How to Build a Life in the Humanities

A follow-up to the popular Graduate Study for the 21st Century: How to Build an Academic Career in the Humanities, this book seeks to expand current models of "professional development" by placing an emphasis on the human and humane aspects of daily lives in the humanities. It does so in response to a conviction that the contemporary academy has given rise to a host of complex personal challenges which demand serious reflection due to their direct impact on us as scholars, pedagogues, and university citizens. A collection of 25 short essays by leading humanists in all stages of their careers, How to Build a Life in the Humanities will delve into such under-discussed academic "life" issues as the following: maternity leaves; tenure-track stress; adjunct exploitation; post-tenure depression; personal relationships; exercise and hobbies; managing ambition; administrative burdens; institutional politics; classism; racism; sexism; and identity politics, among others. These candid, illuminating essays, which combine practical wisdom with meditative reflections upon the challenges of academic life, will be of interest to humanists of all ranks, from potential or beginning graduate students to seasoned professionals.