I (finally) published my PhD paper. Now what?

Exactly 3 years ago, I was still sleeping trying to get the best mood for the PhD exam the next day. It was the achievement of around 6 full years of study, with many ups and downs, without ever considering giving up. I did start my doctoral studies as part-time, while working in a non-academic domain, but relatively connected - at least for a while - with what I was studying, while exploring my identity, taking care of a family and traveling intensively.

My PhD topic, the intellectual histories and minority relations in Central and Eastern Europe fascinated me for a long time and I felt that I should keep write about it, despite the scarcity of time, the lack of proper academic resources and the indifference of some academic representatives I went in touch with during my study. I am still fascinated by it and I am ready in one year time to produce an updated and even more interesting English version of my thesis.

Due to the permanently changing circumstances of my life, the last three years did not have too much academic focus, and with the exception of a couple of book reviews, I did not 'produced' anything new or interesting in my beloved domain of study. But, on the other hand, I think that this time was wisely used for improving the knowledge of some international languages that might help me to have access to various original publications, as well as to a different readership. I also had enough time to improve my style and get in touch with realities I was not too familiar with during my long years of study.

Time for a new academic life

On the other hand, I did not change my mind considering my limited interest for a classical academic career and I still think that bureaucracy kills the creativity and bothers the academic. I am not keen to apply for an academic position and not ready to practice intensively academic tourism. I rather prefer to use my time for reading more academic article or to get enough money for supporting my travel tips or the expensive studies that I prefer to read at home than at the library. 

As usual, I keep the track of my book projects and I will not give up any of them - including the fiction books that require for a good time already to be given free ticket to the literary life. From now on, with my PhD published, I know I will enter a completely new stage in my intellectual and academic life. Despite my limited satisfaction with the final form and the results, the 400+ pages of the thesis are my work and deserve to be published. My hesitations from the last years about publishing it blocked at a great extent my further researches. I was always thinking that I cannot start writing to a new project as long as my biggest one is resting hidden in a folder on my computer. 

After so many reading and self-editing, I knew that it was too late to change anything. Even if I would read the draft over 100 times, I am sure there will be always something to change. Once it is published, all I have to think about is how to improve my research skills and how to find out more interesting topics to cover. 

That's all. After 3 years, I'm done. 

Time for a new academic refresh. As for my new projects, at least for the next months, all of them will be in English and I will intensively cover on my blog and social media.

Academic Boycott has nothing to do with academia

It took me some time to write about this, even though I could hardly control myself not to do it. In a very radical way, I was able to describe and diagnose the entire situation in only a couple of words, but I wanted to wait a little bit more for recording more than my own impressions.

The facts

On 15 December 2013, the American Studies Association (ASA) voted the boycott of Israeli academic institutions. The decision, that is only symbolic, as there is no possible to compel the members to follow it, was endorsed by the largest number of participants in the history of the organization.  

In its guidelines, the members are encouraged to get involved in supporting resolutions against the state of Israel - apparently, not too much time for research and publishing books or articles for those academics - to promote the isolation of Israeli academic institutions and to boycott their funding and to refrain from participation in joint projects with academic institutions from the state of Israel. It might not affect directly the collaboration with individual Israeli academics, but as usual - not only in the US - those critical against the state of Israel - with a strong self-hate component - will be always welcomed open arms. 

ASA is the largest US academic organization to support anti-Israel boycott. The vote was supported by two thirds of the members. Almost the entire Ivy Leagues is part of the declaration.

One of the references ASA relies upon is the notorious anti-Semite Richard Falk, UN Rapporteur for human rights in the Palestinian territories that even the Palestinian Authority rejects due to his not less notorious biased reporting in favour of Hamas. 'Qui s'assemble se ressemble', isn't it? 

As for the strength of the ASA and the relevance of its activities, most probably the 'boycott' issue is their chance to get more visibility and importance. It publishes the American Quarterly.

The reactions

On 20 December, the Association of American Universities (AAU) issued a public statement according to which: "Academic Freedom is the freedom of university faculty responsible to produce and disseminate knowledge through research, teaching and service, without undue constraint. It is a principle that should not be abridged by political considerations. American colleges and universities, as well as likes institutions elsewhere must stand as the first line of defence against attacks on academic freedom". 

Leon Wieseltier called the ASA appeal a 'travesty of academic freedom'. The Palestinian issue is 'a political problem that requires a political solution', he reminded. 

