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[agsherwood]

Articles like this one make me question the academe and lead me to believe that maybe I don't want to continue down this path to the ivory tower.

While I do think an conference can be a useful event, most are not.

The sad reality is that the topics discussed and presented are generally benign and most of the event is devoted to this sort of schmoozing.

To the academics: do something of importance.

[husqvarna]

Ugh, I just read the article.

Thanks for posting agsherwood.  I hereby also express my disappointment.

And welcome to the forum!  You will find lots of unproductive activities on here that will disappoint you just as much as conference schmoozing, but there are also very worthwhile conversations going on. 

[unhelpful]

Lighten up, folks, it was just a satire on academic (mis)behavior. None of that stuff actrually happened, did it...?

[onion]

Perhaps I'm paranoid, but has anyone else ever noticed how something gets discussed on the forum, and then within a couple of weeks it shows up in the Chronicle as a News and Opinion piece?

[mirandaf]

It's been a while since I attended an academic conference (about 6 years), and they've evidently gotten much spicier.

[22082222]

Wow. This article makes me want to refer the author to Sexaholics Anonymous. They might be able to help her.

[patchouli]

While a small group and I were untenured, we went to a department retreat.  One of the required readings our chair gave us all to read was an article about having sex with students and how it really wasn't so bad and might have beneficial effects . . .

[mirandaf]

>While a small group and I were untenured, we went to a department retreat.  One of the required readings our chair gave us all to read was an article about having sex with students and how it really wasn't so bad and might have beneficial effects . . .


Did the chair also give you the article on how having sex with your dept. chair can enhance your chances of getting tenure? I had a copy, but seem to have misplaced it... darn.

I wonder if conference hooking-up is more common-place in some disciplines than others. I have no sense of this re: my own field.

[husqvarna]

Perhaps I'm paranoid, but has anyone else ever noticed how something gets discussed on the forum, and then within a couple of weeks it shows up in the Chronicle as a News and Opinion piece?

This is exactly what I was thinking when I saw the article.  I was going to mention it but figured that prytania3 already thinks I'm loopy for seeing moving posts on the forum, so maybe I shouldn't!  I suppose I can document this one, at least.

[larryc]

Perhaps I'm paranoid, but has anyone else ever noticed how something gets discussed on the forum, and then within a couple of weeks it shows up in the Chronicle as a News and Opinion piece?

This is exactly what I was thinking when I saw the article.  I was going to mention it but figured that prytania3 already thinks I'm loopy for seeing moving posts on the forum, so maybe I shouldn't!  I suppose I can document this one, at least.

Oh the Chronicle copies whole parts of threads here and puts them in print in that little Q&A section. They have used my comments, without attribution, a bunch of times. I'll bet we all gave them permission to do so in the fine print when we signed up.

[larryc]

Articles like this one make me question the academe and lead me to believe that maybe I don't want to continue down this path to the ivory tower.

While I do think an conference can be a useful event, most are not.

The article is satire you bonehead.  I'll bet you were similarly outraged when you read Swift's "A Modest Proposal."

[husqvarna]

Well, I found it in poor taste without thinking that it was actually being realistic.  The article itself was disappointing and I think rather juvenile.

[appleaddict]

Well, I found it in poor taste without thinking that it was actually being realistic.  The article itself was disappointing and I think rather juvenile.

I agree. It's something I might expect in, say, Cosmo, but not in Chronicle. Eesh.

[malvolio]

The sad reality is that the topics discussed and presented are generally benign and most of the event is devoted to this sort of schmoozing.

To the academics: do something of importance.

Satire or straight, sad or not, can we get over the idea that academics should be doing "things of importance"  on a regular basis? Good grief, can't a person go to another city, listen to some mildly interesting papers and make some contacts that might be valuable in the future without being accused of falling down on the job?

I wasn't aware every professional move I made had to be Important.

[agsherwood]

I happen to think that the academic should be doing things of importance.

Primarily the academic's job is to teach. In my particular field, there isn't really much research done --unlike the sciences where there may be academic related positions that aren't in the classroom -- so the majority we do deals with the lives of others.

Satire or straight, sad or not, can we get over the idea that academics should be doing "things of importance"  on a regular basis? Good grief, can't a person go to another city, listen to some mildly interesting papers and make some contacts that might be valuable in the future without being accused of falling down on the job?

I wasn't aware every professional move I made had to be Important.

I'm not saying that I think conferences should be done away with (maybe we should use some conference material and those who attend as a viable alternative fuel to offset our use of oil?). I'm too inexperienced with conferences to say that - I'm just now in my MA/PhD.
But why go to that midly boring conference? Is it only for tenure-enhancing paper presentations, or "contacts" that might propel us up another level?

That, which I'm sure all academics must deal with, is just another way of squeezing commodity out of education.

Maybe there was satire in this piece?-

The article is satire you bonehead.  I'll bet you were similarly outraged when you read Swift's "A Modest Proposal."

Duh.

I stand by what I said in my first post: To the academics: do something of importance.