untenured and untethered (comment)

Margaret DeLacy Discussion

Friends:

Below are two contrasting takes on the experiences of scholars who find themselves working outside academe.  On losing her position, Erin Bartram evidently decided to abandon academic research. On the other hand, Michael Wing argues that it can be very rewarding to hold a position outside academe and continue to carry out scholarly research.  Links to both and excerpts are below.

"Last week Erin Bartram was a little-known visiting assistant professor of history at the University of Hartford. On Sunday night, she published an essay on her personal blog about why, after yet another year of coming up short on the tenure-track job market, she was leaving academe.

The piece, "The Sublimated Grief of the Left Behind" (a not-so-uncommon example of what’s known in higher education as quit lit), has become a sensation. Bartram framed her discussion around the emotions involved — specifically, grief. "I didn’t feel I had the right to grieve," she wrote. And faculty members, she said, often don’t think deeply about the departure of countless Ph.D.s each year."

"She Wrote a Farewell Letter to Colleagues. Then 80,000 People Read It"  (interview) By Sarah Brown for the Chronicle of Higher Education February 15, 2018

 

https://www.chronicle.com/article/She-Wrote-a-Farewell-Letter-to/242564/

in her latest post, Bartram responds to many comments about her decision, explaining why many of the facile assumptions about the possiblity of transferring her skills to another occupation are beside the point:

http://erinbartram.com/uncategorized/sublimated-grief-responses-and-faqs/

 

On the other side of this discussion, Michael Wing posted a column earlier this year in the Chronicle entitled  "A Scholar But Not a Professor." 

"I earned my Ph.D. in earth sciences, and left academic life 20 years ago. As a high-school teacher, I have tenure, I earn a secure six-figure income, and I’ve published as many peer-reviewed papers and books as some professors, and more than others. I don’t share all of that to brag, but rather, to persuade the many Ph.D.s stuck in low-paying adjunct jobs that they can pursue their intellectual interests outside of academe without sacrificing their dignity or their family’s finances.I’ve done fieldwork on five continents with outside organizations paying my way. I’ve won grants from corporations and the National Geographic Society, and collaborated with organizations like NASA, the University of California system, and the National Park Service. I’ve done projects involving marine biology (elephant seals), archaeology, and the microbiology of extreme environments like deserts, mountaintops, and the Arctic.It took time for me to discover the opportunities that were hiding in plain sight. Along the way I’ve met other independent scholars who use ordinary resources to do extraordinary things:"

https://www.chronicle.com/article/A-Scholar-but-Not-a-Professor/242214?cid=rclink