Support/venting thread for Humanities academics

[aridapricot]

I think there are several of us in the Academic common room who work (struggle!) in Humanities disciplines and possibly face some similar problems. I have decided to start this thread so that we can support each other or perhap just vent when things are bad.
In my case I think I am relatively lucky, in that we (my department individually but also the broader Humanities faculty) have done quite well in REF and the various university rankings. Student numbers seem to have stagnated but at least they haven't gone down (we are not in England). My largest issue is that I do what is normally considered quite 'traditional' humanistic research (very historically grounded, very text- and primary source-focused, main outputs are articles and books), yet in my department/school there is a very strong push towards more applied and social science-oriented, 'newer' approaches which yield more impact. Which is fine in itself, I suppose we could all live in harmony, but I feel increased pressure to justify what I do - not just to management, which is to be expected, but especially to colleagues working on more fashionable topics. The few colleagues who do 'traditional' research like mine are not willing to stand up for it, on the contrary, they seem to have convinced themselves that we are obsolete. All very contradictory since apparently everyone is against marketization and neoliberalism, yet any research which engages with stuff older than 10 years or doesn't yield any obvious impact in REF terms is not really taken seriously.

Great idea @aridapricot

Re. Impact - I'm mostly an historian as well (although not a conventional one & I don't work in a History department), and I've been interested in the way that history - of a very traditional kind - is of endless fascination to the general public. There is a heap of information about collaborations with various heritage bodies, at my place (we are an aggressively research-led RG place with a reputation built on the arts & humanities). Keep an eye on the British Academy & the AHRC newsletters for ideas about this.

I'm quite sceptical of impact/engagement stuff but you have to do it for AHRC grants, and there are ways to do it which are even interesting! My most recent large grant, I had one of the postdocs take the lead on impact stuff, so I didn't have to. But you only have to look at what a lot of universities do around Shakespeare, or Richard III (new film) to see some ideas - it's about a identifying a way to hook a general public audience in, and then expand into what you really want to talk about, once you've hooked them in.

Great idea. I always have things to vent about! I'm not in the UK, so at least I don't have to deal with the REF.

This has been a difficult semester, and I have been unlucky with two very ... resistant cohorts, which has made things much more difficult. I am glad that we are on a week's mid-term break, as I did nearly ask one group, who are bizarrely hostile to both the material and the method of a class on a particular kind of literature (a class they chose as an option!), why they didn't just start a book review blog if they were only interested in making value judgements about it and not literary analysis. Third years, doing a Humanities degree! Not even first years.

I’m also a historian, but work on a very recent topic that places me closely to politics/criminology. We’ve been through yet another reorganisation and its chaos! Students are mostly good and make an effort. I’m in Scotland--not sure how much of a difference that makes in terms of student behaviour.

I am so sorry to hear this. I have been lucky with my groups for the last couple of years, but I think I know what you mean and it seems to be quite peculiar to the Arts and Humanities - every now and then I get a student or a group thereof who think that an A&H degree is about indulging in their passion and never exercise any kind of critical judgment.

Hello again, fellow frustrated A&H people. I write from inside the hell of marking. That cohort I mentioned above...did not produce good work. Like, it's actually painful reading a lot of it. There are maybe 2 or 3 essays so far in the higher end (by which I mean, above a B), out of 20 marked and a cohort of 30. It's very demoralising as it's the first time the module has run and the topic is entirely research-led, so it was kind of a dream to teach a class exclusively on it. Soured somewhat now. I know there are always issues in the first iteration, and certainly I would make changes for next time, but ultimately I just don't believe that the teaching is to blame here (and this is a big thing for me to say, as someone with severe imposter syndrome). These are systemic issues. I could go on, but where to start? And where will it end? And honestly, what's the point of it all anymore?

I'm marking as well @medb22. First year students. I'm honestly shocked. The level of written English is appalling. I've never seen anything like it, and I'd expect kids to leave primary school able to write better than some of the students whose work I've marked. The non-native speakers have submitted essays with better grammar, spelling and syntax than the home students. I know the pandemic has set them back, but it's not just a couple of years deficit we're seeing, it's more like they're five years plus behind. They all got As and Bs at A level. I don't know where to start in giving them feedback when they can't construct a single sentence correctly.

Sorry you are also dealing with this, GC. I think a lot of the poor writing is down to not reading anything well-written. Given that we aren't actually taught grammar formally (at least here anyway), most of the 'rules' of good writing are absorbed by osmosis, and if you are reading primarily online content that isn't copy-edited, then bad practice gets absorbed instead. And they definitely aren't reading, for the most part. Even literature students. But something is also going wrong at second level: where I am, textual analysis/interpretation seems to have largely been replaced by personal reflection in second level English, and so they are coming in with poor critical skills which aren't being addressed sufficiently tbh. There needs to be some formal intervention at first year, as it's too hard for us to do it comprehensively in individual modules as well as get through the content. Though I'm not sure what that would look like: mandatory Critical Thinking and Writing 101?

Something has gone very wrong somewhere when 90% of a class of third year lit students are unable to deal with very basic Humanities essay questions like "Discuss the representation of X in two texts on the course", when X is a theme we've examined in detail in at least half of the texts we've looked at.

