Until Worst Prof Ever, The Series becomes a reality…
…this xtranormal video “So You Want to Get a PhD in the Humanities” (below) will have to suffice. It was tipped to us by one of our oldest and best blog friends Gradland, and I’ve noticed since that it has been slowly but surely popping up on many a Facebook status update. The thing really speaks for itself, but the video really picks up at about the 1 minute 15 sec mark, when the prof tells the student, “I’m tempted to throw you out of this office, that I share with four other professors.” Anyway, the four-and-a-half minute clip slams Harold Bloom, debunks the myth of flexible time, offers a perfect short-but-sweet explanation of the two-body-problem, and makes you fear a world with Tea Party overlords — and all of it is made better and more unnerving thanks to the robot voices that actually replicate an office-hour back-and-forth with eerie accuracy. Basically, the mini tour-de-force might have just rendered Post Academic obsolete.
OK, I’m getting out of the way, but suffice it to say that we may have all been the student at some point in our lives, but we really wish we could be that professor at least once in our careers.
Follow-Ups, from A(naconda) to Z(izek)
Let’s follow up on some of the recent posts we’ve put up. You’ll have to keep reading to understand why we have images of an anaconda and Slavoj Zizek here. What’s odder is that the anaconda is probably more directly relevant to the follow-up than Zizek is!
"Green Anaconda" by Stevenj (Creative Commons license)
Alternative Careers in (Post)Gradland: Last week, we mentioned that the great blog Gradland had put up some very illuminating posts on non-tenure track careers for academics, discussing adjuncting and high school teaching. Well, Gradland is back with some more options in the movie biz and the publishing industry. The former is where Anaconda comes in, cause Gradland’s subject “Alice” was hired to do research for the J-Lo/Ice Cube/Jon Voight vehicle.
Freelance Writing Tips from the Legends: In last week’s Footnotes, we mentioned a handy advice piece for freelance critic types posted on Geeta Dayal’s blog — which I apparently forgot to link! This week, PopMatters–gotta put in a plug for my home team!–began a series of articles asking renowned music writers and editors to offer their best tips to aspiring and/or struggling freelancers. Hey, anything a hall-of-famer like Robert Christgau has to offer is something I’d be listening to!
"Slavoj Zizek" by Pablo Secca (Creative Commons license)
Broke-Ass Update on Middlesex University: We covered the cause célèbre that the Middlesex U Philosophy department in the UK has become for scholars worldwide. This thoughtful column written by John Protevi for Inside Higher Ed explores what might be the ramifications of the downsizing of Middlesex U Philosophy for programs and depts Stateside.
…with a little bonus Zizek!: So how does Slavoj Zizek come into play here and why? Remember that he’s one of the academic superstars cosigning a letter of support for Middlesex U Philosophy? That answers how and here’s the why: À la the Betty White campaign, there’s a Facebook fan page petitioning Zizek to host SNL! Though not only does it (obviously!) pale in size to the B. White petition, but, at 967 members, it’s also behind around 13-to-1 to the Save Middlesex U Philosophy fanpage.
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