Philosophy

U. of San Diego announced that Rosemary Ruether would be teaching about Catholicism there in 1-year position; then critics of her views mobilized.

"God is dead." That phrase, from Friedrich Nietzsche's The Gay Science, is among the philosopher's most well known -- and most hotly debated.

At Temple College, a community college in Texas, the words in the original German -- Gott ist tot -- have been barred from a professor's office door. While the college says that to leave the phrase up would offend others and constitute and endorsement of the phrase, the professor and others see a double standard in place, and a violation of academic freedom.

With big disciplinary meetings about to start, some reliable measures start to appear about how many colleges are really hiring -- and the news isn't good.

WASHINGTON -- C.P. Snow’s depiction of a “gulf of mutual incomprehension” separating scientists from humanists may date to 1959, but it’s still relevant – and cited -- in discussions of the humanities in 2009. Panelists speaking Monday on “The Public Good: The Humanities in a Civil Society” cited Snow in describing a need to better bridge that gulf -- with the consequences of failing to do so exacting a real and human price, argued Patty Stonesifer, chair of the Board of Regents for the Smithsonian Institution and senior adviser to the trustees of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

In October, College Board warned of dangers of sharp increase in private lending. This week, it expands its private lending business.

An NEH grant awarded to professors to start teaching courses around life's "enduring questions" has some philosophers wondering if they've been forgotten.

MLA reports 21% drop in positions in English and foreign languages -- steepest decline in 34 years association has collected openings. Percentage of English jobs on tenure track falls.

U. of South Carolina's top two administrators, from engineering and public health, start program to offer funds to playwrights, musicians, big dreamers.

Call it "Cullen's Law": If it exists, there is a Twilight spin on it. No exceptions -- and that includes academe.

Yes, though it may run counter to the prevalent stereotype of Twilight's audience (14 years old, misguided, breathless), a growing number of scholars are eager to offer their perspectives on the hugely popular novels and the cultural phenomenon they've engendered.

The National Research Council says its new ratings methodology makes it impossible for any department to claim any ordinal rank. That didn't stop Penn State's philosophers.