Asheesh Kapur Siddique
@asheeshksi.bsky.social
History & political economy of culture
asheeshks.org/
asheeshks.org/
Reposted by Asheesh Kapur Siddique
My humanities dept was relevant. Majors were up. Courses were 100% enrolled. Revenue positive, GE serving, etc etc. We were still eliminated.
The problem is ideological administrative destruction. Couldn’t write a report, a self study, or a spreadsheet against that.
The problem is ideological administrative destruction. Couldn’t write a report, a self study, or a spreadsheet against that.
'For humanities departments to continue to matter, they must challenge the modern world rather than accommodate it. Indeed, the most useful lesson the humanities have to offer today is a profoundly countercultural one: Difficulty is good, an end in its own right.' 2/2
December 15, 2025 at 1:24 PM
My humanities dept was relevant. Majors were up. Courses were 100% enrolled. Revenue positive, GE serving, etc etc. We were still eliminated.
The problem is ideological administrative destruction. Couldn’t write a report, a self study, or a spreadsheet against that.
The problem is ideological administrative destruction. Couldn’t write a report, a self study, or a spreadsheet against that.
December 14, 2025 at 4:33 PM
I will never fully understand the enthusiasm of colleagues to naturalize every b.s. account of "good" pedagogical practice and "appropriate" instructor workload handed down by administrators too cheap to hire and pay the requisite number of faculty to actually teach analytical thinking.
December 12, 2025 at 6:28 PM
I will never fully understand the enthusiasm of colleagues to naturalize every b.s. account of "good" pedagogical practice and "appropriate" instructor workload handed down by administrators too cheap to hire and pay the requisite number of faculty to actually teach analytical thinking.
I had an inane debate with colleagues this week who insist that an ideal faculty to student ratio for teaching close reading and analytical writing is 1:25. In what world? I also had an extended inane debate over the meaning of the word "seminar" which somehow no longer means a small class.
December 12, 2025 at 6:25 PM
I had an inane debate with colleagues this week who insist that an ideal faculty to student ratio for teaching close reading and analytical writing is 1:25. In what world? I also had an extended inane debate over the meaning of the word "seminar" which somehow no longer means a small class.
It's a structural problem caused by standardized testing, large classes, and a refusal to pay educators. I can't speak for secondary education, but I can say that at a college level, it's amazing how enthusiastic even your colleagues can be about gaslighting you that many of these are just fine.
The most important story of 2025 that we're not talking about enough (gift link) www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/u...
Kids Rarely Read Whole Books Anymore. Even in English Class.
www.nytimes.com
December 12, 2025 at 6:21 PM
It's a structural problem caused by standardized testing, large classes, and a refusal to pay educators. I can't speak for secondary education, but I can say that at a college level, it's amazing how enthusiastic even your colleagues can be about gaslighting you that many of these are just fine.
Reposted by Asheesh Kapur Siddique
So, yes, this is horrifying. But there are two things the article does not address:
1. Back in the day, English teachers got two prep hours, not just one. The thinking then was that they had twice as much student writing to go through and grade and it took twice as much time (more, really).
1. Back in the day, English teachers got two prep hours, not just one. The thinking then was that they had twice as much student writing to go through and grade and it took twice as much time (more, really).
The most important story of 2025 that we're not talking about enough (gift link) www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/u...
Kids Rarely Read Whole Books Anymore. Even in English Class.
www.nytimes.com
December 12, 2025 at 1:20 PM
So, yes, this is horrifying. But there are two things the article does not address:
1. Back in the day, English teachers got two prep hours, not just one. The thinking then was that they had twice as much student writing to go through and grade and it took twice as much time (more, really).
1. Back in the day, English teachers got two prep hours, not just one. The thinking then was that they had twice as much student writing to go through and grade and it took twice as much time (more, really).
Reposted by Asheesh Kapur Siddique
“And some Penn alumni, I assume, are good people.”
I mean, the Penn student newspaper isn't wrong, but www.instagram.com/p/DSH1X4EDwP...
