Some news

I am excited to announce that I am joining Palgrave Macmillan as Acquisitions Editor for Philosophy and Media & Cultural Studies. I’m looking forward to using my expertise in and passion for both these fields to help scholars publish impactful and innovative books, edited collections, and textbooks. I’m acquiring in all areas of philosophy & media/cultural studies, and I’m especially excited to grow Palgrave’s deep list in media studies in the direction of sound studies, radio studies, and music studies. I’m also excited to put my years of work in a pluralist, intertraditional philosophy department to work as I partner with authors from the field’s full range of philosophical traditions. I’m especially interested in feminist/queer/trans philosophy, the critical philosophy of race, political philosophy, aesthetics, applied ethics, and contemporary continental philosophy.

I’m also very happy to say that this NYC-based position will finally resolve my family’s case of what is called the “two-body problem” where spouses or partners struggle to find full-time employment in the same geographic location. This is the first time since we met 18 years ago that my spouse and I each have a full-time job in the same area. After flying back and forth from CT to NC and maintaining a separate apartment in Charlotte for several years, I am relieved to be able to live at home in Connecticut and participate in my family and my neighborhood community full-time. Being away from my home and family for weeks at a time has become increasingly damaging to my mental health, to the point that it was impacting my ability to teach and research; I am lucky to be able to find a new position where I can be my best self while still engaging with the scholarship and scholars that matter to me (albeit in a slightly different way than before). I am also relieved to trade in a plane commute for a train commute, both for myself and for the environment.

This means that I’m leaving my fantastic colleagues and students at UNC Charlotte. The Charlotte philosophy department is in my humble opinion the best philosophy department in the anglophone world because it understands philosophy has its greatest impact when it’s in conversation with other disciplines and a range of philosophical traditions. It is an unusually non-toxic, supportive, and humane environment for working and studying. I’m proud of the department and departmental culture I helped to build. I will miss seeing my departmental colleagues on a regular basis, but look forward to keeping in touch with them–and my colleagues across the world–at conferences…and working with you on your books! 

I will also miss my students: Charlotte students are brilliant, diverse, committed, and hard working, and it’s been an honor to help so many wonderful people become the best version of themselves they can be. I am so proud of the scholars, activists, lawyers, and leaders in other fields that my former students have become and count this as one of the biggest impacts I’ve had in my role at UNC Charlotte.

Even though I’m leaving my faculty position, I will continue to write on the side. THE WOXY BOOK IS STILL HAPPENING (it is fully written and now undergoing edits and revisions). I will still blog at Its Her Factory and pitch the occasional freelance piece, and the vibes book is another thing that will happen, just more slowly than before. 

And now some logistics: For any business related to Palgrave, you can contact me at robin.james@palgrave-usa.com. For any business not directly related to Palgrave, please contact me at my personal email, robinmjames7@gmail.com.