“Think of yourself as a prison warden or as a dog trainer,” said someone who has just made Full and who is an enthusiastic teacher of freshmen. “I have absolutely no interest in identifying, even for a moment, with either of those roles,” said I, and therein lies my defect. I am far more pitiless. … More Freshmen…
Bonjour, toi, et bonne semaine! As the sun moves into Scorpio and the Indian summer fades our work week for this term will reduce itself to 84 hours, shrinking with the year. Our sensibilities may not be as fine as those of some exquisite sufferers, but we are still the most beautiful of all professors. … More Bonjou’, toi
Remember, y’all — all of my stories are jumbled, and none are entirely current or literally true; I am a sculpted skull on a stela at Copán and I am not talking about any one individual in particular. Still, perhaps we just shouldn’t hire any more Latin men unless they are married, as this tribe … More Advice to New Faculty, e to the nth
Son de la loma in Bristol. Axé.
The reason life in my main subunit was unstable and underdeveloped in those days was not because it was culturally Mediterranean but because we were a colonized people. If I had time I would study our political culture with dependency theory. I am betting the analysis would be apt, illuminating, and amusing. The subunit was … More A New Use for Dependency Theory
People are still shocked to hear that I am only going to have enough retirement income to last 10 years, and so plan to work into my 80s since I am destined to live into my 90s. Time off for the rest of the semester and perhaps of life is Friday 1:30 PM to Saturday … More Guajira
Of 30 students none knew the year of the US Declaration of Independence. They placed it between 1876 and 2006. Axé.
Troya, picaza parlera. El mal que aqueja la sección de Español es el chisme. ¡Qué bien sé yo la fonte que mana y corre, aunque es de noche! There are four total points in this test and if you win three, you pass. Which three major authors have I cited? What are the texts? BONUS: What … More On Intertextuality
The way to make friends and influence people in your favor is not to guess where battle lines may lie and and attempt to butter up someone who has been in the place longer against whoever you imagine, or even know they disagree with. No matter how much I may disagree with someone or agree … More Yet More Advice to New Faculty
I realize how harsh this whole series of posts sounds but remember, this is not an academic blog or an advice blog, it is my after hours blog, and I am a sculpted skull on a stela at Copán. And in this particular performance of life I have been exhorted for decades about how difficult … More The End of Difficulty, and That Wolf at the Door
