The Pleasures of Academe

Download or read book The Pleasures of Academe written by James Axtell and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 1998-01-01 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For years American colleges and universities have been criticized by the media, cash-strapped state legislators, and many others. Bearing the brunt of these attacks are the professors, accused of working too little and of neglecting their teaching responsibilities in favor of research. In this lively and timely book, the distinguished historian James Axtell offers a compelling defense of higher education. Drawing on national statistics, broad-ranging scholarship, and delightful anecdotes, Axtell reminds us of the dedication of professors and the increasing demands placed on them. He describes the professorial work cycle, the evolution of scholarship in the past three decades, the importance of "habitual scholarship", and the best ways to judge a university. He discusses, with imagination and wit, the many pleasures of academic life, including intercollegiate sports, the "benign pathology" of loving and collecting books, teaching and service outside the classroom, life in college towns, and working vacations. Axtell persuasively confronts the major critics of higher education, arguing that they have perpetuated misunderstandings of tenure, research, teaching, curricular change, and professorial politics.