Comments on: Young people http://homecookedtheory.com/archives/2005/08/26/268/ quasi-academic musings of a brisbane research fella Sat, 06 Sep 2008 00:35:18 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.2 by: home cooked theory » Blog Archive » Issues http://homecookedtheory.com/archives/2005/08/26/268/#comment-38519 Thu, 27 Apr 2006 23:04:32 +0000 http://homecookedtheory.com/archives/2005/08/26/268/#comment-38519 [...] Just wrote an email to the CSAA-forum asking for input for a panel I’m speaking on at the Crossroads conference (this is in addition to the workplace culture panel I’m doing with Kate). The idea is for ACS board members from different regions to talk about industrial issues in their part of the world so that we get a sense of the institutional status of cultural studies in different regional formations. As the youngest board member I’ve also offered to speak about some of the particular circumstances faced by a younger generation of cultural studies researchers, for instance, issues raised in these blog posts and exchanges. Maybe I could smuggle Glen into my suitcase! [...] […] Just wrote an email to the CSAA-forum asking for input for a panel I’m speaking on at the Crossroads conference (this is in addition to the workplace culture panel I’m doing with Kate). The idea is for ACS board members from different regions to talk about industrial issues in their part of the world so that we get a sense of the institutional status of cultural studies in different regional formations. As the youngest board member I’ve also offered to speak about some of the particular circumstances faced by a younger generation of cultural studies researchers, for instance, issues raised in these blog posts and exchanges. Maybe I could smuggle Glen into my suitcase! […]

]]> by: Mark Bahnisch http://homecookedtheory.com/archives/2005/08/26/268/#comment-8084 Mon, 29 Aug 2005 04:00:06 +0000 http://homecookedtheory.com/archives/2005/08/26/268/#comment-8084 Yep me too, Laura, this semester will more than likely be my swansong. Yep me too, Laura, this semester will more than likely be my swansong.

]]> by: Laura http://homecookedtheory.com/archives/2005/08/26/268/#comment-8071 Mon, 29 Aug 2005 01:09:20 +0000 http://homecookedtheory.com/archives/2005/08/26/268/#comment-8071 I'm there, Mark, I'm there. I’m there, Mark, I’m there.

]]> by: Mark Bahnisch http://homecookedtheory.com/archives/2005/08/26/268/#comment-8007 Sun, 28 Aug 2005 08:08:13 +0000 http://homecookedtheory.com/archives/2005/08/26/268/#comment-8007 True, Mel, it varies from place to place and from discipline to discipline. <blockquote>none of this does much to scratch the surface of bigger questions like what happens when the boomers retire, and there aren’t many people invested enough or trained in the skills required for contemporary university work to take their place…</blockquote> Again, some universities/departments are addressing this proactively, and others aren't. It certainly does represent a structural issue, though, and it's quite right to point out that the shift to casualised/contractual positions which can only be encouraged by the Federal government's IR stuff is giving younger or newer academics a radically different experience. I'd be very surprised if most haven't come to a point at one time or another after a few years of sessional and contract work when we wonder whether it's all worth it. True, Mel, it varies from place to place and from discipline to discipline.

none of this does much to scratch the surface of bigger questions like what happens when the boomers retire, and there aren’t many people invested enough or trained in the skills required for contemporary university work to take their place…

Again, some universities/departments are addressing this proactively, and others aren’t. It certainly does represent a structural issue, though, and it’s quite right to point out that the shift to casualised/contractual positions which can only be encouraged by the Federal government’s IR stuff is giving younger or newer academics a radically different experience. I’d be very surprised if most haven’t come to a point at one time or another after a few years of sessional and contract work when we wonder whether it’s all worth it.

]]> by: melgregg http://homecookedtheory.com/archives/2005/08/26/268/#comment-7993 Sun, 28 Aug 2005 06:23:58 +0000 http://homecookedtheory.com/archives/2005/08/26/268/#comment-7993 Actually, while I'm feeling a bit nostalgic for the hopes I had for the CSAA-forum, if you haven't read <a href="http://lists.cdu.edu.au/pipermail/csaa-forum/Week-of-Mon-20040809/000167.html" rel="nofollow">this</a> before it's quite relevant, and written by someone who is now a colleague of mine. The whole thread is worth a read if you're a junior academic. Actually, while I’m feeling a bit nostalgic for the hopes I had for the CSAA-forum, if you haven’t read this before it’s quite relevant, and written by someone who is now a colleague of mine. The whole thread is worth a read if you’re a junior academic.

