SIU Zero-time Adjunct Follow-up
[Update to the update: SIU has posted a statement on the programme here. As it essentially confirms my suspicions that it is designed to steal soft academic labour from new PhDs by trading on their institutional loyalty and need for affiliation without paying them for their services, I provide the …
And so It Has Come to This
Southern Illinois University has finally taken the step that we all knew was coming, whether we openly admitted it to ourselves or not. The progression was too obvious, the market forces in question too powerful, for this result to have been anything but inevitable. The question was never if, but …
*Out of Office Response* Re: quick question?
Dear [STUDENT], Thank you for writing me with your question about [COURSE]. I am currently out of the office because I am contingent faculty and do not have an office. This automated response email is intended to help you find the answer to your question on your own, as my …
Required Reading, 5 March 2018
Just one today, because it is Important. Ron Srigley, “Whose University is it Anyway?” LA Review of Books, Feb 22, 2018. — On another note, you may be noticing some visual changes across the Skepchick network. Along with the face lift we hope to soon put out a call for …
Pros of Participation Grades 3
Continuing my series on the downsides and benefits of grading participation, here is another benefit. 3. It is a motivation for some. There’s no magic secret to motivating people, and broadly speaking it doesn’t work. One of the common skeptical criticisms of practices like firewalking and other such “motivational” activities is that …
Recent Comments
{ That wasn't exactly what was going on with this posting. The specificity of the job had more to do with the size and nature of... } – Oct 17, 1:57 AM
{ I sense when you see a super-specific requirement from a job ad, with a well-nigh impossible timetable, it means that there is probably an internal... } – Oct 17, 1:39 AM
{ Hey, the really bad ones are when people accept "groups/journals I've never heard of" over "well-known entities". *cough*NAISA*cough* } – May 23, 7:22 PM
{ The very first thing that struck me when I read about this, was not the possibility of it being a vanity journal, though I guess... } – May 23, 11:38 AM
Education
SIU Zero-time Adjunct Follow-up
[Update to the update: SIU has posted a statement on the programme here. As it essentially confirms my suspicions that it is designed to steal soft academic labour from new PhDs by trading on their institutional loyalty and need for affiliation without paying them for their services, I provide the …
Critical Thinking
Why Schools Should Teach Critical Thinking (Final)
This is part five (the end) of a rebuttal to this article. Part one can be found here. There are just two more points I need to address in Hendrick’s article before I am done with my rebuttal. I know, all two of you readers have been waiting with bated …
Pedagogy
Pros of Participation Grades 3
Continuing my series on the downsides and benefits of grading participation, here is another benefit. 3. It is a motivation for some. There’s no magic secret to motivating people, and broadly speaking it doesn’t work. One of the common skeptical criticisms of practices like firewalking and other such “motivational” activities is that …
Culture
On the Market VII: Job Candidates Are People Too
Another year, another job season. Sigh. I’ve been on the market for several years now, and regular readers may remember that in that time I have applied to many, many, many jobs. The positions I’ve applied for since finishing my PhD have represented a generous sampling of nearly all that our …
