The Faculty Lounge

Driving Dixie Down

As a historian of slavery and abolitionism, I have never considered using “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” for one of my Saturday music posts. It’s a beautiful song, with haunting vocal renditions by Levon Helm and Joan Baez, among others, but nostalgia for the Confederacy ruins it for me. The idealization of the “Lost Cause” has done tremendous harm in American politics. Although the song is not as offensive as Confederate flag waving, or veneration of Nathan Bedford Forrest and Jefferson Davis, it still serves to soften the image of the Confederacy as something other than what it was – treason in defense of slavery.

Recently, however, I have slightly reconsidered. A couple of weeks ago, the Alabama singer-songwriter Early James performed “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” in a tribute show to The Band’s Last Waltz. Well aware that the song has been regarded as a Confederate anthem, ill-suited in the current anti-racist moment, Early re-wrote the lyrics to eliminate reverence for the Confederacy.

“I hope we piss off the right people by changing these words,” he said when he introduced the number on a Nashville stage. Instead of “a time I remember Oh so well,” Early substituted “a time to bid farewell.” And he changed the very title, and chorus, to “tonight, we drive old Dixie down.” The most important change was in the closing verse:

Unlike my father before me, who I will never understand
Unlike the others below me, who took a rebel stand
Depraved and powered to enslave
I think it’s time we laid hate in its grave
I swear by the mud below my feet
That monument won’t stand, no matter how much concrete.

Friendly Reminder....

many law reviews have either closed or are soon closing their submission seasons. For instance, I understand the Yale Law Journal closes its season this Wednesday--the self-interested part of me was almost tempted to say it closes on Thursday. But that would be so not nice. :P

Thus, get your submissions in ASAP, and if you have a piece for the Yale folks, please get it in by Wednesday. 

 

L'Shana Tova

 

 

When Will I Be Loved

"When Will I Be Loved" is most closely identified with Linda Ronstadt, who had a number two hit with it in 1975, but it was originally released by the Everly Brothers in 1960 (written by Phil) when it charted at number eight. Where the Everly Brothers version might be called soft country. The Ronstadt version, which is definitely a torch song, has been the basis of most of the subsequent covers (as you can tell from the sequence of the verses, which Ronstadt changed to good effect).

Olivas Faculty Recruitment Initiative....

While currently in the  midst of writing, teaching, and being my usual annoying self, of late I have also been in the throws of helping law faculty candidates with their upcoming AALS faculty recruitment applications---reviewing CVs, FAR forms, reading draft articles, and holding mock interviews. While several of you may already know of the Olivas Faculty Recruitment Initiative, I suspect most of you don't. Over a year ago, a few of us at the FIU COL started a program to follow in the footsteps of Professor Michael Olivas and his Herculean efforts to diversify the legal academy. Our goal was to create a network of legal academic mentors willing to assist non-traditional candidates enter and succeed in the academy.

In our short period of existence, we have over 50 faculty and law dean mentors, and have over a dozen mentees. Several of our mentees are in the market this year, and more are sure to come.  I suspect a few of you have or will soon interview some of our young superstars. The Olivas FRI seeks to provide general mentoring for any and all interested non-traditional candidates, which include law students, recent grads, and foreign lawyers. While I do not turn away any interested mentees, my goal in starting the program was to increase the numbers of ethnic and racial minorities in our profession. If any legal academics here are interested becoming a mentor, please email me at romane@fiu.edu. If you know of promising upper-level students or recent grads, have them look us up at our page.

Interested mentees can of course can then email me at romane@fiu.edu. I typically have phone conference with them, and then pair them with a mentor.

I am also happy to chat with any and all recent grads and upper-level law students. They do not have to be certain academia is their path. As part of of our outreach efforts, we have sent mailings to  BLSA, LLSA, and Native-American student organizations at the top 50 law schools, and will be expanding our efforts in the future. I personally work with any and all takers--but am brutally honest regarding the possibility of having to attain an LLM or other advanced degrees.

I hope some of you will find this program rewarding, and will consider forwarding our information to others. If you fundamentally disagree with what we are doing, as a potential mentor once told me when I was interested in the academy decades ago.... "oh well...." ;)

 

 

Results of Law Professor Twitter Census 2020-2021 Edition - 9/17/20

Below the fold are the results of the 2020-2021 Law Professor Twitter Census. You can also download the raw data here. The list includes areas of academic interest, for faculty who self-identified with that information. The list is arranged by school, instead of individual users' last names.

Of the 1368 faculty members on this list, 759 (55.4%) are male; 609 (44.5%) are female; 1024 (78.9%) are affiliated with U.S.-based law schools; 262 (19.2%) are affiliated with law schools outside the U.S.

