tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180769075610486242.post7197065396259869533..comments2024-01-02T09:45:52.570-05:00Comments on Lost in Transcription Has Moved!!: In defense of the independent academic lifestyleAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04284995441818864226noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180769075610486242.post-44866866723751299772013-03-25T20:46:46.182-04:002013-03-25T20:46:46.182-04:00This is probably the most refreshing thing I have ...This is probably the most refreshing thing I have ever read -- ever. <br /><br />Independent academics have the liberty to study and write about the topics and issues they find important. Those who work regular jobs and do research in their spare time are the jewels of the academic kingdom (so to speak) because they are not just fulfilling a work requirement; they are fulfilling a life passion. Traditional academics have the luxury of having an audience that must listen -- In the real world, you have to compete for attention in the marketplace of ideas. The former seems irrelevant to preparing students for life. The latter seems today like it is restricted only by one's ability to construct great prose in 140 characters or less. <br /><br />In closing, I thought I'd share the first thing that came to mind when I read this: If you don't know the movie, then I challenge you to figure it out. <br /><br />"Jean-Pierre: The Forty-Seven Ronin. Do you know it?<br />[Sam shakes his head]<br /><br />Jean-Pierre: Forty-seven samurai, whose master was betrayed and killed by another lord. They became ronin - masterless samurai - disgraced by another man's treachery. For three years they plotted, pretending to be thieves, mercenaries, even madmen - that I didn't have time to do - and then one night they struck, slipping into the castle of their lord's betrayer and killing him.<br /><br />Sam: Nice. I like that. My kind of job.<br /><br />Jean-Pierre: There's something more. All forty-seven of them committed seppuku - ritual suicide - in the courtyard of the castle.<br /><br />Sam: Well, that I don't like so much.<br /><br />Jean-Pierre: But you understand it.<br /><br />Sam: What do you mean, I understand it?<br /><br />Jean-Pierre: The warrior code. The delight in the battle, you understand that, yes? But also something more. You understand there is something outside yourself that has to be served. And when that need is gone, when belief has died, what are you? A man without a master.<br /><br />Sam: Right now I'm a man without a paycheck.<br /><br />Jean-Pierre: The ronin could have hired themselves to new masters. They could have fought for themselves. But they chose honor. They chose myth.<br /><br />Sam: They chose wrong."<br /><br />Connexum Sumus Unum. E Veritate Potens.<br /><br />Regards,<br />M<br /><br />P.S. The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom.<br />-- Sun Tzu <br />Mhttp://www.diogenesticker.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180769075610486242.post-4531893288290367312013-01-31T16:08:26.751-05:002013-01-31T16:08:26.751-05:00My guess is that may be part of it. I would expect...My guess is that may be part of it. I would expect this response especially from someone who suffered, but then made it through, and expects to be rewarded for their suffering as well as to see other people suffer. (My committee was great, too, except for one guy. But, you know, there's almost always the one guy.)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04284995441818864226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180769075610486242.post-62033896678612231172013-01-31T16:05:14.552-05:002013-01-31T16:05:14.552-05:00I have to wonder, though, how many of those negati...I have to wonder, though, how many of those negative comments are coming from people for whom grad school and academe wasn't a healthy environment. It's the old, "well I suffered, and so does everyone else" attitude. (Thankfully my chair and committee were pretty cool.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180769075610486242.post-80468290194710082702013-01-31T15:59:04.239-05:002013-01-31T15:59:04.239-05:00Also, I had meant to add, I'm glad that I don&...Also, I had meant to add, I'm glad that I don't work in a field where our primary commodity is executing chefs!<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04284995441818864226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180769075610486242.post-32559896579983512952013-01-31T15:53:38.462-05:002013-01-31T15:53:38.462-05:00In the Chronicle comment thread, there were someth...<i>In the Chronicle comment thread, there were something like ten positive comments for every negative one, so it was actually quite nice reading through them.</i><br /><br />Well that's good, then. Guess it only takes one rotten apple, as it were.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180769075610486242.post-23229920310167745482013-01-31T15:52:08.124-05:002013-01-31T15:52:08.124-05:00As I said, most of the responses I've seen hav...As I said, most of the responses I've seen have been positive, but there is one big negative response that we're all going to have to be ready for. These three comments represent different aspect of it, but the basic message is this: <br /><br />"I'm someone who has succeeded following the standard path. Therefore, I believe that the standard mechanisms are flawless arbiters of quality."<br /><br />It is fundamentally about reification of the credentialing role of the University by people who benefit from that reification. It's annoying, probably inevitable, and something that needs to be tackled/diffused if we are going to transform the perception of independent scholarship.<br /><br />Jen, In the Chronicle comment thread, there were something like ten positive comments for every negative one, so it was actually quite nice reading through them.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04284995441818864226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180769075610486242.post-36864501650803328952013-01-31T15:45:04.078-05:002013-01-31T15:45:04.078-05:00The composer Jen from the Ronin Institute, here. ...The composer Jen from the Ronin Institute, here. Maybe it's a good thing I don't have a subscription to the Chronicle.<br /><br />IMO, just because I don't have a tenure review board doesn't mean I'm not responsible to my fellows (even if they aren't in my field.) It also means that I've got to do more to communicate my work, since I'm not preaching to the choir, as it were. I kind of resent Shanna's implication that we're all a bunch of failed academics. (And the whole discussion of disappearing tenure jobs is something all academics should be very concerned about, but that's another discussion for another time.)<br /><br />I'm guessing Docbot doesn't live in Massachusetts. My insurance is taken care of, thank you very much.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180769075610486242.post-75391513773607981032013-01-31T15:43:59.075-05:002013-01-31T15:43:59.075-05:00Attention Shanna123, Docbot, and wassall: And who,...Attention Shanna123, Docbot, and wassall: And who, exactly, are you? What have you contributed to human knowledge? How many times have your publications been cited? (If you're wondering about mine, Google Scholar me.) I'll consider taking your opinions seriously when you stop cowering behind pseudonyms and if your accomplishments merit it.Ralph Haygoodhttp://ralphhaygood.org/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180769075610486242.post-74681912751765863892013-01-31T15:36:19.526-05:002013-01-31T15:36:19.526-05:00"Keep in mind that many academics have forty ... "Keep in mind that many academics have forty hours a week of teaching and administration, and they basically do their research in their own spare time." True except for the '40 hours a week' part... If the independent scholar spends only 40 hours on tasks other than research, I'd say they have a substantial leg-up over the typical academic. Cirwinsmithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09924883487399205931noreply@blogger.com