Solidarity to you all from the midst of Markagedddon.

Sorry to hear about your difficulties @medb22, that’s so dispiriting.

My gripe today is about how 3rd year undergrads can be so bad at referencing, this far into their degrees?! We overhauled our first year a few years back and spend TWO FULL WEEKS just on referencing as part of the core module. This cohort will have had that teaching. So how??

I sympathize @medb22 @GCAcademic . I go through ups and downs, and the ups are basically times in which I am able to cope because I've lowered my expectations so much. Today I was delivering an introductory lecture to the first-year cohort and I found myself saying that the LIBRARY is a great place to find primary and secondary sources and they should not work under the assumption that everything will be online. Many of our finalists have also done precious little work so far towards their dissertation and now that they're back from the holidays they are panicking and agitating for us to move the deadline.

My gripe today is about how 3rd year undergrads can be so bad at referencing, this far into their degrees?!

Not only that but failing to cite any secondary sources at all. I used to be very strict with this and take the grade a whole band down, e.g. if the essay would otherwise be a low B, then it becomes a low C on account of the lack of references. But colleagues say that I am too harsh.

@aridapricot with my 2nd years I’ve been harsh strict with referencing. In some cases the referencing has been so bad it has knocked them down a degree class: barely referencing at all, not putting stuff in quotation marks, really limited reading. Maybe it will shock them into improving when the feedback is released…

@aridapricot oh oh - third years who haven't started their dissertations <<groans with head in hands>>

I'm back to resurrect the thread. Out of the first lecture of the semester and I've never felt surer that I need to get the hell out of this place. I've already answered fourteen emails from students today who cannot or will not look at the VLE to find the most basic information. Three could not find the room, even though I made walking directions with screenshots from google maps and arrows pointing at the correct entrance. One interrupted the lecture to ask a question about delivery that I had addressed in the PREVIOUS SLIDE (as well as on the VLE). I simply don't think I can go on. And I'm only teaching two courses this semester as I'm taking parental leave!! But it's already too much.

Aside from the students, the whole Humanities system is draining me right now. We've just got our 'welcome back, here's what's happening!' email from the school and it's all about getting us to do even more work in the guise of accessibility, inclusivity, EDI, AI readiness, syllabus collaboration, student outreach sessions, safe space training etc etc. I do not want to.

Plus, my teaching anxiety is getting worse and worse. My heart-rate during my lecture today was insane. I could hear it in my voice. I'm sure the students could too. There's a lot going on in my personal life at the moment (hence the parental leave) and I feel now that I should have tried to get completely signed off for a while.

On the 'system' gripes - I do think this is a particularly Humanities-related issue rather than a general academic thing. It could be just my school, but I do feel Humanities departments (maybe English departments in general) seem to have collectively decided that they are going to be the cosy, comforting 'safe space' of the uni, and seem to be working very hard to eliminate any kind of stressor for enrolled students. But this is predicated on making more work for the staff of these departments. Plus the emotional labour of it is bloody EXHAUSTING.

@medb22 I am really sorry to hear about your difficulties. I hope you can get through your two courses, or find an alternative path that’s better for you right now

I do feel you on ‘safe space’ thing as I think my department is the same. We’re always at the forefront of mitigating any disruptions, willing to try things as faculty guinea pigs (see hybrid learning in 2020-1, only rolled out a week
or two before the semester started, when everyone had already busted a gut in preparation for fully online), etc etc. Then you have colleagues who absolutely think we should be checking and answering emails on a Saturday at 11pm because, what if a student needs us?! So you have my full sympathy.

Not looking forward to induction week & first week of classes. My timetable still hasn’t been resolved and it’s inevitably going to need changes, resulting in a flood of email complaints about the different time, since the university insisted on releasing the not-finished timetable to students weeks ago…

Oh @medb22 I could have written those two messages. I completely agree and sympathize.

I am HoD and one of the things I have been doing during my tenure is creating a range of resources (as text on a webpage, as pdf attachments, as graphs, as videos) to explain things like our programme structure, course choices, how our department works, etc. I have also asked or encouraged others to do the same. But it just feels so pointless, I know that less than half of the students are going to look at any of that - it is much easier, when you have a question, to e-mail your tutor or the HoD and get a reply on demand. I feel like I am some kind of 24/7 bot, and some colleagues seem to have the same approach too.

Last week, and in response to the NSS, another HoD in my School created a guide to Student Support. When I opened it I didn't know whether to laugh or cry - extremely comprehensive, well formatted and presented, but 12 pages! There is no way more than 2-3 students are going to read this - but of course this won't stop them from complaining at the next NSS that "we didn't get enough information on student support".

Also I completely agree with your comment regarding "safe spaces". In my department there is a chronic overwork problem - we have been offering more electives than most other departments. I have tried to cut back on that, but I've met with opposition from colleagues, who are concerned that the poor students won't all be able to choose electives that "suit their abilities and preferences" and hence will do poorly and stress. The thought that maybe students could work on building up their abilities on areas that come less naturally or are more unknown to them doesn't even cross their mind. Hm, I wonder what the point of a university is then?

