Introducing Dave

Hi. A very quick introduction: I'm David Johnson, an Associate Professor in Foreign Languages and Literatures. My field is Classics, so I teach Latin, Greek, and courses in English about the ancient world.

I'm here because I happened to be in on a conversation among a group of people who thought a faculty blog would be a good idea. And because my vain pleasure in seeing my words in print, even virtually, outweighs my well-grounded fear that some of what I say will be foolish. 

Currently the things most interesting & irritating me circle around the relations between administration and faculty, although, deo volente, we will before too awful long get a new contract and be able to move on to a broader conversation in which faculty and administration are more often unified than divided.

To lay my cards on the table up front (not a terribly good strategy, but nonetheless): having a strong faculty union ensures that faculty retain a real role in guiding this university—which is why I am a strong supporter of the union. But I suppose it is also fair to say that the union-management paradigm can also lead to knee-jerk confrontationalism. It doesn't have to be that way. I'm hoping this blog can lead not only to more discussion but more informed and more productive discussion. We'll see.