Entries by Jeffrey Ian Ross

Meet markets? Questioning the utility of large scale annual academic conferences

Over the past few decades attending large annual academic conferences has lost its appeal to many scholars and graduate students alike. Participants frequently complain that these meetings are: • too expensive, • crowded, and • artificial environments (e.g., almost everyone is on their best behavior). On top of this, many attendees have difficulties with the […]

Undergrads need to know the difference between expressing facts versus opinions

University instructors and students usually have contrasting expectations of each other. One of the most dominant concerns the respective roles and differences between facts versus opinions. Some students, (and sometimes instructors and administrators too) assume that university instruction should primarily be the transmission of facts and ideas, and dislike it when their instructors offer their […]

Whose vacation is it anyways?

Summer is here. It’s warm outside, many people think that COVID-19 has been beat, have cabin fever, disposable income, can take time off work, and want to travel and take a vacation. After the decision to travel has been made, then it’s time to make numerous choices about where to go, when to go, what […]

Misapplying appropriation, co-optation, commodification & fetishization

The recent social media discussion over the work and legacy of Frida Kahlo, while somewhat interesting and entertaining, is in many respects disappointing. Some criticism argues that, because Kahlo came from a privileged upper class family, was comparatively light-skinned, and was not purely indigenous, that she had minimal right to use the iconography, imagery, and […]