Tag Archives: Being an historian

Being a Professor is Just a Job

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David Calverley I don’t want my comments to come across as insensitive or uncaring towards people struggling to get a university position. I attended the first CHA panel about precarity in the historical profession. I felt a lot of sympathy for those who outlined their anger and disappointment with either not obtaining a full-time academic position or the stress they… Read more »

History Slam Episode One Hundred: History Five Years Later

https://activehistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/History-Slam-Episode-100-History-Five-Years-Later.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadBy Sean Graham Five years ago, we had an idea to do a conversational podcast that looked at a wide variety of historical issues. 100 episodes later, I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing some outstanding people and having some terrific conversations. I’ve learned a lot along the way while also having a lot of… Read more »

The Ordeal: Evaluation and the Production of Historians

It is a competitive world out there, perhaps now more than ever. An ongoing “Ordeal” can be a strength, creating researchers and teachers who are leaders continually striving to learn and improve. But if it is unproductive, excessive or abusive, then it loses its value and, worse, we lose or discourage good people. Even a few such cases are too many. In this blog, I hope to inspire reflection and discussion. Are our methods of producing and evaluating historians the best possible? Are they being applied appropriately all of the time? If not, what can we do about it?