December 12, 2025 at 3:07 AM
“And some Penn alumni, I assume, are good people.”
An excellent way to destroy public higher education in your state.
This -- a model bill to effectively decimate non-STEM research by requiring 3-3 teaching loads outside of "STEM or Americanism and western civilization" -- seems...extremely bad but also quite plausible.
Proposed Model Bill Would Change College Tenure, Teaching, & Research
Three conservative groups have proposed model legislation that would dramatically change faculty tenure paths, teaching loads, research activities and hiring authority
www.forbes.com
December 12, 2025 at 4:05 PM
An excellent way to destroy public higher education in your state.
Reposted by Asheesh Kapur Siddique
Lol at every university trustee and law firm partner who concluded they had no choice but to play ball with this bumbling fool
Trump 0-3 on indicting Tish James and just had his ass handed to him by Indiana Republican legislators he threatened and bullied. Also new low in AP poll at 36% approval.
December 11, 2025 at 10:14 PM
Lol at every university trustee and law firm partner who concluded they had no choice but to play ball with this bumbling fool
“I considered transferring out of U.T., because if my professors are unable to teach me, and I’m not able to have candid conversations to get a proper education, what am I here for?” www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/u...
The Conservative Overhaul of the University of Texas Is Underway
www.nytimes.com
December 11, 2025 at 12:54 AM
“I considered transferring out of U.T., because if my professors are unable to teach me, and I’m not able to have candid conversations to get a proper education, what am I here for?” www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/u...
Reposted by Asheesh Kapur Siddique
when we speak of intellectual freedom, or academic freedom, what do we mean? typically freedom from restraint, right? No-one pretends that everyone has the same level of access to resources to pursue their work - right?
December 10, 2025 at 10:27 PM
when we speak of intellectual freedom, or academic freedom, what do we mean? typically freedom from restraint, right? No-one pretends that everyone has the same level of access to resources to pursue their work - right?
I don't think this is the best use of our finite time on earth.
IN DEPTH | If you could speak to your dead grandmother forever, would you?
If you could speak to your dead grandmother forever, would you?
www.independent.co.uk
December 10, 2025 at 7:35 PM
I don't think this is the best use of our finite time on earth.
Reposted by Asheesh Kapur Siddique
My final manuscript in! And now I give you..... COVER REVEAL (US cover, UK is sooooo different but it's not public yet)
December 10, 2025 at 2:11 PM
My final manuscript in! And now I give you..... COVER REVEAL (US cover, UK is sooooo different but it's not public yet)
Much of the media in this country believes that the problem with higher education today isn't the attitude of college presidents like Albright's but instead . . . being 'too accommodating' to students with disabilities.
Yes we all agree that this is the reason colleges are in trouble
December 9, 2025 at 10:54 PM
Much of the media in this country believes that the problem with higher education today isn't the attitude of college presidents like Albright's but instead . . . being 'too accommodating' to students with disabilities.
imagine if academics worked-to-rule. 40-40-20 on a 40 hour work week would mean 16 hours on teaching (lol), 16 hours on research (lmao), 8 hours on service (rofl)
December 9, 2025 at 3:42 PM
imagine if academics worked-to-rule. 40-40-20 on a 40 hour work week would mean 16 hours on teaching (lol), 16 hours on research (lmao), 8 hours on service (rofl)
Reposted by Asheesh Kapur Siddique
Really important thread 👇, to which I would add that we need to consider overlap of 1.) endowment managers of the NYU model, 2.) owners of EdTech platforms for student surveillance discussed here, & 3.) private equity capture of NCAA football undergoing chaotic privatization.
Two articles that explain what weird vision the Chronicle class of higher ed executives is chasing everywhere all at once in the new dispensation.
