May 23, 2005

More Noted Things ...

by Cliopatria

Freakonomics: Crooked Timber is holding a seminar on Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner.

Intellectual Diversity: Our colleague, KC Johnson, has a piece over at Inside Higher Ed,"Disposition for Bias," that is drawing some discussion there and at Roger L. Simon.

Interviews: Some people keep a sense of humor, even under pressures of the job market and a telephone interview. Another Damned Medievalist isn't sure that"I give good phone." Wolfangel suggests that she try not to giggle if she's naked during the telephone interview.

Tenure -- Con and Pro: Victor Davis Hanson,"Reconsidering Tenure," Private Papers, 16 May; and Thomas C. Reeves,"Why Conservatives Should Support Tenure," HNN, 23 May. Brother Reeves still hasn't learned to do links and even Victor Davis Hanson understands the interactive capacity of the net better than Reeves, but if you just want to see two old warhorses going at it as if no one else mattered, this is a debate for you.

More Comments:

Jonathan Dresner - 5/24/2005

... than Hanson, but as far as I'm concerned they both missed the mark terribly. Perhaps it's the "two old warhorses" nature of the debate. Speaking of which, I added the Hanson link to Reeves' article, in my capacity as HNN Assistant Editor, as a service to our readers.

Anyway, Reeves is right about Hanson's arguments, but his own arguments in defense of tenure are pretty creaky. A little nuance, guys?

Sherman Jay Dorn - 5/24/2005

I've written elsewhere that KC is incorrect in generalizing and in blaming NCATE rather than the judgments of faculty at specific institutions (including Brooklyn College). Contrary to what some may claim, NCATE is neither a corporate lackey or an organization that mandates thought police.