She loves me, she loves me not, she loves me....

I spend a lot of time bashing academia, as an institution, as a force in society, and as a force in my life. And I think my critiques of it are well earned. From the perverse incentives that prioritize pointless research over good teaching, to its role in perpetuating class divisions through ridiculous tuition rates and arbitrary reputations, to the increasing paucity of its ability to prepare students for real world work, to its complicity in churning out mountains of highly indebted new workers, to the delusionary idea that the only or easiest way to encounter knowledge and culture is from a person with ph.d. after their name,...through all of these problems and more, it has earned my wrath well.

However, there are definitely days when it seems less stupid. So, in the interest of balance, let me describe what I think it's good for and what it has done for me.

What academia does well as an institution:

1. Creates new knowledge. The pressure cooker system, wherein promotions to tenure are based on publishing new research, really does do a good job of forcing people to produce new knowledge.

2. Gives young people a broader view of reality and allows them to orient their own lives in relation to a bigger picture of humanity, history, and existence.

3. Can cultivate a love of learning that will continue to enrich students throughout their lives.

4. Can be a safe place where young people can figure out what they want to do and who they want to be.

What academia does well in my life:

1. It's not boring. Even when it's boring, it's not boring. Cause it's something new, and it's usually complicated, so even if the ultimate upshot of the research is kind of pointless in terms of the real world, it's still intellectually challenging.

2. I don't have to have a boss. I can sleep late...wear tattered clothes...whatever. In my classes, i can drop F bombs, teach whatever I want to teach, and try whatever pedagogical techniques I want.

3. I get a lot of vacation time.

4. Once I finish, people will just assume that I'm an expert. And hopefully I will be, but even if I'm not, they'll assume that I am. That'll be cool.

5. Studying my field makes my natural interest in politics and policy even more engaging. It gives me the illusion that I'm not completely irrelevant to the real world...which is a nice illusion for me.

6. I feel like I have pretty much maximized my intellectual potential. This ph.d. has pushed my brain to do things I didn't know it could do. If you think about education like a house...your brain is the house...and everytime you learn a new field, you're adding on wings to the house. At this point, I feel like I have a pretty big house. It may not be the highest quality all the time...but it's pretty roomy. That's pretty cool for a kid who grew up in a cabin in the woods in Indiana. Pretty fuckin cool.