1. I was always warned in graduate school that if I got an academic job I would not get to teach foreign languages because the T.A.’s would do it, and also that I should not construct myself as someone who likes it, anyway, because to get a tenure track job you had to construct yourself … More On militant Hispanism
I used to give the culture class as an issues-in-culture class and it was good, but now I am giving it as a true cultural studies class and it is outright exciting, partly because it is so theoretically precise. Here is the issue: I have a curriculum. The administration now says that since it is … More On disciplines
It is said that everyone is competing but I think they are competing down, not up. They are competing for towel space on a crowded beach, as it were. But if you go out past the bathers and through the waves, there are only a few swimmers in the clear water. There is space for … More On competition
Incarcerated as it were, imprisoned in images from long ago, I have been trying to think my way out of it. As children we were not allowed to develop any skills seriously — we should perform well for others, yes, but only as long as we remained amateurs. As adults, can we not go further? … More Fabrication defect
I woke up this morning thinking how ridiculous it is that I still devour my own flesh like the vulture that eats Prometheus’ liver each day, and noticing that it is now just within my power not to do it. Of course if I did not spend as much time virtually murdering myself and then … More Time time time
I do not learn very much by doing so. That is one big reason why. The other reason is that the students in these classes are such black holes for energy. The third reason is the textbook industrial complex which is massive. The fourth reason is that it makes me a soldier in the departmental … More Here is why I do not like to teach foreign languages.
That is beside the point. It means, of course, that one should get up and give canned lectures out of some anthology or other dull textbook because the students will not appreciate anything, anyway, and you should save all your time for writing and not give interesting classes. Classes are ephemeral and writing is more … More “I hope your students appreciate that.”
The reason this is a nice semester is that I do not have any freshmen. Even in my most basic course, which is the last course to the language requirement, 50% of the students intend to continue further and so are not trying to stall on work, but want to make progress so they can … More Do fields have temperaments?
Of the posts on why academic life is stressful this is the one I like the best besides Dr. Crazy’s, but I would modify virtually every point. 1. Cranking it down. Having to crank down the level of your work so people do not feel threatened or because the latest news has not arrived yet and it … More Cranking it down
♦ It is evident that I will have to work a lot this semester if I am to make any headway. I cannot waste any time doubting, I cannot waste any time working when I am too tired to work well, and I cannot waste any time recovering from overwork. ♦ I think the most … More Du travail
coldhearted scientist وداد 