This is the first of seven memoranda to seven groups, ranging loosely from the least irritating to the most. To all “non-denominational” “Christian” students: I understand very well that your home-schooling mother and your pastor may have given you to understand that you, like them, are members of a superior species, and that in this … More Memorandum 1
I I had always heard that being on the tenure track was a terrible thing, but I liked it. This is largely because before I got the idea of going to graduate school and discovered I was doing well there, I thought my destiny was to become a Receptionist or a Homemaker. I considered the … More On the Tenure Track
I There have been so many posts about the destructiveness of the tenure system that I would like to say something more about this. I, as people paying close attention to this blog may already know, did not get tenure. It was not at all traumatic, as I had seen it coming. After my mid … More On Not Getting Tenure
Over a year ago I had an argument with a blogger in which he accused me of insincerity. One of his blog friends looked at the exchange and said that actually, I was sincere “to a fault.” This was very interesting and I have thought about it since from time to time. I was first … More On Sincerity
I wrote the post below some time ago. I thought – and think – the student was being manipulative and out of line in general. I still do but I also wonder sometimes in these situations: who is behaving towards her as she is behaving towards me? * WM: I missed my oral presentation last … More E-mail from da Whiteman
Today I join Tom, among others, in Blogging for Voter Justice. Both of the links given in the last sentence explain how to participate and why you might want to join. Remember, I do not agree with Barack Obama’s politics. The first time I voted in a Presidential primary I voted for Jesse Jackson, whose … More Day of Blogging for Voter Justice
Aside from the talk of abolishing it, tenure remains important for all of the usual reasons (primarily academic freedom), but for others perhaps more important, especially faculty governance. Without the job security of tenure, the professoriate is reduced to the role of a paid workforce serving at the whim of various bottom lines. More importantly, … More Open Thread on Tenure
Real food really can be fast if you shop. And when I can, I like to skip the American lunch and escape campus just after three, so I can come home and have lunch at four, like a Mexican. This makes the dusty office day short, and the working evening lovely and long. And you … More Comida RAPIDA
With a little help from AllAfrica.com, we present Coco Tea with Barak Obahama, followed by the Mighty Sparrow with Barack the Magnificent. But I am just waiting to see and hear the Kenyan King of Ohangla Tony Nyadundo whose new album Obama is apparently very popular, and is said to be circulating in the United … More Barack Obama Latest Hits
Our official Easter post is by the Anxious Black Woman. Read it, it is important. Meanwhile I am singing the first laisse of the Song of Roland, which I like. Carles li reis, nostre emper[er]e magnes Set anz tuz pleins ad estet en Espaigne: Tresqu’en la mer cunquist la tere altaigne. N’i ad castel ki … More Une vieille chanson
coldhearted scientist وداد 