What is a good academic day? What happens to make you go home/leave the office and say to your partner or cat/dog/budgie – I had such a good day today. I’ve come to the rather obvious conclusion that my good academic day is one where I actually get to do “proper scholarship”. My good day […] … learn more→
Blog Archives
A ‘good academic day’
Grammar schools: why academic selection only benefits the very affluent
With the recent news that more than £500m has been set aside by the UK government for new free schools – many of which could well become grammar schools – the selective schooling debate is firmly back on the table. This £500m includes a one-off payment of £320m which will be allocated to help set […] … learn more→
Rape on campus: Athletes, status, and the sexual assault crisis
The feminist legal scholar Catharine MacKinnon once argued that rape was not prohibited, but merely regulated. She was writing in 1989, four years before it became illegal to rape one’s spouse in all 50 states. At the time, rape was quite clearly regulated in some states: you could rape your spouse, just not anyone else. […] … learn more→
How to stop ‘flipping’ (and write a good to-do list)
At a dinner party some time ago, an academic’s husband pointed out that there are many similarities between being an academic and running a small, not very profitable business. I laughed, but since I briefly ran a small business the comment struck a chord with me. After much thought, I think small business owners and […] … learn more→
MOOC study highlights massive Higher Ed fraud
Study after study after study…every day another study, because they’re so easy to do now. The modern world runs on computers, and computers are just awesome at collecting and storing numbers. Statistics is good at simplifying those numbers into easier-to-understand numbers. Nowadays, all a “study” is, is someone taking a few minutes to use statistics […] … learn more→
A researcher on someone else’s project?
I completed my PhD after a pretty substantial professional career. Then, I went into an academic job and jumped straight into my own small research projects. Now, somewhat later, I direct larger and longer research projects, often with a colleague and a small research team. This team almost always includes a new PhD, an early career researcher – and their […] … learn more→
Students loans and the Berkeley riots
I must commend the right-wing speakers for their courage. Despite living under the constant threat of violence, they still feel the need to try to spread their message, try to explain their point of view. I’ve written a few times of how these speakers are consistently removed from campus, because administration fears that their presence […] … learn more→
How the humble comic book could become the next classroom superhero
You might think comics are just packed full of superheroes, funny animals and silly jokes, and you wouldn’t be far wrong. But while the term “comic book” might also bring to mind something that is outdated and just for young kids, what you might not know is that comics are being used to great effect […] … learn more→
Why the audit culture made me quit
When, in 2015, I started my blog critically analysing marketisation, consumerism and audit culture in universities, I was aware that a large number of academic staff in anglophone universities seemed to be leaving the profession. I didn’t expect to be joining them quite this soon. Late last summer, for instance, Sara Ahmed very publicly resigned […] … learn more→
‘Banned from our own lives’: intellectuals mourn the Turkey that once was
I write life for those who can catch it in a breath, in an exhale. Like one picks a fruit on a branch, like tearing out a root. – Asli Erdoğan, from Taş Bina ve Diğerleri. Until very recently, Turkey was the place to be. The country offered space for everyone: all shades of Islamists […] … learn more→
