Academic English Craziness

Yesterday Brian Leiter pointed to "Critical Mass," a blog written by Erin O'Connor, who is apparently a tenured English professor at the University of Pennsylvania. I don't have time to say all I'd like to about O'Connor's blog, but suffice to say it's a very scary thing. And then there's the Erin O'Connor Watch, which I've got to think will only make things worse.

If you're currently in English academia, you might recognize what's going on here from your own experience or from things you've seen or heard about. The bottom line is that making a profession of English at the university level requires very different types of thinking than most people will have experienced elsewhere. That thinking is not necessarily "liberal" or "conservative," it's critical. If you're unwilling to engage in critical thinking, you're likely to be shunned. O'Connor obviously exhibits an ability to think critically; some of the letters she posts from former grad students and undergrads—not so much critical thinking.

I think all academics should have blogs; if "Critical Mass" was but one among many, readers could easily evaluate its claims about academia. As it is, "Critical Mass" is like a squeaky wheel, and academics might want to take care that it doesn't get the grease.

Posted October 7, 2003 05:18 AM | life generally