Turning your PhD into a book is a mark of success in many disciplines, especially the humanities. Many people pursue this goal immediately upon finishing their PhD as part of an overall academic career strategy. I didn’t have to, because I already had a job and I wanted to start building a research reputation in […] … learn more→

“Discover what your professors never taught you in school,” an American white supremacist group’s website declares. Many of the site’s “education” links lead, predictably, to neo-Nazi and right-wing extremist publications. But tucked in-between a description of “white identity” and “the perils of diversity” is a link to Robert Putnam’s mainstream scholarly treatise, Bowling Alone – […] … learn more→

For almost two years now, Americans have been confronted daily by ominous tidings. We are living through stressful times. Reading the news feels awful; ignoring it doesn’t feel right either. Psychologist Terri Apter recently wrote about the “phenomenon in human behavior sometimes described as ‘the hive switch,’ where “catastrophic events eliminate selfishness, conflict and competitiveness, rendering humans […] … learn more→

When nonprofit colleges and universities get federal funding for research and to support students, do government regulations make it difficult to fulfill their missions? As a professor who studies the organizational performance of nonprofits and government agencies, I’ve tried to understand if accepting that money has any downsides in terms of the main mission of many […] … learn more→

Sometimes it’s really hard to believe the academic word works the way it does, and I’ve highlighted many of the surreal aspects of higher ed. A recent article highlights just how bizarre the endless emphasis on “must have more females in STEM” obsession in higher ed today is: Young Girls Creeped Out By Older Scientists […] … learn more→

When a California school principal called controversial quarterback Colin Kaepernick an “anti-American thug” for his protests during the national anthem at NFL football games, passions were inflamed anew over whether patriotism should be taught in America’s schools. As our new book “Patriotic Education in a Global Age” demonstrates, such debates are longstanding in American history. Posting schoolhouse flags Seventy-five years ago, […] … learn more→

Faced with the all-out degradation of our environment, society is struggling to mobilize. Paradoxically, education is rarely seen as a way to respond to the issues. However, many initiatives know how to make children and students actors of the ecological transition. The march for the climate will have gathered tens of thousands of people. It is both a lot and […] … learn more→

Subscription publishers’ responses to last week’s landmark announcement on open access by a dozen major European research funders was nothing if not predictable. Doom and gloom forecasts abounded about the end of quality science publishing, coupled with protestations that funders have no right to mandate author choices. All this is recycled nonsense. The funders – […] … learn more→

Traffic jams – or “janjot”, as locals call them – are a fundamental part of life in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. Sometimes the slowness of the traffic can give you a sense of claustrophobia, as you’re trapped between vehicles that have become immovable objects. It’s easy to see why there is a growing ride-sharing business […] … learn more→

One hundred years ago, the U.S. government published documents that fueled the mounting Red Scare, helped justify the American military invasion of Russia and poisoned American-Russian relations for years to come. Newspapers across the United States began to publish the fake papers on Sept. 15, 1918. Unbeknownst to the government, the documents were forgeries. They were created by Russian […] … learn more→