Danny and Derek welcome to the program Erin Bartram, school programs coordinator at the Mark Twain House and co-founder of Contingent Magazine, for a discussion of the decline of the history profession and humanities programs in general. They discuss the effect of consistent loss of knowledge production on a given field, the American Historical Association’s (AHA) response to the state of the academic job market, organizing in academia, moving on to non-academic fields after leaving the academy, and more.
What's amusing is that sometimes "niche" areas suddenly become very on-trend, and search committees melt down b/c they're all trying to hire the same 1 person.
Erin was a great guest. I wish that the interview had been longer. Bring her more. Generally, bring more non-male guests to the pod, debuff the sausage fest.
this was a really great ep! as someone organizing among grad students in physics im worried that something similar could and is happening to all fields not directly applicable to industry
I keep returning to this. It is much like listening to the Hungarian Suicide Song over and over, LOL [bitter]. The other areas of inquiry that are also being jettisoned make it difficult to see this going anywhere other than a future guided by a handful of all knowing and most likely self-serving elites. The bat signal driving this mess appears to be originating from the U.S.
My impression is that this is not the case in Europe, especially Southeastern and Eastern Europe where a certain reverance for these areas remains with public universities still the dominant force in this part of the world.
Can't wait to listen to this, but I'm pretty sure I already know what's going to be said, sadly...
When I left "academia" a few years ago, I said that that History Dept. wouldn't be around in 20 years. A major one at a big state school. That was seen as an insane statement at the time. Who was right and who was dead fucking wrong?! Dear comfortable academic dick-weeds: just keep shoving your heads up your asses and continue on, as if that wasn't the case, and attack anyone who would think "crazy" thoughts like that. And DEFINITELY do not push for any reforms or changes to the status quo! It's totally going to work this time, even though (ironically), history proves otherwise.
Those people dug their own graves a long fucking time ago, and there is no reaching them. PNC fuck heads, fundamentally conservative and cowardly. So sad, but predictable. Don't side with people who have zero fight in them. Sadly, that's most academics today. The Humanities will be filled with inbred rich kid morons for the foreseeable future, and the limp-dick assholes who let that happen...let that happen. I know who did it and why. Fuck them and their "good intentions." They didn't "mean well," they are corrupt pieces of shit. And cowards. Awful people. How many of them are enthusiastically supporting literal nazis in Ukraine today? I saw the writing on the wall in 2016 and the insane encroachment of Trump Derangement Syndrome at my school. Literal hysteria. No reaching those people, they're gone and they're taking the ship with them. They will impede you if you try to help. Fuck them. Horrible people, no better than the trump dumbfucks they rail against 24/7. Literal nazi-supporters. Can't make this shit up.
‘What do you think the role of meritocracy as an ideology plays here?’
.... *loud spitting sound*
I love her! Fantastic episode
That was a great episode, but so depressing lol
What's amusing is that sometimes "niche" areas suddenly become very on-trend, and search committees melt down b/c they're all trying to hire the same 1 person.
Erin was a great guest. I wish that the interview had been longer. Bring her more. Generally, bring more non-male guests to the pod, debuff the sausage fest.
Feels like the history profession will somehow latch onto the new Cold War for a lifeline
this was a really great ep! as someone organizing among grad students in physics im worried that something similar could and is happening to all fields not directly applicable to industry
I keep returning to this. It is much like listening to the Hungarian Suicide Song over and over, LOL [bitter]. The other areas of inquiry that are also being jettisoned make it difficult to see this going anywhere other than a future guided by a handful of all knowing and most likely self-serving elites. The bat signal driving this mess appears to be originating from the U.S.
My impression is that this is not the case in Europe, especially Southeastern and Eastern Europe where a certain reverance for these areas remains with public universities still the dominant force in this part of the world.
Can't wait to listen to this, but I'm pretty sure I already know what's going to be said, sadly...
When I left "academia" a few years ago, I said that that History Dept. wouldn't be around in 20 years. A major one at a big state school. That was seen as an insane statement at the time. Who was right and who was dead fucking wrong?! Dear comfortable academic dick-weeds: just keep shoving your heads up your asses and continue on, as if that wasn't the case, and attack anyone who would think "crazy" thoughts like that. And DEFINITELY do not push for any reforms or changes to the status quo! It's totally going to work this time, even though (ironically), history proves otherwise.
Those people dug their own graves a long fucking time ago, and there is no reaching them. PNC fuck heads, fundamentally conservative and cowardly. So sad, but predictable. Don't side with people who have zero fight in them. Sadly, that's most academics today. The Humanities will be filled with inbred rich kid morons for the foreseeable future, and the limp-dick assholes who let that happen...let that happen. I know who did it and why. Fuck them and their "good intentions." They didn't "mean well," they are corrupt pieces of shit. And cowards. Awful people. How many of them are enthusiastically supporting literal nazis in Ukraine today? I saw the writing on the wall in 2016 and the insane encroachment of Trump Derangement Syndrome at my school. Literal hysteria. No reaching those people, they're gone and they're taking the ship with them. They will impede you if you try to help. Fuck them. Horrible people, no better than the trump dumbfucks they rail against 24/7. Literal nazi-supporters. Can't make this shit up.