Last week I was asked by someone relatively new to the academic game how they could start publishing. This being 2021, I rapidly realised that I should ask Twitter before answering. I wasn't sure how far my own experience, back in the 1980s, was typical in Arts and Humanities subjects, let alone how it would… Continue reading The first time: how to publish in academia
Category: PhDs
The glamour of the academic life
Recently, on Twitter, there was a very entertaining account of a nightmare experience of giving a paper by Duncan Wilson, a historian at the University of Manchester. Just remembering the time I gave a talk in a uk university, 3 people turned up and 1 fell asleep after 10 min. They then told me there… Continue reading The glamour of the academic life
Going to dinner with the speaker
Academia can be hideous and cut-throat, but it can also be social and fun.
Retirement/retiring, 18 months in… an update
day in a library no longer feels wicked, like it's been stolen from teaching activities. OK, it never should have felt like that, since research was allegedly part of the job, but ...
Why I’m not changing my Twitter ID to include ‘Dr’
In the last 36 hours or so, lots of women I know who use Twitter (and lots of women I only know through Twitter) have added 'Dr' to their twitter handle (their Twitter ID) to make it clear that they have a PhD in some subject; thus, that they are experts. If you’re not on… Continue reading Why I’m not changing my Twitter ID to include ‘Dr’
The Saturday job and the day job
So apparently all young people still at school should be taking on a Saturday job, according to the Works and Pensions Secretary, Esther McVey, who has reported a fall in the number of those taking such jobs. She said it's about learning timekeeping, putting down your phone and also "people understanding what a boss wants and… Continue reading The Saturday job and the day job
Retirement, four months in: it’s all a blur
I think it's time for another stock-taking blog post. This retirement thing is complicated, and I know I have followers who are thinking of taking the same path and want to know what it looks like, although their paths may turn out to be quite different. So, four months of retirement: what has happened so… Continue reading Retirement, four months in: it’s all a blur
Publishing the book
'There are two sorts of failures,' one said with authority, 'those who never publish their PhD and those who publish it with xxxxxxxxx'. .
Ten days of retirement
Naked Minotaur, ancient and modern science, and a MOOC - and no REF in sight!
Approaching the exit door
So, I'm entering the final stages of the official side of the process. My P45 has arrived (for non-UK readers, that's the form which ends an employment and states the tax paid in it, so that if you were moving to a new job they could see your tax status) and tomorrow I have my… Continue reading Approaching the exit door
The retiring academic 