Academic conferences can be full of networking opportunities and professional wisdom. For me, last month’s Society for the Study of Social Problems international conference was brimful of both. I had the privilege to attend talks given by prolific scholars and senior editors from across the country. I also had the opportunity to have one-on-one conversations […] … learn more→
Blog Archives
How to write (and publish) like a pro
Super-selective universities are stoking anger at higher education
In a healthy, growing economy, one group should not be gaining at the expense of others. A rising tide is said to lift all boats, but does it? Consider where things stand in the US today. The aggregate US GDP may have grown over the past 40 years, but increasing income inequality has resulted in a very large […] … learn more→
Academic writing is like a painful, upper middle class dinner party
Although I got reasonable marks for my creative essays in high school, literary criticism was never my strong suit. One of the issues with my analytical writing was that I didn’t really understand how to use verbs. It wasn’t until I nearly finished my masters degree that I found out that verbs function in academic […] … learn more→
Robot teachers won’t replace us
While some of my esteemed colleagues are heralding the imminent arrival of robot teachers, stating that current advances will bring “the greatest revolution in education since the printing press”, I have to disagree. This is not because I am a latent technophobe. Regent’s University London, for example, is currently investigating the very latest assistive technologies, including how […] … learn more→
College student as serf
Confessions of a College Dean is a surprisingly popular blog, as he never really confesses to anything. I’ve known a few Deans that were downright criminal. I’ve shown many an upper level administrator engaging in morally reprehensible acts that, even if the Dean didn’t perform the acts as well, at least looked the other way. […] … learn more→
University education makes you a better citizen
We often think about what young people can expect to gain from university, or what universities contribute to society. But it’s not often that we talk about how higher education can change society beyond the shaping of individuals. As tuition fees rise, and universities are cast in increasingly intense competition for students and staff, their […] … learn more→
The pick your own grade scandal…what media missed
A few weeks back, another odd story from higher ed made the rounds. A professor decided on a new grading policy: Professor lets ‘stressed’ students decide their own grade Hey, grades are stressful, even assigning them isn’t fun.As a student I hated getting grades…I particularly hated bad grades, which is why I generally studied hard […] … learn more→
Thoughts on ‘Deep Work’
In a recent blog post entitled “How to Stop Flipping”,Inger Newburn outlined the dangers of flipping between tasks without progressing on any of them. Her suggestion was to write a detailed and time bound to-do list, using the example of the literature review. The second dot point advised students to “look in your diary for […] … learn more→
“Explaining” Why women aren’t physicists
Why are women and girls still so underrepresented in the study and teaching of STEM disciplines? The question has received a good deal of attention recently, as it should, and one common conclusion is that sexist attitudes and practices, including blatant sexual harassment and discrimination, remain far too common and are often ignored. See, for […] … learn more→
Are graduates prepared for the job market? Rethinking Africa’s university model
Across Africa, students arrive on campuses full of hope that a university degree will improve their lives. The reality is far less certain. In 2014, a British Council study estimated Nigeria’s graduate unemployment at 23.1%. In Kenya, it takes an average of five years for a graduate to find a job. Yet business leaders frequently […] … learn more→
