Category Archives: things that should stop

In which the Met tells poor people to suck it

Lest there be any doubt about the class loyalties of the Met: As the burden of service and taxation fell increasingly on the humiliates, they sought relief either by fleeing from the land or by finding solace in the promise … Continue reading

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Why we need to think about PhDs & the job pseudo-market

This article about Fort Hays State University’s decision to outsource gen ed courses is frustrating an harbinger of doom.  According to the reporter, “the school will accept credits from a private company that runs introductory courses in subjects such as … Continue reading

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Land of the Lost: in which I suffer for the sake of knowledge

This weekend at GeekDad I have a “10 things parents should know” post up about Land of the Lost, which was almost no fun at all.  That said, there’s always a silver lining: 10.  Well, is there at least a … Continue reading

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Learning from our public schools: What matters in evaluations

So, this weekend we received a document with two forms: the teacher of the year nomination and a parent survey, largely about satisfaction with the school.  We’re pretty happy with the school, and very happy with the teacher, so no … Continue reading

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Even art critics need fact checkers; or, how ahead of his time *was* Darwin?

In this morning’s Times, at least in the CT editions, Benjamin Genocchio reviews Endless Forms: Darwin, Natural Science, and the Visual Arts, an exciting show at the Yale Center for British Art.  By way of setting the exhibit up, however, … Continue reading

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Modernists think they’re so great

The 2nd-most irritating thing* about being a Victorianist is having to deal with our modernist colleagues who appear to believe that modernist claims about Victorian culture were simply true, and not at all artifacts of generational conflict or artistic brand-building.   … Continue reading

Posted in Dickens, fictional autobiography, teaching, things that should stop, Victorian literature | 11 Comments

Yet another reason not to like RateMyProfessors.com

Today I found out that my parents check up on A’s and my teaching by reading RateMyProfessors.com regularly. Awesome.

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Robert Zemeckis hates Christmas: or, Leave Dickens alone!

This is probably what Hopkins meant when he wrote “no worst, there is none.” From the BBC: Bad: Actor Jim Carrey is to play Ebenezer Scrooge and the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future Worse: a Walt Disney remake … Continue reading

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