Academic research, like MLB batting averages, can hit a summer slump. Through the end of may into June, you’re making great progress and hitting the reasonable goals you set at the start of the summer. Consider this akin to batting over .300. Then July hits and you find yourself on the interstate. The Shit Academics…
Over the years, I’ve heard several professor friends announce that they teach for free and get paid to grade. We all have our professional strengths and interests, but I’ve never met someone who actually likes grading. Grading final papers, tests, and projects at the end of the fall semester feels easy enough: cozy up under a…
When my students write excellent papers, I encourage them to submit to conferences and even publications so that their work “has life beyond the classroom.” A related set of concerns has plagued me since graduate school: Do scholars have an obligation to give their work life beyond academia? If so, how can we make that happen? Who is…
There’s a decent chance my tonsils are coming out in 2016. In addition to worrying about the pain, time, and expense, one thing has weighed heavily on my mind: Do I continue to watch The Mindy Project or do I save it up for a media marathon following surgery? Interviews with marathoners tell me I’m not alone in…
The Media Marathoning researched forced me to think a lot about spoilers. Unless enjoying a whole season drop (such as Orange is the New Black or House of Cards), marathoners must time shift (watch episodes after their air date). Time shifting is an agentic move that allows viewers to watch on their own schedule; however, it opens them…
I used to think that every new graduate student should receive a night mouth guard and a prescription for Ambien. Now I think that academics need to talk more about sleep hygiene. I slept great as an undergrad but suffered from an affliction known as “seminar paper deadline” as a graduate student. Symptoms of seminar…
This time last year I was conducting interviews with TV critics, entertainment journalists, and editors to gain a better understanding of how the vocal reactions of spoiler-phobes may impact their work. Noelle McElrath-Hart and I analyzed the interview discourse through a Community of Practice framework to understand how the writers and editors were implicitly engaging in spoiler meaning…
My Mom put out our family Christmas decorations last weekend. She called me afterward and we both cried about my Dad’s stocking. Dad passed away in July. While coping with his loss, I leaned on remaining family and good friends, but also on wizards. Writing the Media Marathoning book helped me realize that I take solace in…
Do you want to learn about many problems with ethnic representations in media and laugh while you learn? (It’s the laughing with kind of humor, not the guilt-inducing laughing at kind.) Check out the very “marathonable” Master of None on Netflix and look forward to episode 4 titled “Indians on TV.” In 31 awkward, fresh, and funny minutes, Aziz Ansari and…
What’s new in marathoning news, you ask? This post foregrounds a smattering of recent developments in technology, politics, and scholarship related to media marathoning. 1. Marathoning has become both easier and more challenging with new options from T-Mobile and Netflix. First, the good news. T-Mobile recently launched their Binge On™ plan that allows subscribers with 3GB or more…