August 15, 2012
A Lover’s Discourse

It is a generally known fact that I am rather unromantic about my PhD/being a career academic. The reasons for this are rational, true, and- I think- healthy.[1] Yet this is not the whole story.  Last week, my first week in Charlottesville, I took a run up to campus. When I run I listen to music.[2] That evening, as I ran up The Lawn and the steps of the Rotunda- ‘Encore’- blazing in my ears, I realized several things in succession or all at once. Memory is a bitch like that; it’s hard to figure out how and why things cohere. I realized how blessed I am that at each step my education- BA, MPhil, and now PhD- I have lived and worked in truly inspiring places. Each campus has its own unique charm but they are all the same in that their specific geographies militate in favor of productive reflection. Asbury is the quintessential liberal arts college and an All American small town, Oxford is iconic in the strongest terms, and UVA is perhaps the cradle of American public education.

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2:58pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZmxX6yRT8IqL
(Notes: 2)
  
Filed under: grad school graduate school gradschool graduateschool literature history oxford asbury PhD personal 
May 26, 2012
Advice to would be scholars

Frequently I am asked what the academic life is like. First, I have no idea what this is or when it starts. For me I would say it really started in a basement hallway of Reasoner Hall at Asbury College when I skipped a class to talk to a prof about Beowulf. As to the nature of this life, all jokes aside, it is a good life for those who can live it. Anyhow, I have been unreasonably blessed with good friends and mentors in my field. Below is a bit of advice from one of my best friends. Will keep his identity covert save to say he has made his own way, now occupies a major continental chair, and previously held prestigious posts at Princeton, Oxford, and in London. He is also an even better person than scholar. 

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2:49am  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZmxX6yM8m8Nw
(Notes: 12)
  
Filed under: grad english literature english lit PhD Masters Graduate graduate school gradschool grad school 
April 16, 2012
What I do

So. I recently accepted a PhD offer in English Literature at University of Virginia. Periodically I get questions as to what I do, why I do it, and advice as to how to pursue similar paths. At the risk of becoming too self centered, I, over the next few weeks, am planning to outline why I decided to pursue a career in Medieval Literature and how I went about it.

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4:49am  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZmxX6yJlJQ5d
(Notes: 6)
  
Filed under: personal grad school phd literature medieval literature 
October 23, 2011
Why American Graduate Education is a Ponzi Scheme

“Moreover, since research professors must have graduate students, every major department must have its own PhD. program whether or not its graduates have any hope of finding jobs. The authors cite a telling statistic: between 2005 and 2007, American universities awarded 101,009 doctoral degrees but in those years created just 15,820 assistant professorships. Few graduate students have any realistic hope of pursuing careers in the fields in which they are being trained. Many of these redundant PhD.s wind up driving taxicabs or managing restaurants, but many are also recruited back to campus as adjuncts to teach courses for a fraction of what tenured professors are paid. The authors estimate that 70 percent of all college teaching is performed by adjuncts, graduate assistants, and other non-faculty personnel.”

Seriously, anyone considering a graduate degree, especially in the Liberal Arts, should read this.

9:35am  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZmxX6yA--YNF
(Notes: 7)
  
Filed under: Grad School Graduate School PhD Liberal Arts Education Ponzi Scheme 
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