"These are unprecedented times..."
This is supposed to be about grad school, so let’s discuss. Higher Education is not just circling the drain, it is just about to go in. It was already under collapse. Just like the rest of the economy, COVID-19 is just bringing the implosion quicker. I’m not surprised that people are angry, I am surprised that others are surprised. In a year who knows if people will still be going to college.
It was already obvious that faculty tenure had lost its original intent of protecting academic freedom and rather created a caste system in academia. Tenured faculty aren’t even safe anymore. Being inside of it, I’ve heard, coming out of the same side, the emphasis on undergraduate enrollment while complaining about lack of funds. Where do they think the funds come from? Universities are a business. Some are calling on the tenure faculty to fight for the contingent staff, either offering to cut their own salaries or put their own life on the line. Not gonna happen, especially when the system has been set up so long to suck the teat of tenured faculty.
Obviously, I am complicit in this system. I am not in a PhD program because it will lead to a job, but I am certainly counting on the prestige it will bring me when I seek employment. But I am glad I am in it when I am- who knows if my program will even exist in a few years. Because, of course, the humanities are not needed. All the Netflix content, internet memes and hobbies keeping us sane- yea, that has nothing to do with the humanities.
Meanwhile, here is an article that is chapping people’s hides. It’s pretty bootstrappy. Honestly, at first, it didn’t hit me why. Then there’s this:
As a mentor once said to me in 2008, “This is a time to buck up, buckle down, and get to work on producing an outstanding dissertation because your competition at other institutions are definitely doing this.” If you feel that this is too much of a challenge, or is otherwise detrimental to your mental health, this is the time to think about alternative careers that are suitable to your personal and professional goals.
Riddle me this, who, besides the committee (and maybe your parents out of obligation) actually gives a shit about your dissertation once its done. It’s like riding a new car off the lot. It loses value. So to this I say: get your dissertations done before your funding runs out.
Then there’s this author who thinks we should all still wash our hair. Don’t tell me that’s not coded for women to continue to consider their looks.
Academic Twitter is hilarious. And this made me chuckle, as it perfectly sums up my field of study.
I’m also revved up about Ryan Murphy’s Hollywood miniseries and I hated it so much I watched the whole thing. Woops! More about that later.
What is this? A semi-regular newsletter about being a culture studies graduate student. Do you like it? Great. Please share it widely. And consider becoming a premium subscriber. [Hit the orange button!]
What to look forward to:
Academia shenanigans
More Showgirls, the novelization
Recommendations of culture to consume at home
Various recaps
Possibly some fiction…?