]]> by: melgregg http://homecookedtheory.com/archives/2005/08/26/268/#comment-7990 Sun, 28 Aug 2005 05:49:24 +0000 http://homecookedtheory.com/archives/2005/08/26/268/#comment-7990 Well, to me it is unusual, but all of us can only speak from experience, ie. at Sydney Uni and at the University of Tasmania the departments I studied in were weighted fairly equally if we are now talking about the under/over 40 divide. In Sydney I felt I had peers because of this; in Hobart I felt I had role models. It's why I didn't question my trajectory before this point - I'd seen lots of examples of it around me. But I think this is to do with other factors as well. A campus like Hobart attracts people from bigger cities who are seeking their first job and a good chance to climb the ranks, whereas in Sydney the relative newness of the disciplinary area I studied in may have been a bigger factor. In Brisbane, QUT doesn't appear to have the same scenario Mark describes at UQ, and times have changed so that tenured positions just aren't being replaced. We're witnessing a difficult moment while the senior staff continue to enjoy a privilege that is increasingly rare while dealing with <a href="http://lists.cdu.edu.au/pipermail/csaa-forum/Week-of-Mon-20050822/000939.html" rel="nofollow">new models of hiring and contract work</a>. Anyway, none of this does much to scratch the surface of bigger questions like what happens when the boomers retire, and there aren't many people invested enough or trained in the skills required for contemporary university work to take their place... Well, to me it is unusual, but all of us can only speak from experience, ie. at Sydney Uni and at the University of Tasmania the departments I studied in were weighted fairly equally if we are now talking about the under/over 40 divide. In Sydney I felt I had peers because of this; in Hobart I felt I had role models. It’s why I didn’t question my trajectory before this point - I’d seen lots of examples of it around me. But I think this is to do with other factors as well. A campus like Hobart attracts people from bigger cities who are seeking their first job and a good chance to climb the ranks, whereas in Sydney the relative newness of the disciplinary area I studied in may have been a bigger factor. In Brisbane, QUT doesn’t appear to have the same scenario Mark describes at UQ, and times have changed so that tenured positions just aren’t being replaced. We’re witnessing a difficult moment while the senior staff continue to enjoy a privilege that is increasingly rare while dealing with new models of hiring and contract work. Anyway, none of this does much to scratch the surface of bigger questions like what happens when the boomers retire, and there aren’t many people invested enough or trained in the skills required for contemporary university work to take their place…

]]> by: Mark Bahnisch http://homecookedtheory.com/archives/2005/08/26/268/#comment-7977 Sun, 28 Aug 2005 03:02:22 +0000 http://homecookedtheory.com/archives/2005/08/26/268/#comment-7977 It's not that unusual - when I worked in the School of Social Science at UQ in 2002, there were two full time staff members under 40 (aside from one PostDoc under 30). And more staff members in their 60s than 40s. It’s not that unusual - when I worked in the School of Social Science at UQ in 2002, there were two full time staff members under 40 (aside from one PostDoc under 30). And more staff members in their 60s than 40s.

]]> by: melgregg http://homecookedtheory.com/archives/2005/08/26/268/#comment-7824 Fri, 26 Aug 2005 04:08:54 +0000 http://homecookedtheory.com/archives/2005/08/26/268/#comment-7824 I'm quite shocked by this Laura. And I don't just mean that there are two lectures on Trainspotting! Maybe I was on to something with the capitalising after all... I’m quite shocked by this Laura. And I don’t just mean that there are two lectures on Trainspotting! Maybe I was on to something with the capitalising after all…

]]> by: Laura http://homecookedtheory.com/archives/2005/08/26/268/#comment-7805 Fri, 26 Aug 2005 02:20:17 +0000 http://homecookedtheory.com/archives/2005/08/26/268/#comment-7805 I'm 32; there is one tenured staff member in my dept. under 40. Across the faculty, out of 157 tenured staff, there are only nine under 40. (!!! !!!) But the two people I'm working with on a first year intro to Eng Lit course are both older than my parents. I think this is why they asked me to do the 2 lectures on Trainspotting, though I fricking hate that book, with a bullet, oh my gosh yes. I’m 32; there is one tenured staff member in my dept. under 40. Across the faculty, out of 157 tenured staff, there are only nine under 40.

(!!! !!!)

But the two people I’m working with on a first year intro to Eng Lit course are both older than my parents. I think this is why they asked me to do the 2 lectures on Trainspotting, though I fricking hate that book, with a bullet, oh my gosh yes.

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