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Thursday, September 15, 2005
Playing the Game
Last week "Ivan Tribble" wrote another column at the Chronicle of Higher Education where he expounds on his first article that got many academic bloggers fired up. Quickly: the first article condemned blogging as at best a risky activity if one hopes to find a decent tenure-track position. He explained why making your thoughts and opinions available in such an easily accessible and universal medium as the internet is too much of a risk for potential job applicants and a liability for potential employers. One reason alluded to by Tribble is the compulsiveness of blogging: one can rant and rave in the heat of the moment and publish the results at the push of a button. Even if one decided to subsequently delete such a blog entry, search engines and archiving websites have already snagged a copy that can show up in internet searches down the road (for example if a hiring committee chooses to “Google” a job applicant).
Tribble clarifies himself in his second article but stops short of reversing himself. His overall tone was reduced from a condescending critique of academic bloggers to a friendly warning against publishing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like. He obviously heard the uproar created by his first column and responded accordingly and I find little to disagree with in his second piece, even thought I have the feeling he still views academic bloggers as dangerous to the institution of academia.
When I started Nomadic Thoughts a few months ago I did so with the full knowledge that anything I write could potentially be read by anyone in the world, including my graduate professors and colleagues. The very people that would be awarding me a master’s degree could very easily stumble upon this website by doing a Google search of “anthropology blogs” and browsing through a few links. Obviously that didn’t stop me because my motivations for becoming an anthropology blogger were such that I wouldn’t have to worry about what I published. Nomadic Thoughts isn’t a political blog so I really don’t have to worry about my political views coming back to haunt me if and when I decide to pursue a career in academia. Some of my posts are indeed prompted by my political views about a subject but only when they have something to do with anthropology, culture, or society.
Academic bloggers do indeed have to use a certain degree of discretion and self-censorship when publishing to the internet and not only because it could have a negative impact on one’s career. Most academic bloggers I read have tenured positions at universities so they do not necessarily have to watch what they say. Even so the likelihood of a controversial blog post getting them in trouble with the administration is slim unless the controversy crosses over into other media, such as the student newspaper or the local news. As someone who is contemplating a career in academic realm I am cognizant of the possibility of my blog posts now affecting my evaluation as long as ten years from now. That does not stop me from posting what I feel are valid opinions, political or otherwise.
Posted by Will at September 15, 2005 03:13 PM in Academia