Too tired to sleep, I am musing on the blog but what the random kids at the corner store said was: “Wow! You have cool shoes. Your whole atmosphere — you don’t seem like someone from here!” Why not I asked, and they said, “Because you have so much energy, and such a calm energy!” … More Down on the Corner
I am overworked and I know it is a crime, but that has not been the point of the last two months of posts. My small point is, do not overdramatize because I can show you overwork and this person can show you still more. My larger and real point, and this is an individual’s … More Rainbow Sign
Before this semester began I was told I could not write a major grant proposal, do major administrative work, and teach five courses. I could have said no to the grant proposal and canceled my seminar, and I could have, although it would have caused major trouble, wormed my way out of the administrative work. … More On “Protecting Time”
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
Rigoberta Menchú famously said that her story was “not sad, because true” and although it has been alleged that what she says is not true, which is another matter, I say research is not difficult, for Menchú’s reason: it is true. Research is not difficult; to the contrary, it facilitates everything. It means you are … More Further Arguments for Research – and College
It is agreed, then: research and writing are not hard, if you are trained for them. The much harder aspects of academic work are: – dealing with anti intellectualism from various quarters – dealing with gender discrimination which is much more extreme in certain kinds of schools and also families – the backbreaking labor of … More That Administrative Answer
I woke up this morning with the answer: the reason I so resent people insisting that research and writing are so hard is that they are bent upon converting creative and intellectual work into drudgery. There are already enough truly tedious tasks in the world and in our jobs, and enough tedious aspects to manuscript … More Ecco
♦ I just got e-mail from one of our newer instructors. Ze wants to copy 2 CDs for me and make 3 other CDs, and so requests 5 CDs and will pay me for them. I said, buy them yourself or ask the department to buy them. ♦ I have perfect hair now and it … More À quoi, et qui ça sert?
Whom does it benefit to say writing is hard? asks Dame Eleanor Hull. I am not sure but I can hazard that it mystifies writing and discourages people from trying. I, for my part, caught writing difficulty from Reeducation, according to which writing ease was a sign of poor health. Not wishing to suffer the … More A Writing Match
The other practical reason I oppose going on about how work is suffering is that it makes for such an unprofessional atmosphere. Graduate students do it, secretaries do it, and instructors do it. Pink collars do it and ladies do it. “Oh, it is so hard.” “We aren’t getting any younger.” “How are you today, … More Et pour en finir…
coldhearted scientist وداد 