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Articles by Irina Dumitrescu
With working hours full of interruptions, early mornings offer the best chance to pursue labours of love. But how to get going ¨C especially if you are not a morning person? Three scholars debate the virtues of online versus in-person meetings, companionship versus solitude, and coffee versus pipe tobacco
From satirical novels to US sitcoms and cop shows, academics have proved to be rich source material across many genres. Four writers argue the case for who can claim to be fiction¡¯s greatest scholar
Academia is often depicted as a calling, but for those who heed it, the joy of doing something they love is often crushed by heavy teaching and admin loads and an unceasing pressure to make a ¡®success¡¯ of their research. Here, six scholars reflect on how they make music out of the daily grind
As precarity affects ever more academics for ever longer, many have come to see a permanent position as the gateway to professional happiness. But does it always work out that way? Or do the responsibilities and trade-offs of seniority outweigh the joys of security and salary? Seven academics have their say
All academics have had that anxiety dream about standing up to give a lecture, only to realise they have forgotten to prepare anything ¨C or to put on any clothes. But real teaching failures are rarely so disastrous ¨C and many are teachable moments. Seven academics tell us their hard-earned lessons
Quite apart from the injustice, institutions that fail to act on complaints undermine trust across entire disciplines, says Irina Dumitrescu
A new term is beginning in the northern hemisphere, and many campuses are reopening. But are academics relishing a return to relative normality or fearful of unvaccinated students? And what has the Covid experience taught them about their approach to teaching? Six scholars offer their perspectives
Bullies and snakes can only wreak havoc via the support ¨C conscious or otherwise ¨C of those around them, says Irina Dumitrescu
Until the pandemic forced teaching to go online almost overnight, universities were widely considered impervious to major change. But if one age-old practice can be flipped on its head, why not others? We ask six academics where they would direct their efforts first
What does it say about our labour culture that a tenured professor stuck in an elevator did not even consider cancelling his class, asks Irina Dumitrescu
A willingness to lie and manipulate beyond what most people can imagine can do wonders for a career, notes Irina Dumitrescu
Pointless meetings, fraught commutes and whiffy shared fridges are mercifully off limits during the coronavirus lockdown. But what else are faculty glad to be rid of? And what are they pining to return to? Seven academics let us know
Mary Beard¡¯s recent admission that she is a ¡®mug¡¯ who works 100 hours a week caused a Twitter storm. But how hard is it reasonable for academics to work? Who should decide? And should the mugs be obliged to keep quiet? Seven academics have their say
Universities preach meritocracy but, in reality, bend over backwards to protect toxic personalities, says Irina Dumitrescu
