I never studied French at school. Some years later, in 2015, I came to regret this decision when I suddenly got a chance to move to France. The original stay was supposed to be 15 months. And then two years. Today, I find myself having lived on French soil for over seven years, barely being able to discuss anything in French beyond basic small talk and getting some official business done.
academic work
Why I have a problem with the “top” discourse
It’s usually once a day that I browse through Twitter or other social media sites and see the word “top” connected to academia somehow. Most of the time, this word drives me completely mad. I stopped to think for a moment why that is.
Falling in and out of love with academia: the story of my academic aspirations
What comes to your mind when you think about academia? Is it the excitement of working with knowledge and of contributing to the world? Or is it a job prospect filled with insecurities and competition? You may come up with different answers, depending on the country where you live in, your personal situation, and your academic aspiration. For me, the second scenario is on the top of my head.
What kind of “methodological lifestyle” do you want as a scholar?
A couple of years ago, a doctoral advisee was at the crossroads of what he could explore for his future dissertation. During the meeting, my brilliant Michigan State University colleague, Lynn Fendler […]
Demystifying the difference between “Drama Dressed up as Scholarship” versus “Deep, Essential Work” aimed at scholarship that matters
Many early-career scholars begin their dissertations with lofty ambitions of doing work that is significant, original, and widely appreciated. However, by the time many find themselves negotiating precarious transitions between dissertation […]
Academic careers in the UK: how it works
The expectation in the UK is that you will probably spend the bulk of your academic life doing both teaching and research. While this is probably true, how you get there, and what it looks like if/when you do, will vary. Some aspects of academic careers here look good […]
This is how we ended up in Porto – reflections on academic mobility
Academic mobility isn’t a new phenomenon in higher education – moving around has always been a part of being an academic. But the necessity of being mobile and flexible has increased: today, mobility is considered more of “a must” for all academics. […]
Academic work, digital infrastructures, and the rise of the “bibliometric self”
The use of data instruments in performance measurement is all the rage. It seems that the continuous improvement in technology and its increasing availability has fundamentally transformed the way we think of performance-based governance mechanisms. […]