SOPHIA is experimenting with options for levering technology to build communities of philosophical conversation. One tool available to us for free is Zoom. Zoom will enable the hosting of video conference meetings with huge capacity and tools for recording meetings, among other functionalities. Joining a meeting is simple, yet it might be a good idea to watch a short video about the several ways in which one can join a SOPHIA conference call with Zoom. Before we get to that, consider the following:
It’s a good idea to test your video and audio settings in advance. If any of you would like to hold a quick call with me (ETW) to test out the connection and process, I’d be delighted to give the system as many practice runs as members would like. I think you’ll find that tools like these will 1) dramatically reduce the impediment that distance represents for our community building, and 2) archive our meetings for later viewing and sharing, so that we benefit more people and more deeply in holding our recorded meetings.
Here’s Zoom’s explanation of the process of joining a meeting:
In SOPHIA’s 2015 strategic plan, we decided that it will be important for us to leverage technological tools for building communities of philosophical conversation. One way in which we can do that simply is to create introductory videos for each member. When you register on our site to JOIN or RENEW your SOPHIA membership, please fill in as much information as you feel comfortable adding. The reason is that most the info you write will be posted on your Profile page in our SOPHIA Directory (no, not your credit card info). One option we have, among others, is to post a link to a YouTube video in which you can introduce yourself to other SOPHIA members. I made a short sample video to introduce myself:
My suggestion is that people share:
Who you are: name, title, institutional affiliation (if any)?
What your background and interests are in Philosophy?
What brought you to SOPHIA?
What is something unique or interesting about you beyond philosophy or professional details?
If any of you would like, I (ETW) could hold a video conference with you to introduce you in a bit more of an interview format. Alternatively, if recording a video doesn’t sound straightforward (on some devices it’s less simple than on others), we could hold such a conference call and we could just record the member’s video frame as he or she answers such questions – or others that you suggest. There are things we can do to help make this process easier. The more we can put a voice and a face to a name, the better for community. Share your thoughts or questions on this initiative.
And of course, if you have not yet had a chance to JOIN or RENEW your membership to SOPHIA, please take a few minutes to do so.
SOPHIA will be hosting a panel at the 2017 Eastern Division meeting of the American Philosophical Association on Thursday, January 5th from 5:15-7:15 p.m. There have been some changes to our original plan. The presenters listed below reflect the updated plan:
Group Session
Topic: “The Value of and Impediments to Studying Philosophy for First Generation College Students”
Chair: George R. Lucas (U.S. Naval War College & Notre Dame University)
SOPHIA has the opportunity to hold a panel at the 2017 Eastern Division meeting of the American Philosophical Association. The conference will run from January 4th to the 7th of 2017 at the Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel, in Baltimore, MD. Alongside SOPHIA’s other activities, we do aim to represent ourselves and what we do in the country’s professional organizations. Such meetings are also a good opportunity to recruit people into membership and to grow chapters, as people learn about opportunities to gather with SOPHIA folks who live near them.
We will post details about our panel here soon as an “event” post. Reach out if you have ideas for panels that would be valuable for us to hold either at this or at other professional associations. We want to spread the word in and beyond the academy about SOPHIA’s new phase of growth. More soon.
Welcome to the new home of the Society of Philosophers in America (SOPHIA). We are working on an overhaul of the SOPHIA site. For now, if you’re looking to learn about SOPHIA, visit our old page, which is temporarily still available on the University of Mississippi’s servers here:
