From the issue dated June 22, 2001
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The Joy of AcademeBy ELAINE SHOWALTERA book called Modern Tactics in Higher Education, published last month by Hearst Books, has been surprisingly popular among nonacademics. It's got a strong sales
Is university strategy suddenly vying with Oprah's Book Club? Not quite. No matter how gratifying it might be to contemplate a new era of informed interest in what we do, Modern Tactics in Higher Education is the flip side of the cover of Married Lust: 10 Secrets of Long Lasting Desire. It's an advice book for married couples wanting to "tune the engine when the chase is over, the mystery gone, and you've got some little cookie snatchers underfoot," compiled from online sex surveys of 5,000 men and 5,000 women by Pamela Lister, contributing editor of Redbook magazine. The special reversible dust jacket, designed (says Publishers Weekly) so "parents won't have to hide the book from their kids, or commuters from their neighbors," is also part of the draw. (Of course, the neighbors and kids might suspect something is up if they spot the black bustier, the vibrator, and the whipped cream.) But why use higher education as a decoy, rather than gardening tips or tax advice? Is Hearst trying to tell us something about the chaste, buttoned-down image of the academy? Maybe all that anger directed at higher education doesn't really reflect the agony of parents trying to meet high college costs or the wrath of conservatives bent on rooting out political correctness. Maybe all we need to do to improve our image is get a few hot tubs, "tuck little edible surprises" in "unexpected places," and, like, go with the flow. Goodbye, tweed jacket; hello, tap shorts. Or is the absence of an author on the dummy higher-education book jacket a gesture toward poststructuralism? "Aha," I can hear colleagues telling themselves, "I knew postmodernism would stage a tactical triumph." And could the idea of a "reversible cover for discreet reading," as ads for the book put it, be applied to other kinds of reading as well? Maybe academic presses could move some of those monographs out of storage if Economic Influences of the Development of Shipbuilding Techniques, 1485-1486 wore a book jacket that said Married Lust. (To be sure, some of our critics would advise us, instead, to chose more discreet titles for some of our livelier courses and conference papers -- something along the lines of "Jane Austen and the Tactics of Higher Education.") In any case, the book has opened up a whole range of interesting speculation to help me cope with the ennui of long-term academic monogamy. As I sit in faculty meetings in the future, I'll be thinking of ways to apply the 10 secrets of long-lasting desire to those days in the department when the engine needs tuning and the mystery is gone. Let's see, "enthusiasm," "variety," "adventure," "generosity," "authenticity," "attention," "courage," "confidence" -- I can certainly see some possibilities there. Numbers nine and 10, "attraction" and "absolute delight," however, might be a bit risky. But I hope that other academics reading Modern Tactics in Higher Education will consider posting reviews on Amazon.com. Here's mine: "How do you keep the thrill that you had when you first got tenure? How do you make those feelings last, so that you and your department stay hot for each other year after year after year? As many studies have shown, with mobility waning and a tight job market, lack of departmental desire is a significant problem for both men and women today. This inspiring book offers simple, practical ways to short-circuit that trend. If your goal is to better understand your department's needs -- and help it understand and meet yours -- this book is for you. Don't fake it any longer; try some new departmental positions, break the routine. You may have to settle for less than earth-shattering passion, but you'll both be much more satisfied." Elaine Showalter is a professor of English at Princeton University and a frequent contributor to The Chronicle. http://chronicle.com Section: The Chronicle Review Page: B11
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Copyright © 2001 by The Chronicle of Higher Education