now than in the past (we get funded for one talk a year, and we have
to be presenting; there is no such thing as support for attending a conference
in order to do philosophy if one is not disseminating one's own research, and
salaries do not generally compensate sufficiently to go "just for fun")

Thoughts?

Best,
 Alison
   --------------------------------------------------
   Alison Reiheld
   Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy
   College of Arts and Sciences
   SIU-Edwardsville
   [log in to unmask]
   --------------------------------------------------


Quoting Judy Andre <[log in to unmask]>:

> The APA division meetings have dwindling attendance. (And they seem to me
> less vibrant than other meetings I attend--that's just personal opinion.)
>
> One factor may be that it's so hard to get on the program. A young colleague
> said recently that when he paid his APA dues he wondered why. His papers are
> never accepted.  He obviously feels quite alienated.
>
> That got me wondering, and I asked around about other professional
> associations. I've been told that the American Anthropological Association
> accepts almost everything. That's probably a bridge too far for the APA, but
> there are interesting mid-way policies. Some societies, for instance, have
> affirmative action in peer review scoring for younger scholars. Some set
> aside a major time block just for junior faculty papers. One has a time slot
> just for Senior-Junior joint presentations.
>
> I wonder if any of this would increase APA attendance and liveliness, and
> lessen alienation.
>
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