Over the past year, The Chronicle Review has published dozens of essays, book reviews, and articles unpacking academic culture. We’ve seen a field at war with itself, the rise (and fall?) of campus innovation, and a new strain of professorial self-righteousness. We’ve heard from grad students, professors of all stripes, college presidents, and at least one dominatrix.
Along the way, we’ve met a passionate scholar working to make higher ed better, the philosopher of the #MeToo moment, a historian-turned-prophet, and a prominent Trump adviser’s imaginary friend.
We’ve run polemics against everything from PowerPoint to political science, uncovered changes in teaching loads and the humanities, and heard firsthand what it’s like to be a black academic in America.
Here, below, are 10 articles that strongly connected with readers this year. We think they’re worth another look.
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BACKGROUNDERThe Great Enrollment Crash
Students aren’t showing up. And it’s only going to get worse. -
The Review
Academe’s Extinction Event: Failure, Whiskey, and Professional Collapse at the MLA
Taking stock of a vanishing world. -
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The Review
The Enrollment Crash Goes Deeper Than Demographics
Colleges can’t stop what’s coming, but they can be better prepared. -
The Review
My University Is Dying
How a ruthless demand for austerity bleeds public universities dry. -
The Review
Is Email Making Professors Stupid?
It used to simplify crucial tasks. Now it’s strangling scholars’ ability to think. -
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The Review
The University Is a Ticking Time Bomb
Treating nearly 75 percent of the professoriate as disposable is not sustainable. -
The Review
The College Dropout Scandal
Forty percent of students don’t graduate. No one is held accountable. No one is fired. That must change.
