Last year I gained some attention for not attending the Modern Language Association's annual convention. The notice that was paid to my situation and to the paper that was read on my behalf took me completely by surprise. That feeling of surprise persisted throughout 2010 as people occasionally sent emails or told me at events … Continue reading (Omni?)Present at the MLA
One of the Big Issue books to hit academia this year is Louis Menand's The Marketplace of Ideas. The book got some notice at the close of 2009 when an excerpt--"The Ph.D. Problem"--was published in Harvard Magazine. In this article, Menand argues that the production of people holding the doctorate is broken due to the … Continue reading Adjuncts –> The Glenn Beck-ification of Cultural Commentary
It's that time again: when those of us on the academic job market start pulling out the materials that we've used in the past, start dusting them off, and revising them. Actually, one should have really have started this process at the beginning of September, but since this is my third year out, I've been … Continue reading Crowdsourcing the Job Market