[Air-L] [CITASA] 3 positions at Nanying Tech U Singapore---avoid
Michael Baron
webbaron at gmail.com
Wed Aug 5 08:14:00 PDT 2015
With all due respect, while I am not denying the possibility of
politically-motivated censorship by the University, It could be argued
then, that no jobs with the Universies in China, Russia, Kazakhstan etc.
academics should apply for...and no associations with institutions from
these countries should be established.
It is a common and reasonable expectation everywhere, that academics
complay with policies established by the faculty they are employed by and
do not openly criticize their own management via public domains. Being a
foreign academic/consultant/associate - one has to be even more respectful
towards policies, practices and agendas of the employer. There is a clear
difference between freedom of speech/expression/academic freedom and
employee loyalty! As an employer, a University can have a peer assessment
system of its choice (just like any other employers in any other
industries) as long as this system is within legal boundaries. In this
particular case, I may not agree with the NTU's approach...but the call is
theirs rather than mine so I would refrain from advising others not to
accept jobs with them
On Thu, Aug 6, 2015 at 12:37 AM, Patrick Williams <subcultures at gmail.com>
wrote:
> I saw Philip Howard's response to the NTU jobs on the CITASA and AoIR
> listservs. Just to follow up on it.
>
> I'm not sure where the information that the president of the country
> overturned Cherian George's tenure decision came from, but my understanding
> (and FYI I'm an associate professor at NTU) is that NTU's board denied his
> tenure; there was no overturning. Certainly there were many faculty,
> including me, who were shocked by the incident, but there were probably
> just as many who were not surprised. I learned very quickly after moving to
> NTU that engaging in actions (whether through activism, publishing
> research, etc.) that directly criticize government policies could have dire
> consequences. But I would disagree that "it is a bit early, and a bit
> risky, to invest your academic career in Singapore." The research
> environment is lively and active, the faculty is internationally diverse,
> and faculty are supported in their work....as long as they don't bite the
> hand that feeds them. [Yes, that may feel like a slap in the face to a
> liberal academic, but it's also increasingly a reality in higher education
> everywhere.]
>
> The Cherian George case was political, but then again people are denied
> tenure or fired every year at universities for political reasons. You
> didn't do what your dean asked asked you to do once and got on her/his bad
> side....you didn't collaborate with the 'right' people in a lab or
> department or wherever....you told your students God doesn't exist....such
> stories circulate in the US, UK, Europe, and elsewhere as well. Even
> tenured professors in the US feel unsafe at some institutions, from
> teaching on sensitive issues to not securing 'enough' grant
> money...Singapore is nothing special in this regard.
>
> There are many people who don't get tenure at NTU, but many who do. I would
> agree that scholars doing advocacy or activist work that would target
> Singaporean public policy might very well do better elsewhere. But there
> are many scholars in the humanities, social sciences, and communication who
> do great work otherwise. Therefore I would add a caveat to Philip's
> statement: "If you study communication, technology, journalism, media, or
> have domains of inquiry that are culturally, politically, or economically
> sensitive, this is probably not a good place for you." A more accurate
> statement would be: If you study any of those things and plan to critique
> Singapore governmental policy, this is probably not a place for you." Folks
> interested in a job in Singapore can begin by looking at faculty profiles
> and seeing what kinds of things profs here are publishing, for one thing.
> Or just apply and, if you get a campus interview, ask good questions about
> your concerns during your visit. If you don't get a good feeling, you don't
> have to take the job.
>
> Cheers,
>
> patrick.
>
> On Wed, Jul 29, 2015 at 7:42 AM, Philip N. Howard <pnhoward at uw.edu> wrote:
>
> > Alas I don't believe these jobs will be good for many people on this
> list.
> >
> > Unfortunately NTU, and Singapore, has a bad reputation for academic
> > freedoms. Very recently the president of the country overturned a tenure
> > decision involving one of our colleagues, Dr. Cherian George (phd
> > Stanford), and neither his department nor his university were able to
> stand
> > by him. I was one of his external reviewers and got drawn into the
> > campaign to have the university and government respect the usual system
> of
> > peer assessment.
> >
> >
> >
> http://techpresident.com/news/23575/op-ed-singapore-doesnt-always-need-internet-censorship-silence-critics
> >
> >
> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christian-sandvig/internet-freedom-prof-den_b_2770033.html
> >
> >
> http://blogs.wsj.com/indonesiarealtime/2013/03/01/singapore-professor-denied-tenure-sparks-academic-freedom-debate/
> >
> > If you study communication, technology, journalism, media, or have
> domains
> > of inquiry that are culturally, politically, or economically sensitive,
> > this is probably not a good place for you. Singapore as a country may
> open
> > up in time, but you probably don't want to be the next test case for
> > academic freedom! It is a bit early, and a bit risky, to invest your
> > academic career in Singapore.
> > p.
> >
> > Dr. Philip N. Howard
> > Professor, University of Washington
> > Professor, Central European University
> > GPG Key: 9CAAEABC
> > www.philhoward.org
> > @pnhoward
> >
> > **New Book**
> > Pax Technica: How the Internet of Things May Set Us Free or Lock Us Up.
> > Yale University Press, 2015, www.paxtechnica.org
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: CITASA [mailto:citasa-bounces at list.citasa.org] On Behalf Of Barry
> > Wellman
> > Sent: Sunday, July 26, 2015 3:29 PM
> > To: communication and information technology section asa <
> > citasa at list.citasa.org>
> > Subject: [CITASA] 3 positions at Nanying Tech U Singapore
> >
> > As Rich sez, a great dept.
> > Barry Wellman
> > _______________________________________________________________________
> > FRSC INSNA Founder University of Toronto
> > http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman twitter:
> @barrywellman
> > NETWORKED:The New Social Operating System. Lee Rainie & Barry Wellman
> > MIT Press http://amzn.to/zXZg39 Print $14 Kindle
> $9
> >
> _______________________________________________________________________
> >
> >
> > Message: 1
> > Date: Sun, 26 Jul 2015 19:06:34 +0200
> > From: Rich Ling <riseling at gmail.com>
> > To: AoIR mailing list <air-l at listserv.aoir.org>
> > Subject: [Air-L] Three positions in Comm School at Nanyang
> > Technological University, Singapore
> > Message-ID:
> > <
> > CAO5RENCvT+mAsfUcwA5oTtOUAfydYGRVdP16dbD62r5ZeJ1Xiw at mail.gmail.com>
> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
> >
> > Dear all,
> >
> > There are three positions open at Nanyang Technological University in
> > Singapore. There is a Full and an Asst. Prof. position in the area of ICT
> > and an Asst. position in Integrated Marketing Communication.
> >
> >
> >
> http://www.ntu.edu.sg/ohr/career/CurrentOpenings/FacultyOpenings/WKWSCI/Pages/index.aspx
> >
> > The University is very dynamic. It is rising in the rankings and it is a
> > great place to work.
> >
> > --
> > Rich L.
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > CITASA mailing list
> > CITASA at list.citasa.org
> > http://list.citasa.org/mailman/listinfo/citasa_list.citasa.org
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > CITASA mailing list
> > CITASA at list.citasa.org
> > http://list.citasa.org/mailman/listinfo/citasa_list.citasa.org
> >
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--
Dr. Michael Baron
CEO, Baron Consulting
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