To generalise ridiculously, there are three types of people: People who start a research project intending to finish it on time. People who start a project not really caring when they finish it. People who don’t care about finishing a project on time until they fly past the deadline. If you are doing a PhD […] … learn more→
Blog Archives
The project finishing mindset
History’s confinement to older universities must not be repeated
Like many people of my generation, I was the first person in my family to earn a degree. The son of a pastry cook and a dressmaker from Cyprus, I was born in London but I couldn’t speak English when I began school in 1967. Still, by the time I took my A levels 14 […] … learn more→
Universities should not swat the public intellectual gadfly
I have been in the academic equivalent of the Priory detox clinic for some time now. The turning point came when I came across The Last Intellectuals by American historian Russell Jacoby. Published in 1987, this sharp, sometimes ironic and often scornful paean to the disappearing public intellectual not only changed my scholarly interests but […] … learn more→
Structuring and sequencing chunks of writing
Writers think about structure, a lot. They don’t necessarily tell that to their readers. That’s because writers often want their readers to focus on what’s been written, rather than how it’s been organised. But yes, there are loads of texts where writers play with structures and want the reader to notice. But even then they don’t always tell the […] … learn more→
Good riddance to boring lectures? Technology isn’t the answer – understanding good teaching is
With some universities returning to face-to-face teaching this year, ANU Vice Chancellor Brian Schmidt noted that, while his university was one of them, lectures would be much less common and not a “crutch for poor pedagogy”. Since then many have discussed the issue of lectures, including the deputy vice chancellor of University of Technology Sydney and the […] … learn more→
The perils of studying far-right extremism must be surmounted
On 20 April, the UK government banned the US-based neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division. Home secretary Priti Patel said she was taking action “to protect young and vulnerable people from being radicalised”. Recent statistics from the UK’s counter-radicalisation programme, Prevent, do indeed show increasing numbers of people from the radical right referred to it, while Home […] … learn more→
Mental health tips for College students
College is stressful and there can be a lot of pressure to do well. In addition, many college students have part time jobs or other activities that they participate in. College students can face a lot of mental health problems including depression and anxiety. However, there are some things to keep in mind that can […] … learn more→
Teaching Chinese politics in Australia: polarised views leave academics between a rock and a hard place
I was making small talk with a medical technician during a health check a few months ago. After hearing I was a senior lecturer teaching Chinese politics at the University of Sydney, she commented: “It must be very hard for you.” My first thought was that she meant it must have been hard to teach […] … learn more→
With campus co-operatives, universities could model new ways of living after COVID-19
Even before COVID-19, things weren’t going all that well on post-secondary campuses across Canada. Research before and during the pandemic has revealed that food and housing insecurity are a major problem for many students and staff. There has been an acceleration towards commercial and branded spaces on public university campuses, which has come at the detriment of the very […] … learn more→
Does the UK need medical schools?
Clinical academics also flee to their labs from the lecture theatres. They know that involvement in undergraduate teaching – and its administration – early in their careers does not pay off. Better to concentrate on research – or else the postgraduate taught courses that bring in additional revenue. Explaining to non-medical colleagues how clinical undergraduate […] … learn more→