1) Everyone wants to be the SEC, now that the NYU model of growth via real estate speculation, fed-funded research, grad-degree retail sales has failed
1) Everyone wants to be the SEC, now that the NYU model of growth via real estate speculation, fed-funded research, grad-degree retail sales has failed
How SEC Universities Won the Enrollment Wars
The ascendance of Southern flagships is a story of sun, football, and a sophisticated recruitment strategy.
www.chronicle.com
December 7, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Really important thread 👇, to which I would add that we need to consider overlap of 1.) endowment managers of the NYU model, 2.) owners of EdTech platforms for student surveillance discussed here, & 3.) private equity capture of NCAA football undergoing chaotic privatization.
Reposted by Asheesh Kapur Siddique
Two articles that explain what weird vision the Chronicle class of higher ed executives is chasing everywhere all at once in the new dispensation.
1) Everyone wants to be the SEC, now that the NYU model of growth via real estate speculation, fed-funded research, grad-degree retail sales has failed
1) Everyone wants to be the SEC, now that the NYU model of growth via real estate speculation, fed-funded research, grad-degree retail sales has failed
How SEC Universities Won the Enrollment Wars
The ascendance of Southern flagships is a story of sun, football, and a sophisticated recruitment strategy.
www.chronicle.com
December 6, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Two articles that explain what weird vision the Chronicle class of higher ed executives is chasing everywhere all at once in the new dispensation.
1) Everyone wants to be the SEC, now that the NYU model of growth via real estate speculation, fed-funded research, grad-degree retail sales has failed
1) Everyone wants to be the SEC, now that the NYU model of growth via real estate speculation, fed-funded research, grad-degree retail sales has failed
Reposted by Asheesh Kapur Siddique
On Monday the FIFA Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel will be awarded to Larry Summers
December 6, 2025 at 2:24 PM
On Monday the FIFA Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel will be awarded to Larry Summers
Universities: investing millions so students ”develop literacy in the language of AI”
Also universities: defunding the humanities so students are illiterate in ordinary languages
Also universities: defunding the humanities so students are illiterate in ordinary languages
December 6, 2025 at 2:58 AM
Universities: investing millions so students ”develop literacy in the language of AI”
Also universities: defunding the humanities so students are illiterate in ordinary languages
Also universities: defunding the humanities so students are illiterate in ordinary languages
The CSU system is paying OpenAI $15 million for ChatGPT access for people on its campuses. What a colossal waste of taxpayer money. laist.com/news/educati...
Inside Cal State's big $17 million bet on ChatGPT for all
Critics say the cash-strapped system misspent millions of dollars getting upgraded accounts for all students. CSU leaders insist they're needed to meet a changing economy.
laist.com
December 6, 2025 at 2:46 AM
The CSU system is paying OpenAI $15 million for ChatGPT access for people on its campuses. What a colossal waste of taxpayer money. laist.com/news/educati...
At the same time, USC is paying a presumably large sum of money to OpenAI to give students access to ChatGPT we-are.usc.edu/2025/12/03/a...
December 6, 2025 at 2:34 AM
At the same time, USC is paying a presumably large sum of money to OpenAI to give students access to ChatGPT we-are.usc.edu/2025/12/03/a...
Reposted by Asheesh Kapur Siddique
The AHA, perpetually keeping its power dry for a battle it will never fight. Reupping this because the AHA will always disappoint in this regard. It's a country club, not a union, and when people accept this and opt for something else they'll be happier.
December 5, 2025 at 6:20 PM
The AHA, perpetually keeping its power dry for a battle it will never fight. Reupping this because the AHA will always disappoint in this regard. It's a country club, not a union, and when people accept this and opt for something else they'll be happier.
Certainly raises a big question for the American historical profession, given its noted emphasis in the Trump era on 'history as essential to the defense of democracy': hard to take this message seriously when the discipline itself is governed in such an undemocratic manner. 🗃️
Last week the @historians.org Council decided to deny its members the opportunity to vote on two resolutions—one in solidarity with Gaza and one condemning the sustained assault on “core principles of education” in the US and abroad—at the organization’s conference next month. 1/ 🗃️
December 5, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Certainly raises a big question for the American historical profession, given its noted emphasis in the Trump era on 'history as essential to the defense of democracy': hard to take this message seriously when the discipline itself is governed in such an undemocratic manner. 🗃️