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*thread* While helpful in some ways, this piece by @IvyLeagueLady is discomfiting in others, particularly with regard to public-facing writing. In my experience this kind of work has myriad knock-on effects for an academic career:
— it builds your reputation;
#AcademicTwitter
— it builds your reputation;
#AcademicTwitter
— it gets you speaking to an audience larger than, quite frankly, 99% of “academic” publications ever will;
— it can help you synthesize complex ideas that can then be worked up into larger peer-reviewed pieces;
— it builds community, especially when you co-write;
— it can help you synthesize complex ideas that can then be worked up into larger peer-reviewed pieces;
— it builds community, especially when you co-write;
— it gets you speaking, contribution & interview invites;
— it gives young anxious academics a feeling of accomplishment due to relatively quick turn-around times;
— it counts as “knwoledge mobilization,” “community engagement” and “research impact” on an academic CV;
— it gives young anxious academics a feeling of accomplishment due to relatively quick turn-around times;
— it counts as “knwoledge mobilization,” “community engagement” and “research impact” on an academic CV;
— where applicable, it gets you in to the policy world, contributing in real time to pressing discussions by government and others;
— perhaps most importantly, it teaches you how to translate that famously impenetrable academic jargon into ordinary language. A rare skill indeed!
— perhaps most importantly, it teaches you how to translate that famously impenetrable academic jargon into ordinary language. A rare skill indeed!
Actually, maybe even more importantly: if you work at a publicly-funded university, you should likely consider yourself under a special (fiduciary?) responsibility to civil society & your political community to share your work & create important conversations.
Professors, esp those at public schools, don’t work only for themselves; they work for the public in its interest. Cultivating your “public voice,” ie one that can be heard by members of the public, should be encouraged from the earliest stages of an academic career
... not only once one is in the perceived safety of tenure. In this regard, I very much respect the work of @ConversationCA @ConversationEDU @aeonmag & others that publish academics’ writing under the @creativecommons.
Finally, in an era where the university is under ideological & economic threat, and while it may feel uncomfortable, demonstrating the worth of our work outside rarified academic circles is critical to our survival. *fin*
