Lang, J.M. 2005. Life on the tenure track: Lessons from the first year. Johns Hopkins University Press.

Been there; done that. This is James Lang's consolation to the tenderfoot professor. I'll take it. I started reading this book around month four of the job. I finished it about month four and one day. Variously wry, amusing, and inspiring -- and occasionally disconcerting -- Lang also is reassuring. His experience (I gather) is nothing new. From the medieval universities of England to the august academies and l'ecoles of nineteenth century Europe to today's technocratic, culture-warring academic establishment in the United States, the phrase "academic affairs" has been nearly synonymous with "politics". Lang relates his academic coming-of-age with both deference and panache, naming names, calling it like it is, never sinking into the bitterness with which he is tempted, and always keeping foremost in view the purpose of it all: the students, the scholarship, and the satisfaction of the (occasionally) reflective life. For Lang the first year was eye-opening and exhausting. He waited for three years distance before passing his judgments, laudatory and damning alike. Such consideration isn't necessary to take the measure of his story, however. It, as much in idiosyncracy as in generality, is a spark for those who live life on the tenure track hoping someday to cross over to the other side. His lessons bid us to keep this end in sight and do it with optimism and cheer.


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