Category Archives: academic life

on being lazy

Posted on January 31, 2022 by pat thomson

I’ve been meaning to write this post all week. But I’ve not done so. And here I am on Sunday morning with the prospect of not having anything to publish, for the first time ever. I’ve sat at my desk … Continue reading →

Posted in academic life, hyper performativity, laziness, performativity, resistance | Tagged Pat Thomson, preformativity, radical laziness, resistance, Slow | 5 Comments

of publications past, present and future

Posted on October 26, 2020 by pat thomson

Look, just blame this bit of silliness on working at home since March. And a bit of clickbait from the Times Higher ( paywalled, but you can see the headline) (cough) I know you’re there. Turn on the microphone. And the camera. … Continue reading →

Posted in hyper performativity, performativity, productivity, publications | Tagged hyper performativity, Pat Thomson, productivity, publications | 6 Comments

gulp – deadlines despite lockdown

Posted on May 11, 2020 by pat thomson

Be kind to others and to yourself. Do what you can do. Make small daily goals. Be realistic. Celebrate every victory. Don’t be hard on yourself. These are extraordinary times. These are the messages that I and a lot of … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, deadline, list, pandemic, to do list | Tagged deadlines, list, lockdown, pandemic, Pat Thomson | 5 Comments

blog as teach-in/teach-out

Posted on December 2, 2019 by pat thomson

During my protest-filled undergraduate years, there were regular sit -ins – where university offices were occupied – and teach-ins – where alternative interpretations of current events and their histories were explored. University staff and students collaboratively developed a radical curriculum … Continue reading →

Posted in academic life, academic writing, blogging, blogging about blogging, social media, teach-in | Tagged blogging, Pat Thomson, social media, teach-in | 4 Comments

you expect what? hyper performativity and academic life

Posted on July 30, 2018 by pat thomson

This is a guest post from Dr Julie Rowlands, Deakin University, Australia. Julie is concerned about problems created by institutional demands for academic hyper-performativity. Perhaps you are too. Recently my university’s central research office promoted a workshop for PhD students seeking … Continue reading →

Posted in academic life, academic writing, career, early career researchers, hyper performativity, Julie Rowlands | Tagged academic life, early career researchers, hyper performativity, Julie Rowlands, workshops | 22 Comments

a ‘good academic day’

Posted on March 9, 2017 by pat thomson

What is a good academic day? What happens to make you go home/leave the office and say to your partner or cat/dog/budgie – I had such a good day today. I’ve come to the rather obvious conclusion that my good … Continue reading →

Posted in academic day, academic life | Tagged academic day, learning, Pat Thomson, reflection on learning, scholarship | 9 Comments

2017 – the year of the ‘to do’ list

Posted on January 2, 2017 by pat thomson

Social media folk delight in discussing the organisation of academic work. How to manage time. How to organise all that information that comes in and out. How to sort and select tasks in order of their urgency and importance. How … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, academic writing as work, to do list, Uncategorized | Tagged academic life, academic writing, Pat Thomson, to do list | 20 Comments

I still call australia/england home

Posted on December 7, 2014 by pat thomson

A version of this post was recently published by the Guardian HE network. It seems appropriate to post it now, given that I’m just back home from five weeks in Australia. Some academics are now highly mobile. We are internationally … Continue reading →

Posted in academic life | Tagged international academic, mobility, Pat Thomson, Robert Reich | 4 Comments

stress and the writing body

Posted on July 8, 2013 by pat thomson

There are suggestions that academic life is pretty stressful compared with other professional occupations (see The Guardian HE Network on this). And it is a truism to suggest that the process of doctoral and post doctoral education is stressful. It … Continue reading →

Posted in academic life, academic writing, computer, stress, stretching | Tagged Pat Thomson, Paul Wilson, Randy Barber, stress, writing | 6 Comments

writing like those I admire

Posted on March 18, 2013 by pat thomson

That half conscious state between sleeping and waking seems to be the time that I begin to compose a blog post. I often wake up relatively early with a half formed idea. I then work on it idly, gradually waking … Continue reading →