Generative AI and Higher Education. A collection of recent op-eds

I see a new article nearly every week about the state of higher education due to the rise of generative AI. These are mostly pessimistic articles, and they definitely carry some truth. Still, in a broader perspective, I cannot help but think that higher education/academia was in trouble before generative AI. The latter pushes it … Read more

An expected result: “New international student enrollment in the U.S. dropped by 17 percent this fall”

New international student enrollment in the U.S. dropped by 17 percent this fall compared to last year, according to multiple sources including Inside Higher Ed, the Institute of International Education (IIE), and Higher Ed Dive. This decline is attributed to recent changes in U.S. immigration and visa policies under the Trump administration, which have made … Read more

Thoughts on academic life (3)- The Q1 Journal Fetish

Episode 3: The Q1 Journal Fetish Episode 1- The Performance of Transparency Episode 2 – The Theater of Scholarly Collegiality A colleague proudly announced his latest publication, adding Q1 even before the title. I see self-promotional Instagram posts that mention the Q number, mostly Q1. This moment crystallized something I’ve observed throughout my career in Turkish … Read more

Thoughts on academic life (2)- The Theater of Scholarly Collegiality

As noted in the first episode, this series is based on my observations in many different settings, not necessarily happening in my own department. In fact, I am relatively lucky to be there, exposed to fewer troubles than I usually observe.  “These meetings are so valuable,” a colleague proclaimed at the conclusion of yet another … Read more

A literati roundup: Orhan Pamuk in Newsweek, Digital Literacies, Kurdish files, Neal Stephenson’s remarks, Happy Planet Index, Academic PDFs on the iPad

Orhan Pamuk on His Museum of Innocence in Istanbul Newsweek Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk explains why he built a museum dedicated to the glory and tragedy of one fictional couple’s love. Print; Email; Comments. The museums I visited in my childhood?not just in Istanbul but even in Paris, where I first went in   Six … Read more

PEW reports: 28% of American adults use mobile and social location-based services and more…

    PEW Report: 28% of American adults use mobile and social location-based services More than a quarter (28%) of all American adults use mobile or social location-based services of some kind. This includes anyone who takes part in one or more of the following activities: 65% of online adults use social networking sites     Fully … Read more