Here are responses to some anticipated questions from inquiring minds who want to know:

1. How was the census developed?

The list is based on previous censuses, conducted in 2012, 2015, 2018 and 2019. It was amended and updated by contributions from blog readers in response to this post. I added additional or deleted very few names myself, based on law prof accounts that I have happened to encounter (typically because they follow me on Twitter or I follow them) or if I knew someone had changed schools, left the academy, etc. I made no concerted effort to update the list myself.

2. How accurate is the census?

Not at all. If there are corrections, additions, etc., please feel free to email me directly at bcrawford at law dot pace dot edu.  I'll republish from time to time based on new data I receive, but likely not until next year.

3. Why isn't my information listed in the census? Why isn't my colleague's information listed?

The census relies almost exclusively on self-identification. To be included in the list, you had to actively add yourself to it (as indicated here.

4. How does this year's data compare to the numbers from prior years?

For an historical comparison, here's the data from prior years:

	2020-2021 Version (9/17/20)	2019-2020 Version (9/13/19)	2018-2019 Version (8/15/2018)	2015 Version (1/23/2015)	2012 Version (7/26/2012)
Total  Number Users	1368	1310	1105	553	204
Male	759	709	636	330	142
Female	609	601	469	223	62

It looks to me like the number of law professors using Twitter has reached a leveling-off point. My sense is that those who are interested in the medium have adopted it and we won’t see big increases in numbers in future years.

5. Who is included in the census?

The list is meant to cover only individual tweeters who are full-time faculty members at law schools.  The list is not meant to be a comprehensive account of everyone (adjuncts, librarians, practitioners, programs, institutes, students, group blogs) publishing law-related tweets. Consistent with past practice, emeritus faculty are included in the census.

6. What good is this information?

Either not at all or not much.  It might be a handy reference for quickly finding someone's Twitter handle, but I don't put any stock in the completeness or "meaning" of the info.

Touro Law Seeks Faculty

This just in:

The Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center is pleased to announce that it is currently seeking applicants for two tenure-track appointments or its full-time faculty starting in August 2021.  The Touro Law Center has curricular needs in Torts or Property. While our primary needs are in these areas, we will consider candidates in a variety of other areas, including in Contracts, Business Organizations, Commercial Law and Evidence.

A candidate must have a J.D. degree from an ABA accredited law school and a commitment to teaching in an environment dedicated to excellence in teaching and mentoring of students. We will consider both lateral and entry level applicants. We look for innovative faculty with a preference for both practice and teaching experience, and with either an established record or promise of legal scholarship. Applicants must demonstrate a commitment to service to legal education and to the wider community as well as a desire to engage in the intellectual life of the Law Center. With one of the most diverse student bodies in the country, Touro Law Center is dedicated to the aims of diversity and strongly encourages applications from women and minorities.
Touro Law Center, a member of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS), is part of the Touro College and University System. Established in 1970 to focus on higher education for the Jewish community, the Touro College and University System has grown to serve a widely diverse population of over 18,000 students across thirty-five schools. We are uniquely attuned to the importance of an education for students of all backgrounds and circumstances.

Located in beautiful and historic Long Island with its many beaches, coastlines, and parks, Touro Law Center is part of a state and federal court campus, providing substantial opportunities for teaching and learning. Within the New York City metropolitan area, we are a train ride to the City and an even shorter train ride to JFK Airport.
Please direct any questions about the positions to Professor Meredith R. Miller at mmiller10@tourolaw.edu and Professor John Linarelli at jlinarelli@tourolaw.edu, Co-Chairs of the Faculty Appointments Committee.

Application Procedure

Please apply for the position here. Please upload your cover letter including areas of teaching interest, your curriculum vitae, and a list of three references. Please email the same to Professor Meredith R. Miller at mmiller10@tourolaw.edu and Professor John Linarelli at jlinarelli@tourolaw.edu.

Touro College and University System is committed to providing all persons equal opportunity in education and employment, and to ensuring a safe and non-discriminatory educational and work environment in compliance with Title IX of the Higher Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”), Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Violence Against Women Act (“VAWA”), the New York State Education Law, and other applicable laws. It is the policy of the College to prohibit unlawful discrimination in employment and in the administration of College programs, services, activities, and admissions on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, marital status, genetic predisposition, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, veteran status, or citizen status or any other status protected by law.

Pakistani Feminist Judgments Project (CFP)

The Pakistani Feminist Judgments Project is looking for writers who can re-write pivotal legal opinions of the Supreme Court of Pakistan from a feminist perspective and provide commentaries on the impact it can have on judicial jurisprudence. The Project is initiated and led by Ms. Orubah Sattar Ahmed and Ms. Marva Khan, with the support of Shaikh Ahmad Hassan School of Law at LUMS. 

