I want to talk a bit about this excellent essay by @BelovedOfOizys (ancientalexandra.wixsite.com) which is focused on some of the problem of classics and archaeology public engagement but have broader application in history and other humanities as well. 1/
Alexandra's main focus is a big one for ancient history and archaeology especially: dealing with the bad pseudo-history that gets shoveled out to the public. The remedy is pretty clear: we need to actually engage with the public (respectfully!) if we're going to educate them.
2/
2/
But the last few weeks of disappointments have really brought home to me just how far we are from even beginning to do *any* of this.
Oh, we sometimes talk about training for alt-ac or public engagement - as some 'lesser' thing.'
But who the hell is doing that training? 3/
Oh, we sometimes talk about training for alt-ac or public engagement - as some 'lesser' thing.'
But who the hell is doing that training? 3/
Certainly not anyone who is actually good at it! Because achievements in outreach count for absolutely nothing in the hiring process.
Even in places with graduate programs singularly focused *on*public*history* do not hire for it. 4/
Even in places with graduate programs singularly focused *on*public*history* do not hire for it. 4/
Because we create departments full of academics hired 'for their research' and so regardless of what the department needs they hire 'for research' (which somehow often means hiring ABDs or fresh PhDs with minimal publication records, go figure)...5/
And so we wonder why disciplines are collapsing?
No one pays us to research! They pay us to teach in the classroom and educate to the public. The people who, in the last accounting, pay our salaries do not care about your research, except in as much as it does those 2 things. 6/
No one pays us to research! They pay us to teach in the classroom and educate to the public. The people who, in the last accounting, pay our salaries do not care about your research, except in as much as it does those 2 things. 6/
I've seen it suggested that we save the discipline by pushing for research funding of the sort the STEM fields have, and that just isn't a solution, especially as it is often presented in lieu of public engagement.
It's vain hope, masquerading as a plan. 7/
It's vain hope, masquerading as a plan. 7/
Because in the end the NEH or the NEA are reliant on Congress so you still have to convince either the ruling class or the voting class.
If you don't have a plan to reach one of those two groups persuasively (which probably means not insulting them) you don't have a plan. 8/
If you don't have a plan to reach one of those two groups persuasively (which probably means not insulting them) you don't have a plan. 8/
Now to be clear, I am not anti-research! I have an active research agenda, I wrote about how research is the foundation of this system (acoup.blog) but if you are not *telling*the*public*about*it* no one cares. 9/
Math programs get funded because while the work they do is theoretical they have strong arguments about how it translates into data science, coding, GPS, etc.
(If we're honest, a LOT of STEM funding is about war. The ruling class is very concerned with war and will fund it) 10/
(If we're honest, a LOT of STEM funding is about war. The ruling class is very concerned with war and will fund it) 10/
And we're just not doing that work in our fields and so our fields are dying. And we *know* we're not doing that work because if there was ONE program aggressively hiring for that, we'd all know, because you'd see all the engagement oriented adjuncts snapped up. 11/
Instead our programs teach new academics to hold the public in contempt - that's the message every time someone gets told not to 'waste time' on public work or teaching, because it won't get you hired (true! but bad!).
And when we do communicate, the contempt comes out. 12/
And when we do communicate, the contempt comes out. 12/
And from what I can tell the public hears our contempt loud and clear, which is why shuttering our departments is bipartisan: one party does it with zeal, the other with regret. The result is the same.
Fix the contempt, save the field. Fail at that, nothing else matters. /end
Fix the contempt, save the field. Fail at that, nothing else matters. /end
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