- ADM has the best response to the jobs crisis: it's not a discipline issue but a labor issue. http://anotherdamnedmedievalist.wordpress.com/2014/01/12/an-ex-adjuncts-view-to-this-years-fun-at-the-mla/.
- I don't have much to say this year because I had a lot of meetings and so didn't get to as many sessions as I wanted. I didn't follow them on Twitter, either, because that just leads to Session Envy.
- Did anybody mention yet that there were a lot of great panels? There were. I checked in on Twitter from time to time, and if you're only reading from there, you're getting a skewed view of the variety.
- Lots of great places to eat. It's Chicago!
- Lots and lots of slush, ice, and people falling when walking from the Marriott to the Sheraton and vice versa. It's Chicago! In winter! I saw a tweet that said "Chicago MLA 2014: Because last year in Boston wasn't cold enough." Really, though, there was no polar vortex by the time of the convention, and except for a day of sleet, the weather was pretty good.
- There were Big Contentious Issues discussed.
- I didn't hear the "Skype interview" issue emerge in any conversation, but it's early days for that, and maybe by next year in Vancouver someone will raise it as an issue for MLA governance to discuss.
- Apparently everyone is in a tizzy because the granola bars cost $6.25. It's a hotel. Of course the food is going to be ridiculous in price. They charge that because they can. It's called capitalism. Didn't anyone take my advice about packing granola bars in your luggage? (I packed 6-7 granola bars and ended up eating every one, though I don't especially care for them and never eat them at home.)
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Random Bullets of MLA 2014
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3 comments:
Professors who do not explain about granola bars to advanced graduate students are remiss. I did not know about them and had also never taken a domestic flight to East (I mean, I had, but only the summer kind that has a connection to Europe), so did not know about flight delays in winter, either, first hand, what it is like to go through them.
It was explained to me that the bars were needed for the flight if delayed, for the convention, and importantly, also for on campus interviews since during meals you might have to talk so much you could not really eat.
Very, very important information.
Lara bars are also excellent for these purposes (learned about those from a more current advanced graduate student. Lifelong learning is a good thing).
Z--Just part of the whole initiation process, and one of the most useful ones, in its way.
sophylou--Lara bars have protein, too, I think.
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