tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22001031.post7161230759316749357..comments2024-02-28T18:29:41.120-08:00Comments on Not of General Interest: More on service: Hannibal Lector explains it allundinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05589384016564587214noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22001031.post-69554921231064895232010-08-12T16:55:09.259-07:002010-08-12T16:55:09.259-07:00Interesting question. My inclination is to the fir...Interesting question. My inclination is to the first - show up, be supportive etc. But that will fall by the wayside if I've got deadlines looming (self-imposed or otherwise). <br /><br />(Having said that, I have let colleagues talk me into attending things because they've sold them so effectively that I feel like I'd miss out on something if I didn't go!)<br /><br />I agree with Dame Eleanor that I will rarely come in on a day I don't need to be there (though since I teach 4 days a week, that's rarely an issue).<br /><br />But the whole quid pro quo thing just seems exhausting to me - keeping track of who showed up last time just feels like work. I'd rather not have to keep a score card and know that I attend enough events that I show collegiality without being a slave to it.michelehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02872051454149767482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22001031.post-69956670758893438592010-08-06T23:02:07.116-07:002010-08-06T23:02:07.116-07:00An hour-long drive makes it simple: do I need to b...An hour-long drive makes it simple: do I need to be on campus anyway and is the time free of other commitments? Then I'll go. Not an on-campus day? Sorry. <br /><br />I can think of two times in the last five years when I went to campus for some sort of presentation when I didn't also need to be there for some other reason.Dame Eleanor Hullhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06512884104691200975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22001031.post-73609245330348190132010-08-06T18:19:43.632-07:002010-08-06T18:19:43.632-07:00I didn't mean to imply that the brown bags are...I didn't mean to imply that the brown bags are useless or make-work projects, Nicole; what you describe sounds like a useful exercise. I'd also agree that it's important to support students as well as colleagues.<br /><br />What I'm asking is how people set priorities when they have papers to grade AND classes to prep AND an article deadline AND a committee report to write if there are a number of these events in a week (as there often are).undinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05589384016564587214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22001031.post-86762008597179632952010-08-06T16:28:20.181-07:002010-08-06T16:28:20.181-07:00I hope that the brown bags we do aren't just t...I hope that the brown bags we do aren't just there to support me. If service is just useless make-work then there's no point in anyone spending time or money on them no matter how nice the organizer is. We do start off with a roundtable discussion of what we did for the week and any small problems we've been having, so it isn't all focused on one person. <br /><br />I go to seminars because I'm interested in the speakers. I go to brown-bags because I'm interested in having accountability for my research (in a humanities field I would have organized a writing group instead). I go to student talks because our students and their presentations reflect on our school, resulting in better students in the future.<br /><br />I do admit to sometimes going to lunch talks that I am completely uninterested in just for the free food. But I was going to eat lunch anyway. I do get some bonus points on my annual review for showing up from the senior faculty who could not care less about my research. Next year I understand that food will no longer be budgeted so we'll have to see whether the social positives to an untenured faculty member balance out my complete lack of interest in the topic.Nicolehttp://nicoleandmaggie.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.com