Thank you to everyone who voted on resolution 2014-1. As you will have heard, the resolution got 60% of the votes in its favor but did not pass because it did not reach the minimum of 10% of the membership required (by a recent rule). This still counts as a major victory. I attach an op-ed by David Lloyd:
Academics Vote for Freedom of Movement…[Read more]

Prove participatory citizenship is still alive! Vote on the MLA resolution! Last 8 hours!

Please forgive me for being exceedingly tedious on the subject of the vote, which ends at midnight tonight. The bar of 10% of the membership that resolutions have to pass is a relatively new one, and arguably not a good one, given the general indifference (which those who proposed it probably were counting on). But it is still possible to prove…[Read more]

a bit more than 24 hours left to vote on the MLA resolution!

I apologize for possibly repeating myself. I’m writing to encourage people to vote on the Israel resolution (right of entry for Americans of Palestinian and Arab descent). I co-sponsored it, so obviously I believe it’s a good and fair and appropriate thing, but I think you will agree if you take a moment to look it over. Voting ends at midnight…[Read more]

Please forgive this graceless appeal. The Israel resolution (Right to Enter) that I co-sponsored with Dick Ohmann is now being voted on. I think it’s a moderate and necessary gesture of support for our Palestinian and Arab colleagues who, though US citizens, have been denied entry to the West Bank to teach, do research, lecture, or attend…[Read more]

A 14 May post on The Trend reviews historical trends in time to degree for PhDs in the humanities compared with other disciplines, 1960 to 2012.

A 27 September post on The Trend comments on the NBER working paper, “Are Tenure Track Professors Better Teachers?”