Category Archives: Academia

A New Year

Posted on January 16, 2018 by Timothy Burke

This is not the first time I’ve gone quiet on this blog simply because I was busy. Fall 2017 was in many ways the busiest semester I’ve ever had at Swarthmore: I taught two courses, I chaired my department, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Blogging, Politics, Swarthmore | 12 Comments

On Harvard and Admission

Posted on September 14, 2017 by Timothy Burke

Longer comment tomorrow, if I have time; and maybe also on the debate over the essay “The Case of Colonialism”. But in the interim, a quick thought on Harvard not admitting a promising student. ————————- Considering that Harvard is in … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia | 1 Comment

On Confederate Counterfactuals

Posted on July 24, 2017 by Timothy Burke

For some years, I’ve taught a course on counterfactual history. Unlike many scholarly historians, I find counterfactual history useful for a variety of reasons. For one, I accept the argument that a number of its proponents have made that all … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Production of History | 25 Comments

A Matter of Perspective

Posted on July 11, 2017 by Timothy Burke

If you were going to strip away the layered sociocultural histories that surround opinions like “colleges are bad for America” or “bring back coal jobs”, you would have some baseline economic truth that you’d think would reorder those opinions. a) … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Politics | 5 Comments

Helpful Hints for Skeptics

Posted on May 21, 2017 by Timothy Burke

I suppose I knew in some way that there were people whose primary self-identification was “skeptic”, and even that there were people who saw themselves as part of the “skeptic community”. But it’s been interesting to encounter the kinds of … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Generalist's Work, Oath for Experts | 5 Comments

Some Work Is Hard

Posted on May 20, 2017 by Timothy Burke

Dear friends, have you ever felt after reading an academic article that annoyed you, hearing a scholarly talk that seemed like nonsense to you, enduring a grant proposal that seemed like a waste of money to you, that you’d like … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Oath for Experts | 26 Comments

We Have Been Here Before

Posted on April 25, 2017 by Timothy Burke

“Controversial speakers on campus” is one of those stories that generates a kind of perpetual discovery of just-now-imminent threat. That sort of discourse tends to drive historians nuts, because we look back and see that people have been saying something … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Politics | 5 Comments

Home to Roost

Posted on April 17, 2017 by Timothy Burke

Formal argument in the classic style has real limits. Sometimes when we try to rule some sentiment or response in an argument or dialogue as “out of bounds” by classing it as a logical fallacy or as some other form … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Generalist's Work, Oh Not Again He's Going to Tell Us It's a Complex System, Politics | 12 Comments

Slow Poisons

Posted on April 12, 2017 by Timothy Burke

A prologue first to what I’m going to say about “academic bullying”. Considering that the word is used so broadly to discuss a wide range of procedures, practices, attitudes, and ideological positions, maybe we need a better term than “neoliberalism”. … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Swarthmore | 13 Comments

Style and Substance

Posted on March 2, 2017 by Timothy Burke

One of the complicated underterrains of struggle within the contemporary academy involves the use of language and representation. Many scholars in all disciplines have a sophisticated and subtle understanding of how we speak in our disciplines and across our disciplines, … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Politics | 5 Comments