I’ve read quite a bit on writing — mostly articles and blog posts rather than books, because I’ve been very skeptical of the field of academic writing advice and did not want to invest a book’s worth of time. I am very glad that I read this book, though, as it has been an immensely…
All posts by Kino
Six years in retrospect
Alysha Kassam (same cohort as me) and I are the first two women of color ever graduating from my PhD program. I’ve always read about people being firsts and wondered what it’s like, which makes it a little surprising it took me this long to realize that I am one, too. I suppose one reason…
A ???? Story
The problem is that the anxieties never go away. Every capitulation to the “white gaze” comes with shame; every stand you take for authenticity triggers its own questions about what constitutes authenticity. And once you feel comfortable with the integrity of your work, someone says something that flips everything around, and you’re right back staring…
Nothing new under the sun
1. I decided to “do philosophy” when I got into my current PhD program. Shortly after this decision, I decided I should join a community of philosophers. For reasons explained before, I didn’t really have a community. Part of this was external, part of it was how I have a tendency to resist counting chickens…
Resisting solutions
I’m a pretty positive person. I generally enjoy philosophy and academia and I’m hopeful in a lot of cases when my friends are not. I also believe in always having a positive account in my research. So this post really isn’t about pessimism and “burning it all down”, even though it might read a bit…
Advice and causation
“When I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. True story.” — apparently from How I Met Your Mother, which I’ve never watched. — but I have played League of Legends and heard this from Rakan. In the a post on luck and hard work, I talked about how I’ve been thinking…
On luck and hard work
I recently came across an event where a successful woman shares her stories and strategies for being successful. I don’t usually seek out success books, but they are difficult to avoid. Consequently, I have encountered most of what this woman has said, including how “if you help others; they will help you in return” and…
Great books | how to understand others’ pain
I finally got around to reading Educated. It was recommended to me by multiple people I trust, but I kept putting it off because it looked very intense. And, geez, the book is intense! I listened to it on Audible. It’s beautifully written, but very, very intense. The journey the book took me on was…
Learning to talk
Earlier today, during my Twitter procrastination from writing a proposal, I saw this call for response from the organization Minority and Philosophy (MAP), which is a student-run international nonprofit aimed at advocating for diversity and inclusion within academic philosophy: Did experiences with epistemic injustice as a student impact your teaching philosophy? We want to know…
What you need is not love
I’m in that awkward career stage where, on the one hand, I’m a senior grad student whom people go to for emotional (and sometimes logistical) support when things don’t work out the way they should, usually related to something a faculty member has done or didn’t do; on the other hand, I’m on the market,…