This is the time of year that I run writing workshops and courses. And because I’m preoccupied with teaching, I’m also thinking about new and different strategies for authoring and revision. Authoring and revision strategies are inter-related – heuristics used for authoring can often be converted for revision purposes and vice versa. I sometimes find […] … learn more→
Blog Archives
Required, desirable and delightful elements of academic writing
There’s no Classics ‘catastrophe’ at Howard University
Cornel West and his co-author made a common mistake when they wrote a recent essay in The Washington Post chastising Howard University for eliminating its classics department. Reducing the decision to a “spiritual catastrophe,” they overlooked a deeper and more urgent problem: the financial constraints facing historically Black colleges and universities, and the inequality that underlies them. […] … learn more→
Business schools need to teach their graduates to lobby responsibly
After years of secrecy, lobbying and other corporate political activities are becoming increasingly visible. The ongoing scandal in the UK about former prime minister David Cameron’s lobbying activities on behalf of the financial services company Greensill Capital has added to concerns about how the government assigned Covid-related contracts. There are similar concerns in Germany, where […] … learn more→
How to tell if your college is trans-inclusive
High school can be especially challenging for the 2%-3% of U.S. teens who identify as transgender, or trans. They disproportionately experience harassment and victimization by their peers and rejection by family members. Entering an affirming and inclusive college environment can help set trans youth on a path of personal, academic and professional success. A trans-affirming college can also be transformative […] … learn more→
For non-Western scholars, Dutch universities are hostile environments
Dutch academic institutions have a reputation for being global and international in their outlook. For many, they embody the very best of the Netherlands’ socially tolerant and liberal society. As a non-white academic from a non-Western country who has worked there, I disagree. Like many others, I saw an academic career in the Netherlands as […] … learn more→
My partner or my degree: a choice that exposes how students battle gender inequity
The current focus on gender equity has meant universities are promoting and investing in strategies to overcome gender-related factors known to hinder women academics’ success. While these are positive steps, female university students burdened by gender inequities have been largely overlooked. Our research explored the impacts of traditional societal expectations of women’s domestic roles on mature-age nursing […] … learn more→
Freedom of speech really is at risk – but beware of top-down solutions
As usual, I didn’t make a fuss when it happened to me again a couple of years ago. I had applied for a job at a middling university in southern England. I held a comfortable professorship at Newcastle University, but I wanted to be closer to my elderly parents. Four candidates were invited, but it […] … learn more→
Academics must stand up for their publishing rights
I’ve come to realise that most academics are woefully ignorant about the publishing industry. Sure, we are delighted when someone wants to publish our work, but do we read the contract we sign in our moment of joy? Do we really understand the consequences of basically signing over our work to a corporate entity with […] … learn more→
For lifelong learning to work, students must own their educational data
The pandemic has inspired many education leaders to predict a brave new future for higher education. The possibilities of the enforced digital transformation, they suggest, will be embraced to prepare people for an already rapidly changing economy that is now hit by the economic ravages of lockdowns. All the feverish talk of individualised, anytime-anywhere learning, […] … learn more→
After the viva/defence – then what?
There is no return to normal. There is no going back to what there was before. You have to find new ways of going on. I could be talking about the pandemic here. Yes indeed. But I’m not. I’m actually talking about life post thesis. I wrote something a long time ago about the post PhD […] … learn more→
