tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399701802496487396.post3568487569968992660..comments2023-10-12T11:37:47.156-04:00Comments on ABSURDIST PARADISE: Warning: Web-Surfing Can Be Dangerous to One's Job Excitement or Rambles on Professionalization and TenureEarnest Englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01947000435270263070noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399701802496487396.post-48262124350267232342007-03-21T10:40:00.000-04:002007-03-21T10:40:00.000-04:00Sadly, I think you're right. Scholarly promise too...Sadly, I think you're right. Scholarly promise too often is not enough for tenure. That's really a shame. The scholarly promise of a grad student and the scholarly promise of a newly tenured associate professor are not so hard to distinguish. But trying to require the peak of one's scholarly work either by the time of graduation or tenure strikes me as a mistake. In both cases, the bulk of a scholar's career still lies ahead. If we forget this, we run the very real risk of crippling that future work before it even begins. That's a loss for everyone.LumpenProfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11424425909102486647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399701802496487396.post-35946540232194685462007-03-20T22:05:00.000-04:002007-03-20T22:05:00.000-04:00LP - I love your idea about "sample publications,"...LP - I love your idea about "sample publications," about showing scholarly promise as a requirement for tenure. Consider me on board for that! But I'm afraid that "scholarly promise" is what will get me hired, not tenured. I hope I'm wrong.Earnest Englishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01947000435270263070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399701802496487396.post-59617624044270129112007-03-20T08:55:00.000-04:002007-03-20T08:55:00.000-04:00Sorry if I was a buzz kill. I don't mean to be. Yo...Sorry if I was a buzz kill. I don't mean to be. You SHOULD be excited about the new job. Congratulations! I'm really not trying to encourage early professionalization. I would be happy to postpone that indefinitely. My hope is to help make the process work the way it is supposed to -- as a demonstration of potential, not the realization of some research agenda. 6 years of teaching, service, and some sample publications to whet your appetite for more great things to come -- THAT should be plenty for tenure.LumpenProfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11424425909102486647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399701802496487396.post-58890820097780010332007-03-15T17:43:00.000-04:002007-03-15T17:43:00.000-04:00Great post. Yes, funding cuts make programs shorte...Great post. <BR/><BR/>Yes, funding cuts make programs shorter, and makes universities also decide to up the TA reaching load. That way they have study and exploration reduced in two ways. This of course makes them less solid, so they have to also be sure to have lots of publications and presentations instead. It is absurd. And then, because of the job situation, people are trying to decide on research projects that will 'sell' as opposed to research projects they think are important and are interesting. In this way the simulacrum of the university takes over what might be nostalgically called the real university. So the huge problem is the economy, funding, budget cuts.<BR/><BR/>Interdisciplinary fields and research - yes. It makes it harder but I still love being interdisciplinary. I will think about this & say more when I am less tired.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com