Poser

There's an article on Inside Higher Ed that's getting a lot of folks riled up. Some assistant professor wrote "The Professor’s Ten Commandments, Thanks to Notorious B.I.G." It's his list of 10 things that (new) faculty should know before starting the new school year. The advice is pretty run of the mill, but the buzz surrounds his use of profanity and his attempt to apply rap lyrics to academic life.

Frankly, I disliked the article because the advice is horrible. Most of it is common knowledge (e.g., "protect your time"), so no points for insightfulness. The rest is just bad advice from someone who has a horribly jaded opinion of academia and therefore is not the best person to be giving such advice in this public forum. The "rules" tell you not to talk about your academic work to other academics, not to trust your colleagues, and not to "believe your own bullshit" (i.e., the stuff you teach in classes). Wow! And I thought I was cynical. This is a lame attempt at trying to be different and edgy by showing that you listen to rap (which is pretty mainstream these days) and that you are comfortable with profanity (hard to find someone who isn't). Two thumbs down for the article itself, although the comments are somewhat amusing.