Thanks for the empathy, @FlySwimmer and @aridapricot . Sorry you are going through this too. And YES the bloody constant responsiveness to student surveys!! For a field that privileges critical thinking, we seem to have lost any ability to do that with these. It’s like - we all know module evaluations are biased and generally useless. Why do we think that “experience” surveys somehow transcend those limitations?? I feel bad for griping about my School, as they are such lovely people, but I do sometimes want to shake a few of them. They have all these initiatives and I just listen and think, I actually expect more from my 7 year old than we are are being allowed to expect from students here.

I am clearly in burnout territory. I am toying with going officially part time since I am not entitled to research leave or sabbatical (thanks to a shitty contract). But I really just want to leave, tbh.

I am also considering going PT @medb22 - actually started a thread about it a couple of months ago, reposting it in case it's useful: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/academics_corner/4847581-pt-academia-but-not-for-family-or-retirement-reasons

Also agree with what you say about your colleagues (lol, I wonder if we work at the same place??). Good, intelligent and well-intentioned people but a complete inability to establish boundaries and expectations vis-a-vis students, and thinking that this is being "kind", when it's actually the opposite.

Thanks @aridapricot - I actually read that thread with great interest when it was posted! It's really a very similar situation. The financial situation is giving me some pause, but only because currently - and I know this is bad, but here we are - I've been basically doing the bare minimum and zero research for the last year or thereabouts. While I haven't been coasting, and due to my teaching anxiety I probably spend most of my research time doing prep, I haven't been doing 100% full time hours - probably closer to 80%. I took parental leave this year to make myself feel a bit better about the situation, as I knew it was going to be another difficult year. However...realistically, I could probably get away with this for an indefinite amount of time because I am on a shitty contract and I am cheaper for the department than a new hire, even without any research achievements (no REF here, and I can't be promoted or get grants anyway).

I could pick up some other work related to my husband's business which would help make up some of the financial shortfall if I went officially part time or if I left completely. It's a hard decision to just step away from a career that's so bound up with my sense of self, but I don't think I have it in me mentally to keep going. I hate it more every year.

This has deviated slightly from Humanities venting! Sorry! Though I think it's related. I do wonder whether colleagues in STEM or business are spending quite so much time or energy on such intensive pedagogical (self)flagellation.

If it's ok to ask what makes you anxious about teaching @medb22 ? Maybe others can offer some words of wisdom here... I had anxiety about teaching too earlier in my career, as I have a very noticeable foreign accent that some of my earlier students commented negatively on. But over the years I've become more positive in my relationship to teaching - there are wee tricks here and there but I think to me the big shift was to accept that (unlike with research) there are too many factors outside my control and you cannot please everyone.

I'm not sure I can give a rational answer, tbh @aridapricot! I've always found it very stressful, but I'm 15 years in now and it just gets worse every year. Kind of like stage fright I guess, but I do take things very personally and find it hard to accept that many things are indeed out of my control or are likely nothing to do with me (though I know this rationally).

It is mostly about never feeling prepared enough. I had two VERY bad experiences a few years ago when I came back from my second mat leave, which badly knocked me and I've never really got over. One was in a core module that I was assigned at the last minute, and wasn't really prepared for. The module was kind of haphazard and not well organised, but they were a notoriously cranky cohort and were openly hostile and aggressive to me in class. And then, that same semester I had a run-in with a student in another class about something I was teaching that they felt was unacceptable - the School was supportive, but it made me overly cautious about what I was saying during class, and how it could be taken up. Then online teaching during covid which I know everyone found very hard, and I started to get really reliant on a script for security (not that I read it verbatim, and I often barely look at it - but I need it, like a security blanket). And now it's like I can't ever feel prepared enough.

I have constant tachycardia while I'm teaching - sometimes I get abnormal heart rate notifications from my watch! I probably need to look into anti-anxiety medication, but maybe this job simply isn't for me.

Oh I'm sorry @medb22 . I've never taken anxiety medication but maybe this is something to try, or relaxation techniques? It's easy to say "don't take it personally", I tried to do so for many years without success (because as you say this job is so embedded with our personalities), until one day it simply clicked. Not to say this will happen to you but my point is that not taking things personally is also not completely dependent on us

Thanks @aridapricot I mean, I do suffer generally from anxiety but life is a bit difficult more broadly at the moment, so it's hard to know whether this is the reason for the massively escalated teaching anxiety. Or a whole combination of things. I am going to look into taking some kind of complete break next year, whether that's through parental leave or trying to come to some unpaid sabbatical arrangement, or something like that. I may have a better sense of what I want after that. I really do appreciate your kindness! Thank you so much.

But back to normal venting for Humanities! The lack of awareness/consideration of what kinds of teaching spaces we need in our subject areas. Our building (the Humanities building!) was refurbished last year and they replaced all the perfectly fine heavy blinds with 'light diffusing' ones, which makes it pretty difficult to project any kind of darker image clearly. Since the lights can't be fully dimmed anyway (for 'health and safety' reasons) there's so much SQUINTING involved in image analysis now.