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[wildwest]

Would it be possible for someone to post a link to the full-text of this article?  Since my subscription has expired, I can't access it.

I'd be interested in discussion . . . first I'll have to see if the article says anything new, or if it is the standard gripe.

Thanks!

[empyrean_aisles]

Bookmarking because I'd like to read & discuss it too.

[pournelle]

Wasn't this that guy who claimed he made $100k/year by adjuncting? He describes himself as an ardent churchgoer who loves money, can't learn from women, and was intellectually bested by S. M. Stirling! No, academia is not for him, and judging from the writing here, I think he'll be telling us next how he doesn't want to join the club of published novelists either. Why does CHE print this stuff?

[unusedusername]

He's taken a lot of heat in the comments for saying that women can't be role models for him.  I agree with the commenters that this is taking it far.  Of course men and women can serve as role models for each other.

That being said, many others were offended by his pointing out that men and women often do not find the same books appealing.  Apparently, this is sexist.  But, is he wrong?  I think it's pretty obvious that men and women do not always read the same books, especially when it comes to fiction.  To simplify, women read books for characters, and men read books for plot.  Yes, of course there are exceptions, but the rule holds.

Women tend to prefer books where the characters have complex personalities and histories, interact with each other in complex ways, and transform and grow in the course of a book.  Men prefer books with complex plots, big ideas, where a lot of things happen, and people with different interests directly oppose each other.  The fact that the author likes science fiction is telling.  Science fiction is all about plot and big ideas, and not much on character transformation or interpersonal relationships.

The fact that many consider it beyond the pale to talk about this is why the author didn't fit into his English department.

[geonerd]

I read it. That's 5 minutes of my life that I'll never get back again.

[catalyzer]

This premium article will be available to nonsubscribers at the link above for five days and at http://chronicle.com/article/Academic-English-Is-Not-a-Club/128405/?key=T28hcwdiYydBbSplbDdHN2oGaXNrOE0jNXYbPikrblFWGA%3D%3D.

The article is always available to Chronicle subscribers at http://chronicle.com/article/Academic-English-Is-Not-a-Club/128405/

[goldstein]

Actually, I know this student from his veiled references and rhetorical style. There has been considerable discussion concerning his having completed the program long before his embarrassing declamations.

How CHE publishes this is beyond me.

[hegemony]

So he prefers a confrontational style and probably has Asperger's.  And he's inspired by Harlan Ellison, who is notoriously cantankerous and adversarial.  The science fiction world accepts eccentrics fairly easily, and he won't have to collaborate with anyone in teaching big intro classes or on departmental committees.  A happy ending all round, except for the time and possibly debt incurred in getting the graduate degrees.  The CHE, like most media, clearly likes controversial pieces, so presumably it's happy too.

[marigolds]

Eh. I'm sure his plan is to anger English departments (angry female academics?), but it sounds like he shouldn't have been in grad school.  Definitely not a good fit. If he doesn't like the work they do, I wonder why he went/finished at all.

I'm glad he's found a group that he feels at home in. I'm not sure why this is Chron-worthy, though.

I'm going to bet that he worked on Hemingway.

[totoro]

Fiona seemed to agree somewhat in her comments. The more I read in the Chronicle the more I think that English must be REALLY different to grad school, academia in the natural sciences and some social sciences. Grad school wasn't painful, it was fun. Some people find the math painful in my field and I did/do too but then we find niches which don't require such heavy duty math. But maybe the reason I turned out OK as an academic is because I liked being in grad school, though I was there for just under 5 years in total.

[aandsdean]

Eh. I'm sure his plan is to anger English departments (angry female academics?), but it sounds like he shouldn't have been in grad school.  Definitely not a good fit. If he doesn't like the work they do, I wonder why he went/finished at all.

I'm glad he's found a group that he feels at home in. I'm not sure why this is Chron-worthy, though.

I'm going to bet that he worked on Hemingway.

I'm also struck by the intense irony that he went to a department that is primarily known for its theory-headedness.  The U of MN press's only really good series in English/Lit is their books of/on European theory (Bataille, Adorno, etc.).  If he wanted something besides this kind of program, there are a lot of them out there, including some where you can happily write a dissertation on genre fiction or even get a Ph.D. by writing some of said fiction.

It's as though he purposely bought a Fiat and is still pissed it's not a Jag.

[cj405]

He's taken a lot of heat in the comments for saying that women can't be role models for him.  I agree with the commenters that this is taking it far.  Of course men and women can serve as role models for each other.

In my opinion, it isn’t just that he says women can’t be role models for him; it is his reasoning for why:

Much of what I've heard from older women about why they became professors revolves around issues of professional acceptance, equity, the desire to allow other women's voices to be heard, and wanting a place in which to say what's on their minds. Also, many of the older female professors I've known were quite angry about those issues.

While I can certainly understand their drives, they are not mine. So, tipping my hat to women in English departments, I can discard them as role models.

I guess he only had a big brush available that day.

[janewales]

Fiona seemed to agree somewhat in her comments. The more I read in the Chronicle the more I think that English must be REALLY different to grad school, academia in the natural sciences and some social sciences.

Well, I can seen how you would think that, but it's because the generalizations drawn are a caricature, not because the Chronicle in general, or this article in particular, give a fair representation of all English departments. In my English department, we currently have two students writing on science fiction, for example. I too loved grad school, and I think our grad students are happy. There are all sorts of English departments, and all sorts of English professors.

[hennypenny]

snip

Women tend to prefer books where the characters have complex personalities and histories, interact with each other in complex ways, and transform and grow in the course of a book.  Men prefer books with complex plots, big ideas, where a lot of things happen, and people with different interests directly oppose each other.  The fact that the author likes science fiction is telling.  Science fiction is all about plot and big ideas, and not much on character transformation or interpersonal relationships.

I dunno, I prefer books with a well-evoked sense of atmosphere/scene.  What does that make me?

hp

[unusedusername]

I dunno, I prefer books with a well-evoked sense of atmosphere/scene.  What does that make me?

hp

a transcendent spirit :)