Submission Deadline: September 20, 2020 (11:59 pm)

The Pakistani Feminist Judgments Project is inspired by the Feminist Judgments Projects conducted and initiated in Canada, United Kingdom, United States, New Zealand, Australia, Scotland, Ireland, South Africa, and India to bring together female academics, practicing lawyers, judges and legal researchers to rewrite alternative feminist judgments in significant legal cases. It aim to highlight how the judicial jurisprudence could have practically changed if the cases had been written or decided from a feminist perspective.

To that end, it seeks Authors who will rewrite judicial opinions from a feminist perspective and Commentators who will provide brief commentary on the original case, before analysing the virtues and limitations of the rewritten judgment and exploring its future impact. Authors have to be practicing lawyers, legal academics, legal researchers, judges, or related to the legal profession in a substantive and meaningful capacity. The Commentators can also belong to the legal fraternity, but applicants from other disciplines will also be considered. All participants will attend workshops to familiarise themselves with feminist legal theories and judicial writing. The rewritten opinions and commentaries will be published in the form of a book.

Villanova Hiring Announcement

Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law seeks an outstanding lawyer-educator to direct and teach its Civil Justice Clinic. The Director will be either a full-time continuing non-tenure track (governed by ABA Standard 405(c)), tenure-track, or tenured member of the faculty, depending on the qualifications and aspirations of the successful candidate. We anticipate a start date of June 1, 2021.

The Civil Justice Clinic represents low-income clients in a range of civil disputes, in areas such as family law, housing, employment, government benefits, and consumer claims, in addition to providing advocacy and educational outreach in surrounding communities. The Director will have discretion to develop the docket and focus on particular areas of interest moving forward.

Villanova is a Catholic university sponsored by the Augustinian order. Diversity and inclusion have been and will continue to be an integral component of Villanova University’s mission. The University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer and seeks candidates who understand, respect, and can contribute to the University’s mission and values.

Candidates may apply for the position via https://jobs.villanova.edu/postings/19136.  Any questions may be addressed to Andrew Lund, Chair of the Appointments Committee at andrew.lund@law.villanova.edu.

Notes on Joseph Epstein's Teaching Style as Described by Himself in the Wall Street Journal

[Cross posted on the Academe Blog]

Best known as an essayist and short-story writer, and former editor of The American Scholar, Joseph Epstein retired in 2002 after 30 years in the English Department at Northwestern University.  As an emeritus lecturer, however, he still receives university announcements, which recently led him to complain about a decline in teaching standards. Writing in the Wall Street Journal (paywalled; sorry), Epstein unhappily observed that Northwestern has bestowed seven teaching awards on faculty members who are celebrated as “welcoming” and “supportive,” and ready “to foster inclusive and anti-racist learning spaces.”

“Reading about these award-winning teachers,” Epstein complained, “makes one wonder if teaching has become the pedagogical equivalent of psychotherapy.” After all, one of the recipients explained her efforts to integrate “methodological rigor, impactful engagement, and human sensitivity” into her teaching. And a department chair described another recipient’s classroom as “a rare phenomenon: a safe and nurturing forum for learning and debate.” 

Far from nurturing, according to Epstein, good teaching should make students “mildly ashamed of their ignorance and slightly fearful of exposing it.” He allows that “shame and fear (also of failure) may not be central to classroom learning, but are indubitably part of it.”

Epstein is almost exactly twelve years older than I am, but I began teaching at a younger age. Our formative years at the lectern therefore overlapped. Law schools, as everyone knows, have a venerable tradition of shaming and frightening students. It is an approach that I have never practiced, and I know of few if any colleagues who engage in it now. To the extent that the method ever had any merit (which I doubt), it completely lost its value once admissions were democratized and classrooms diversified. Instead, it became just one more way to silence students who did not fit the conventional mold.

Musings of a Reluctant Zoom Realist.....

Fellow academics, I am not sure if you are like me, and find yourselves primping before your law classes like never before? I now often laugh at myself as I race to the mirror  minutes before class to take a final look at my hair, putting on eye-cream (stuff never works), and adjust my shirt and jacket.  Then, instead of  reviewing my notes one last time, before class starts I look at the computer screen and adjust the lighting to the room to get the best angle just right. I then fully expect to look like Newman, Redford, or dare I say.....

 

 

But I then soon realize, I actually look like:

 

 

My colleagues, please let me know that I am not alone in the vain state of denial where I exist?

Signed, the professor whose faculty profile picture is 15 years old.

Oy Vey!!!

;)

 

Tahini Wars in Israel

I received this notice, which may be of interest:

Tonight I'll Be Staying Here with You