10 things graduate students want

Over the past few months panelists for the SOI conference have been meeting and sharing plans for what they will present in their allotted time at the beginning of each session. The conference format is not the traditional paper-giving mode, but rather an open discussion with the audience following a series of provocations from invited [...]

A requiem for academic blogging

I’m about to post an update in preparation for next week’s SOI conference, but it seemed fitting to mention separately that an article I wrote some time ago about labour politics and academic blogging has just been published in Convergence. Well, fitting in the sense that last week I was in NYC at a conference [...]

Final stretch

It’s getting close… here is the official poster for next month’s State of the Industry conference (also available as a .pdf here). Thanks go to Clif for the design and imagery. We loved the idea of the fading glamour of the fun park and also the rollercoaster symbolising the highs and lows of the academic [...]

Women in research

A new report shows that women’s progress in science has stalled over the past 15 years. While this won’t sound like news to many, I was shocked to read the statistic on how many women are Federation Fellows (8.5%). When you add that to other recent news stories, particularly with regard to the ongoing pay [...]

In unity

**We urgently need billets for the State of the Industry conference. There has been an amazing response from young interstate scholars wanting to come, and we’ve funded airfares for everyone we could, but some people won’t attend if they can’t get accommodation. Please let me know if you can offer a bed or a couch.** [...]

Mid-semester break

I have a little break from teaching now and will be a) catching up on a few ongoing projects b) having a birthday holiday! Some of you would have heard the interview I did on Radio National yesterday about Facebook in the workplace, which drew on the material mentioned here a few weeks ago. Thanks [...]

Active campuses

It’s great to see two big campaigns hitting campuses at the moment. Today’s rally for international students is a great initiative that deserves serious attention. We hear a lot about the value of the international student market to the national economy, which is why Julia Gillard is overseas right now at her most eloquent. But [...]

Remembering Eve Sedgwick

This is something I’ve been working on for the past few weeks. Hope some of you might like to come! We are also looking in to the logistics of recording it – so it would be good to hear if people would find this useful. Remembering Eve Sedgwick: The beginnings, present and future of queer [...]

Overload

Think your job is bad? Read this. Overload reports on “the role of work-volume escalation and micro-management of academic work patterns in loss of morale and collegiality at UWS.” Apart from highlighting the inadequacies of workload formulae across every level of academic life, it’s also one of the best reports I’ve read showing the impact [...]

“Brand representatives” now

A message from the Vice Chancellor… Senate approves University brand recommendations Senate have considered the outcomes of our brand project and agreed to adopt the recommendation that our brand should position us within the community as an institution that lives out a life of the mind through active and energetic engagement. As a visual signal [...]

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