Ronald Lauder, the president of the World Jewish Congress said: 'This vote to boycott Israel, one of the most democratic and academically free nations of the globe shows the Orwellian anti-Semitism and moral bankruptcy of the American Studies Association'. 

On December 31, Robert Sugarman and Malcolm Hoenlein, the chairman and executive vice-chairman of the Conference of President of Major American Jewish Organizations, said in a declaration: 'This is now a clarion call to reject the BDS movement, and assure thjat American campuses are not subverted for extremist political ends'.  

The latest news is that around 90 universities rejected the boycott, among them Penn State Harrisburg, Indiana University, Kenyon College, and Brandeis. 

Recent histories of boycotts

Most of such 'calls for boycott' are moulded according to the Boycott Divest and Sanctions (BDS) movement. 

At the beginning of 2009, in the wake of the Operation Cast Lead in Gaza it was launched the US the Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel. It has 963 faculty members across the United States. Five years before that, in 2004, it became active the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, having the same aim. Why so many organizations that - no wonder - have almost the same membership and messages? Because the more high the number the more convincing their 'messages' for the public.  

Early 2013, the Association for Asian American Studies appealed for a similar move.

On December 15, the Native American Studies Association called for a similar decision. In January, it is expected a similar announcement from the Modern Language Association.

The conclusion

The BDS movement has quite an efficient PR machine, trying to use any opportunity to get more popularity and who is playing a lot of dirty games, especially in the field of academia. Let's say it openly: I bet that many of the people considered as 'supporters' not even have the slightest idea about the Middle East. Mancur Olson has an interest theory regarding group solidarity, according to which, only a limited number of members are actually active in emergency/limit-situation (such as strikes) the rest being rather trend followers. But this is not an excuse, and many of the academics that enrolled in the Nazi party were explaining in a similar way their presence on behalf of the murderers. 

The US academia has a problematic bias regarding the so-called 'Middle Eastern studies' and chairs and the subsequent academic reports issued. Important contributors from the Gulf Area are supporting generously the chairs and thus, the political and even religious neutrality is highly problematic, although not very often outlined publicly. 

Did that ASA and other anonymous organizations and their even more anonymous members write anything valuable about the real dangers of human rights and academic freedom in Iran, Russia, North Korea, Belarus or Latin American countries. Never heard about. Did they ever launched at least a funding campaign on behalf of the libraries affected by the ongoing massacre in Syria or supporting the intellectuals under threat in Yemen? I doubt. 

Sources:
http://www.timesofisrael.com/top-us-academic-association-decries-israel-boycott/
https://www.aau.edu/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=14859
http://www.jewcy.com/news/atleast-90-universities-reject-the-asas-boycott
http://www.jta.org/2014/01/02/news-opinion/united-states/dozens-of-u-s-university-heads-have-slammed-asa-boycott-of-israel-presidents-conf-says
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/115961/american-studies-association-boycott-israel-travesty
http://www.usacbi.org/guidelines-for-applying-the-international-cultural-boycott-of-israel/

Being an academic while working

Here we are again! No, I didn't mean at the beginning of the year, as I usually don't count my life from a January to another. It means that the beginning of the new working season brings a lot of challenges for my already fragile academic life. 

Since I left high-school and started the university, I cope over and over again with the same problem: the balance between my long hours of work and the need to catch up with my academic interests. Even though I followed the à la carte academic menu, I didn't give up my freedom for a full time career in the academia, as what interests me the most now and in the future is to write, not to teach. I may consider this option soon as well, but for the moment, the need to do proper research and finish a couple of very interesting projects started a couple of months and even years ago is my main priority.

My morning enthusiasm to have everything done in due time was significantly diminished when shortly after I finish my first coffee I realized that I also need to do some non-academic chores, for being able to pay my freedom of writing and doing research. 

As I didn't reach yet the impressive level of being able to self-sustain my daily needs only from my books and academic achievements, I still need to keep some projects that eat a lot of time and without a drop of high-thinking in them, but serious enough and financially important to secure 4-5 days the month when I don't need to do anything else but focus on my writing, or allowing me to buy online the books that I cannot read at the library.

It is a schizophrenic reality but not so dramatically demanding for not giving me the hope that I should continue one more year, or maybe two. Today, for instance, I continue the research for my next book, while I stop every 30 minutes to check if new freelance gigs are available on my online platforms. This will continue tomorrow too. But there is always a price for a free life and I am ready to wait a little bit longer till, finally, I can enjoy the luxury of being nothing else but an academic. Meanwhile, I know that it's all for the good and trying to get the best of my experiences.

Happy academic life everyone!