the likeliest people to get TT jobs are 2nd or 3rd generation academics, who not only have connections but also know how to play the game, how to brand themselves & their work, and how to appeal to hiring committees. The career often comes first, the thinking often comes last.
the likeliest people to get TT jobs are 2nd or 3rd generation academics, who not only have connections but also know how to play the game, how to brand themselves & their work, and how to appeal to hiring committees. The career often comes first, the thinking often comes last.
Therefore, as in every other high-status “creative” industry currently in austerity-mode, we’re seeing more and more boring, derivative work by mediocre writers and thinkers being published and even celebrated.
@pourfairelevide Sure, though it seems to me that this sort of thing is true for a lot of professional jobs. Is there anything particularly distinct about academia compared to these other jobs? Is the distinction particularly true for some disciplines?
@pourfairelevide My friend came from a family of academics. He's won NEA grants, Guggenheim fellowship...but never a TT position. It has made him suicidal. He's too gifted & has too much integrity to play the game so that may have stood in his way. Otherwise, I think it's bc he's *too* talented.
@pourfairelevide The rest of us went to brand name schools or happened to do trendy work and, most importantly, got lucky as hell.
@pourfairelevide Ask yourself if this is *really* a secret? Like even outside of academia do you think "well connected insiders with a legacy of connection to these institutions have a huge advantage" would be received as a shock?