by Twyla Meding, PhD. Twyla Meding is a recently retired associate professor at a large state university, with a specialty in early modern French studies. She earned her Ph.D. in 1992 from one of the top five programs in her field. My story … [Read more...] about Trauma on the Tenure Track – A Guest Post
Quitting--An Excellent Option
The Professor Is In HAS Changed, Part II, or I Don’t Give a Flying Fuck What You Wear
[Also originally shared on FB] Sharing a thought (adapted from a FB comment below): This whole recent kerfluffle about wHaT Is tHe PoInT oF tHiS [FB] pAge, a version of which arises about 2x a year, is so weird to me. I've always held … [Read more...] about The Professor Is In HAS Changed, Part II, or I Don’t Give a Flying Fuck What You Wear
The Professor Is In HAS Changed; You’re Not Imagining It
[This was posted originally on Facebook. See the original post here.] This is probably a good time to make something explicit that has been implicit for about a year now. I think academia is quite toxic for many - and actively sickifying … [Read more...] about The Professor Is In HAS Changed; You’re Not Imagining It
The Great Resignation and Academic Gaslighting
Various twitter pundits are self-importantly stating that the Great Resignation will never hit academia, because nobody would give up an academic job. 17K members of the Professor Is Out Facebook private group would say otherwise, friends. Other … [Read more...] about The Great Resignation and Academic Gaslighting
How I Left Academia – Guest Post
By Anonymous. I taught at five different universities over a ten year period, across five different countries. I never had tenure, just a bunch of shorter-term positions. I loved the travel of my job, and often visited remote locations … [Read more...] about How I Left Academia – Guest Post
Nihilism Was Inevitable
A genre of tweet has been gaining steam the last couple weeks, about the complete meaninglessness of academic job application documents or processes. It's all a crap shoot, argues this line of thought. Further, the collapse in hiring has only exposed … [Read more...] about Nihilism Was Inevitable
Toxic Hope
This story was shared by a reader recently. They have given me permission to share it here anonymously. Rarely have I seen the sickness of the PhD apparatus so clearly articulated. "Toxic hope" is another way of saying Berlant's "cruel optimism" … [Read more...] about Toxic Hope
Romancing the Academy for Fun and Profit, Part II – Novelist Guest Post
By Verity Lowell. Verity Lowell is a professor and occasional curator. She likes imagining and describing a world where art, ambition, and history provide the background for diverse and steamy love stories, mostly about women falling hard for … [Read more...] about Romancing the Academy for Fun and Profit, Part II – Novelist Guest Post
Bullying in Academia: A Disheartening Q and A
KK: This is a dialogue that happened on Facebook this week. If you ever wanted a window onto academic bullying... this is it. The responses are shared with permission. Where names are listed, commenters actively REQUESTED this for transparency's … [Read more...] about Bullying in Academia: A Disheartening Q and A
Picket Lines – The Professor is Zen Guest Post III
by Esther Freinkel Tishman, PhD, BCC (she/her) Esther Freinkel Tishman, Ph.D, BCC is an ordained Zen teacher, a full-time interfaith chaplain, a scholar of archetypes and religion, and a certified mindfulness instructor. She is also a … [Read more...] about Picket Lines – The Professor is Zen Guest Post III