Moderate self-promotion alert: I'm happy to say that the paperback edition of this book will be out early next month. My own very modest contribution is a chapter on Restoration Ireland (1660-1688). I'm grateful to the editor, Alvin Jackson, for inviting me to write it; having looked at this brief but decisive period of Irish history from … Continue reading Now in Paperback: The Oxford Handbook of Modern Irish History
Author: Ted McCormick
The Dreaded Second Book
Forgive the self-indulgence of a post about my writing; but it's my birthday, and I'll cry if I want to. The hiatus in posts here began as a way of dealing with grading and continued as I shifted gears to the early summer "return to research" that begins in May and lasts... well, not long … Continue reading The Dreaded Second Book
Governance
One of the many things no graduate school teaches you is how universities work. Because of this it can take many years, even on the tenure track, to figure out exactly what your position entails in the way of power and responsibility within the institution that employs you. Moreover, since your encounters with this aspect of … Continue reading Governance
Loyalty
In light of this recent Chronicle Vitae piece by Jonathan Rees, on the ethical dilemma posed by leaving a job, historian and blogger John Fea asks about the limits of faculty members' loyalty to their institutions. I started writing a response to his post, but one thought followed another until I'd written more than a "comment" should … Continue reading Loyalty
Universities, Academic Freedom, and the Advertising Imperative: Thoughts on the Potter Case
The anniversary of my first post on this blog comes as friends and colleagues again debate the merits, costs and consequences of various forms of academic engagement with the public. This time the occasion is the forced resignation of Andrew Potter from the directorship of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada, in the wake … Continue reading Universities, Academic Freedom, and the Advertising Imperative: Thoughts on the Potter Case
Historians, Public Intellectuals in Waiting
When stupidity and mendaciousness rule the roost it is hard not to think that something has gone wrong with education. The last year -- probably much longer, but it was about a year ago that this piece appeared, and I've seen several like it since -- has seen a lot of accusations being hurled along … Continue reading Historians, Public Intellectuals in Waiting
Saying Yes to Academic Service
A distinguishing feature of academic life is the sense that one's job and one's work are in perpetual conflict. This is most obviously and damagingly the case for the vast majority of part-time or adjunct academic staff, whose jobs are insecure or insufficient to make ends meet (let alone pay for research or time to write); … Continue reading Saying Yes to Academic Service
Moving Targets
To move is to invite suspicion. For the period I study -- and perhaps especially in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries -- perhaps no word captures the variety of phenomena that exposed marginal people to the scrutiny of observers and the machinations of the state so much as "mobility." Homelessness, vagrancy, wandering, roaming the streets, running up … Continue reading Moving Targets
On Not Calling Trump Apologists Racist
A few days ago I had a lengthy exchange (on FB, so you know I'm old) with a Trump apologist. It started when a friend of mine posted a story about a Canadian citizen -- but, you guessed it, Muslim, and born in Morocco to boot -- being held up, questioned about her views on … Continue reading On Not Calling Trump Apologists Racist
Against an Academic Boycott. For Now.
Many colleagues and friends whose ethical and scholarly judgment I greatly respect are calling for an academic boycott of the United States. Or, more specifically, a boycott of US-based academic conferences, which are probably the most frequent form of professional contact many of us have with US soil. A petition is doing the rounds. I waver on this both … Continue reading Against an Academic Boycott. For Now.
memorious 