Category Archives: Academia

Environmental Studies Capstone: An Early Sketch

Posted on July 28, 2011 by Timothy Burke

Next spring, I’m going to be the faculty coordinator for the Environmental Studies capstone course for seniors completing a minor in the program. The field as a whole is not an area where I’m deeply knowledgeable or do a great … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Swarthmore | 5 Comments

Pictures From an Institution 5 (Training)

Posted on July 12, 2011 by Timothy Burke

Another thing that happens in the summer in most colleges and universities is training with new technologies, pedagogies and subjects. Some faculty and staff go elsewhere for one or two week programs, and some programs happen at home. Today I’m … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Digital Humanities, Pictures from an Institution, Swarthmore | Comments Off

Paul Grobstein

Posted on July 7, 2011 by Timothy Burke

I was devastated to find out that while I was away, Paul Grobstein, a biologist at Bryn Mawr College whom I’ve come to treasure as a colleague, had died on June 28th. Paul’s online footprint is extensive, particularly at the … Continue reading →

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Pictures from an Institution 4 (Alumni)

Posted on June 15, 2011 by Timothy Burke

Meeting with alumni doesn’t feel like work: sometimes it’s about seeing old friends, sometimes it’s more like meeting distant relatives that you’ve never seen before but with whom you share all sorts of surprising and subtle connections. Alumni who were … Continue reading →

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Pictures from an Institution 2 (Grading)

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Timothy Burke

Grading, finishing today after having eaten up most of Memorial Day. Just as well, I wasn’t about to try serious gardening in the heat. I’ve been slowly shifting over to paperless grading. I have enough of an attachment to marking … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Pictures from an Institution, Swarthmore | 2 Comments

Pictures from an Institution 1 (Graduation)

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Timothy Burke

I’m going to do an academic’s year in pictures from now until next May. Not every day, but as many as I can do. Seems a better way to communicate about what goes into faculty life. So let’s start at … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Pictures from an Institution, Swarthmore | 3 Comments

When We Think We Lead We Are Most Led

Posted on May 27, 2011 by Timothy Burke

I’ve been trying to think through why I’m bothered by the idea of cultivating “leadership” among our students as a possible area of intensified institutional focus. Partly I think this is a theme that virtually all highly selective colleges and … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Swarthmore | 11 Comments

Generalist’s Work, Day 5

Posted on May 16, 2011 by Timothy Burke

My colleague Richard Eldridge has written intricately about “the persistence of romanticism”, and defended romanticism in literature and philosophy against some of the more common criticisms. In humanistic writing, I’m struck by the sometimes uncomfortable mixing of a romanticist vision … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Digital Humanities, Generalist's Work, Popular Culture | 2 Comments

A Generalist’s Work, Day 4

Posted on May 13, 2011 by Timothy Burke

The concept of fieldwork fascinates me and vexes me all at once. I didn’t really grasp how much fieldwork outside of formal archives is a significant part of the study of modern African history until I was several years into … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Books, Generalist's Work | 2 Comments

A Word for the Experts

Posted on May 11, 2011 by Timothy Burke

I frequently use this blog to talk about the limits and problems of academic expertise, so it’s about time that I give some attention to its continuing value and strength. The New York Times recently profiled David Barton, an amateur … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Politics | 2 Comments