Academic Culture 101?

October 4, 2011 10:48 PM

Books or other resources explaining traditional practices in academe / academia?

I know not all institutions of higher ed operate exactly the same way, but in my experience, there are some general similarities. Recognized ways of operating that are different from corporations, for example, but just as prevalent. Are there any books (or websites or articles, etc.) that address those? Academia 101 kind of things?

posted by INTPLibrarian to Education (12 answers total)

Grad Skool Rulz is an ebook about the process of being an academic and it covers from graduate school to tenure. It is written by a sociology professor, but much of what it says is broadly applicable to life in the social sciences.
posted by bove at 10:55 PM on October 4, 2011

Response by poster: I should probably specify that I'm particularly (but not solely) interested in something that addressed new faculty. As opposed to grad students. But, I'll take whatever I can get!
posted by INTPLibrarian at 10:59 PM on October 4, 2011

What kind of "practices" and "ways of operating" do you want to know about?

Boice's Advice for New Faculty Members is probably closest to covering what you're looking for in a single volume. The Chicago Guide to Your Academic Career and the legion of similar guidebooks might help as well.
posted by RogerB at 11:25 PM on October 4, 2011 [1 favorite]

I've heard good things about The Compleat Academic but I cannot vouch for it myself, since I haven't read it.
posted by Philosopher Dirtbike at 12:21 AM on October 5, 2011

Yeah, go with the Boice. Covers everything you need to be successful (besides the politics). Just actually follow his recommendations; most junior faculty won't/can't/don't.
posted by 5Q7 at 1:18 AM on October 5, 2011

On the more tongue in cheek side, PhD Comics covers this nicely.
posted by guessthis at 2:23 AM on October 5, 2011

Scholarship Assessed by Glassic, Huber, and Maeroff is a classic.
posted by bluedaisy at 2:48 AM on October 5, 2011

Hall's The Academic Self is meant as a how-to manual for academics, but can be read from the outside as a guide from the perspective of the faculty.
posted by Forktine at 5:20 AM on October 5, 2011 [1 favorite]

I think those other suggestions are also good, but I will note that the book I recommended has 59 chapters, and about half of those are about life as an academic and not just a grad student. I have read all of the chapters, when they were written as blog posts and I think there is lots of good stuff there. Plus, whatever book you choose I would recommend seeking out multiple sources.
posted by bove at 7:05 AM on October 5, 2011

You should read Ms. Mentor. That means the book, and the other book, and the column on the Chronicle of Higher Education website. She addresses all aspects of academic culture, and is hilarious.
posted by medusa at 10:55 AM on October 5, 2011

Boise is great, but I like the recent Professor Mommy. Even if you're not a parent, it discusses the personal side of professing in a way that I've never seen elsewhere.
posted by k8t at 4:37 PM on October 5, 2011

Response by poster: Thank you much, everyone! I'll take a look into everything mentioned here. I've worked in Academia my entire professional life, but I know a few people who are entering that world coming from a Corporate world and I'm not doing well at explaining some of the differences to them. Without going into details, there are a few practices or behaviors they've run into that baffle them and I've explained that they're quite normal in Academia. Getting a paycheck once a month, for example. No, not all schools do that, but it's not *weird* that some do.

Faculty council / shared governance really seems like a puzzle to them, for another example.

Anyway, thanks again!
posted by INTPLibrarian at 4:46 PM on October 5, 2011