My university is getting a new president, after 26 years of the previous one being in that position. The new president was our provost (there was a national search, but it’s pretty clear that he… Continue reading…
https://www.chronicle.com/article/An-Insider-s-Take-on/242235?cid=wcontentlist_hp_5 My inclination in response to this article is to say, yeah, we’ve been making all these points for 10+ years to deaf ears. Lisa read parts of this to me this morning, interspersed… Continue reading…
from Dec. 15, 2017
http://quarterlyconversation.com/the-french-invasion
We don’t have many events in philosophy, not “EVENTS” at least, you know, those earth-shaking seismic changes in intellectual culture. The October 1966 Johns Hopkins conference that was the… Continue reading…
From Nov. 14, 2017
Who is this Cathy O’Neil person and how is it possible that she is this clued out? “Where’s academia when it comes to helping us make sense of this?” Um,… Continue reading…
from Nov. 11, 2017
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/06/12/women#.WgZ48EZa1Wo.facebook
Some specifics in this article about a report on womens’ experience in universities. Some of the comments add to the discussion, for a change, rather than being the usual… Continue reading…
From Nov. 9, 2017
http://induecourse.ca/affirmative-action-for-conservative-academics/
Problems with Haidt, and against affirmative action for conservatives in higher education. The categories of “left” and “right” are often not all that helpful, and especially in university settings…. Continue reading…
from Sept. 18, 2017
http://jxyzabc.blogspot.ca/2017/09/the-genius-fallacy.html
Wise thoughts for students in this post. I spend a lot of time talking to grad students about finding the question that motivates them. They often come with an… Continue reading…
From July 14, 2017
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/national/eclipse/?tid=ss_fb&utm_term=.b82fb4f12a48
This is a great WaPo site that looks at solar eclipses, past and present.
The 1979 eclipse went right over where I was in Saskatchewan. I was in an evangelical… Continue reading…
From July 5, 2017
https://today.ucf.edu/world-complex-thats-need-us/
Humanities is just about reading old books and writing new ones, isn’t it? Not anymore – think digital.
People usually think of the humanities as stuck in the past,… Continue reading…
From June 19, 2017
Just heard that an old friend passed away. Phil Merklinger, the other half of the philosophy department for the entire time I was at Augustana University College in Camrose. And, besides… Continue reading…
From June 2, 2017
As I work on organizing the HASTAC conference (http://hastac2017.org/), I’m also cleaning out my closet. I found this wrinkly but otherwise brand-new T-shirt, from the… Continue reading…
From April 19, 2017
https://today.ucf.edu/key-discovery-pose-right-questions/
Good teachers like to tell themselves and others that there are no dumb questions. Whether they actually believe that is another question, but even if it is true, it… Continue reading…
From March 9, 2017
So, I find myself on a committee (I was “voluntold”), which is supposed to come up with ideas for arts and cultural involvement in the community. This is part of a… Continue reading…
From Feb. 27, 2017
This is a cut above the usual articles I see on the question of academic jargon and the public. From an academic point of view, thinking… Continue reading…
From Feb. 20, 2017
Eric Schliesser‘s post on attitudes toward one’s academic life is interesting. It’s not really about work/life balance, but about ways we face what we do…. Continue reading…
From Feb. 3, 2017
https://www.aaup.org/JAF7/free-space-academy#.WlF-OZdzJ1O
I’ve been thinking about academic freedom in this new age, especially in light of the violent protests at Berkeley. Under the guise of representing all perspectives, I’m afraid that… Continue reading…
From Jan. 12, 2017
Florida’s governor with his latest proposals for higher education. Pull quote:
“In business, you are expected to create more efficiencies or more value,” Scott said. “Our institutions need to… Continue reading…
From Nov. 27, 2016
Devos as education secretary is a clear case of putting ideology over students, empirical results, and the public good. While her experience is with primary and secondary education, I also… Continue reading…
From Nov. 22, 2016
FiveThirtyEight: “Education, Not Income, Predicted Who Would Vote For Trump” http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/education-not-income-predicted-who-would-vote-for-trump/
The statisticians do the correlations here. At the end, there are some guesses as to causation.
“Education levels may be… Continue reading…
From Oct. 24, 2016
http://www.apaonline.org/general/custom.asp?page=codeofconduct
Ok, so the APA has a code of conduct now. Several people have been raising questions about whether it could be used to silence people, and the questions are… Continue reading…
On State of Florida Bill 0837: Relating to Student & Faculty Academic Freedom
Bruce B. Janz
Draft: 21 April 2005
Do not quote without permission
Why This Page?
I have prepared this page in the… Continue reading…
