Author Profile

J.M. Anderson

J. M. Anderson received his Ph.D. in history from Syracuse University. He has taught at a community college, at two four-year colleges, at a state university, and at a for-profit university. He has written several articles and two books, The Honorable Burden of Public Office: English Humanists and Tudor Politics in the Sixteenth Century and The Skinny on Teaching: What You Don’t Learn in Graduate School. He is currently dean of the School of Business and Liberal Arts and Sciences at SUNY Cobleskill.

Articles by J.M. Anderson

How Academe Helped to Elect Trump

Mar 3, 2017 · J.M. Anderson · 17 Comments

President Trump scares academe. Many feel threatened, under siege, rejected, aghast. Eric Klineberg, professor of sociology at New York University, summed up this anxiety a few days after the election: “My pulse raced and my blood pressure spiked when I realized that Donald Trump would be president. I felt afraid.” Trump’s victory, he adds, is … Continue reading “How Academe Helped to Elect Trump”

To Save the Humanities, Make Them More Hands On

Jul 8, 2016 · J.M. Anderson · 1 Comment

The humanities may not be dead, but they are certainly moribund on many college campuses. Once the crown jewels of higher education, now they are valued about as much as knockoffs at a pawn shop. According to a recent study by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the humanities saw an 8.7 percent decline … Continue reading “To Save the Humanities, Make Them More Hands On”

The Case for Older Students

Feb 24, 2013 · J.M. Anderson · No Comments

Fresh out of high school, many students aren’t mature enough to benefit from college studies.

Teaching Is a Liberal Art

Apr 6, 2012 · J.M. Anderson · No Comments

The “Scholarship of Teaching and Learning” movement has not lived up to its promise.

No Wonder Johnny (Still) Can’t Write

Feb 10, 2012 · J.M. Anderson · No Comments

Students don’t write well and professors don’t want to help them.

When College Sports Lean Pro, Students and the Public Pay Aug 21, 2017
Last week marked the latest chapter in the biggest college sports scandal in history. Administrators and athletics officials from UNC-Chapel Hill appeared before the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions in Nashville, Tennessee. At issue was whether the bogus classes UNC athletes took between 1993 and 2011 should be considered “impermissible benefits.” The Committee is expected to … Continue reading “When College Sports Lean Pro, Students and the Public Pay”
Millennials and the Anti-Capitalistic Mindset Aug 18, 2017
The great intellectual debate of the 20th Century was between capitalism and socialism, wrote Robert Heilbroner in a 1989 New Yorker article. Seeing the collapse of Soviet Communism (socialism with totalitarian power), he proclaimed “the triumph of capitalism.” A socialist most of his career, Heilbroner explained: “Less than 75 years after it officially began, the contest between capitalism … Continue reading “Millennials and the Anti-Capitalistic Mindset”
No, Professor, Words Are Not Violence Aug 16, 2017
The excuse we have often heard for raucous campus protests over the last few years is that they are justified as a way of countering the “violence” of speakers like Milo Yiannopoulos and Charles Murray. To prevent them from speaking is, according to this line of argument, using mere sound to eliminate the actual harm … Continue reading “No, Professor, Words Are Not Violence”

Millennials and the Anti-Capitalistic Mindset Aug 18, 2017
The great intellectual debate of the 20th Century was between capitalism and socialism, wrote Robert Heilbroner in a 1989 New Yorker article. Seeing the collapse of Soviet Communism (socialism with totalitarian power), he proclaimed “the triumph of capitalism.” A socialist most of his career, Heilbroner explained: “Less than 75 years after it officially began, the contest between capitalism … Continue reading “Millennials and the Anti-Capitalistic Mindset”
No, Professor, Words Are Not Violence Aug 16, 2017
The excuse we have often heard for raucous campus protests over the last few years is that they are justified as a way of countering the “violence” of speakers like Milo Yiannopoulos and Charles Murray. To prevent them from speaking is, according to this line of argument, using mere sound to eliminate the actual harm … Continue reading “No, Professor, Words Are Not Violence”
From College Indoctrination to Corporate Intolerance Aug 11, 2017
A day after an internal email by a Google employee was leaked to the press, a combination of ideological intolerance and scientific illiteracy led Google to fire James Damore for “perpetuating gender stereotypes.” On the day he was fired, Quillette.com published several brief essays by academics on the science of sex differences, mostly vindicating his … Continue reading “From College Indoctrination to Corporate Intolerance”

When College Sports Lean Pro, Students and the Public Pay Aug 21, 2017
Last week marked the latest chapter in the biggest college sports scandal in history. Administrators and athletics officials from UNC-Chapel Hill appeared before the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions in Nashville, Tennessee. At issue was whether the bogus classes UNC athletes took between 1993 and 2011 should be considered “impermissible benefits.” The Committee is expected to … Continue reading “When College Sports Lean Pro, Students and the Public Pay”
Millennials and the Anti-Capitalistic Mindset Aug 18, 2017
The great intellectual debate of the 20th Century was between capitalism and socialism, wrote Robert Heilbroner in a 1989 New Yorker article. Seeing the collapse of Soviet Communism (socialism with totalitarian power), he proclaimed “the triumph of capitalism.” A socialist most of his career, Heilbroner explained: “Less than 75 years after it officially began, the contest between capitalism … Continue reading “Millennials and the Anti-Capitalistic Mindset”
No, Professor, Words Are Not Violence Aug 16, 2017
The excuse we have often heard for raucous campus protests over the last few years is that they are justified as a way of countering the “violence” of speakers like Milo Yiannopoulos and Charles Murray. To prevent them from speaking is, according to this line of argument, using mere sound to eliminate the actual harm … Continue reading “No, Professor, Words Are Not Violence”