About Gardening: Publish or Perish

I think there are two types of writers, the architects and the gardeners. The architects plan everything ahead of time, like an architect building a house. They know how many rooms are going to be in the house, what kind of roof they're going to have, where the wires are going to run, what kind …

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Sexual Harassment In the Field: On Academic Assholes (Part II)

A few days ago, I talked about academic assholes and elaborated on supervisor assholes. Today, I want to talk about those saddening peer assholes. Everyone met them. Competitive, judging, arrogant, selfish, self-centered, self-involved (basically every word that begins with ‘self’), nonempathic. The list is endless. I started avoiding these people, but sometimes, you don’t have …

Stop Being Such Assholes

Before getting to my main argument, I want to highlight two things: The term ‘asshole,’ as I understand it, is gender-neutral. To make sure it is, I googled it and found this convincing post by redw6452. FYI: it’s quite difficult to google ‘asshole for women.’ Most hits explain how to be a perfect asshole to …

A Love Letter To My Students

My dear students, I'm in love with you. I enjoy teaching you. Every week, I'm looking forward to discussing with you again. In my classroom, you seem to be engaged. We always have lively discussions. I often have to cut you short, because we have reached the end of our period. As in every classroom, …

And the Good News Is …

Money, money, moneyMust be funnyIn the rich man’s worldMoney, money, moneyAlways sunnyIn the rich man’s worldAha ahaAll the things I could doIf I had a little moneyIt's a rich man’s worldIt's a rich man’s worldABBA (1976) In 1976, ABBA nailed it. Money makes life so much easier. I’m okay with not being part of ‘the …

A Future In Coffee?

A few weeks ago, when I panicked about health insurance, sick leave, and paid leave (what a dream!), I applied for a job as barista. With very mixed feelings. Did I do my PhD, investing so much time, money, and (mental) health, to become a barista? I started thinking. What if they want me? And, …

The Precariat

The Precariat. I did not know we have a term for this socioeconomic state. But apparently, we have had a name for it for quite a while—since the 1980s, according to Macmillan. A combination of ‘precarious’ and ‘proletariat,’ the precariat originally described temporary workers without a social safety net or employment protection. Since 2011, the …

Youthful Enthusiasm vs. Reality Sets In

I started thinking about my (academic) future during my last one or two years of high school. Or, rather: I started seriously thinking about it, after I realized that 'I can not do anything I set my mind to.' I got a list with possible degree courses from my chosen university (by post! printed on …