First reactions to Bloom's hardships as she traversed the spiral stairway to Tier A:
**Clever use of the "name" motif: "Call me Lynn," echoing the "Ishmael" reference from an earlier chapter -- and the idea of writers as survivors who have lived to "tell the tale."
**The professional allusions seem designed to appeal to anyone in academia. Namely,
*those who enjoy tenure...
*those who had tenure, but resigned for family reasons...
*those who teach half-time with half benefits and responsibilities...
*those who dream of tenure and their own office, while sharing space beneath the stairs with the kitty litter...
And there's more. On this last note, let me report that having your own office is not all it's cracked up to be. NOT having an office has its advantages. It's not as if you're a professional nomad, and Bloom is dramatizing when she recalls her own part-time experiences as some weird sort of night creature, haunting the campus at all hours, morning, noon, or evening.
Virtual space has replaced physical space for many instructors. My office is in a computer. I have found it convenient. So have the students. Certainly, office space has its advantages too. A comfortable, familiar place to prepare before class, unwind after class, and to meet with students. But technology is in the process of altering all of that.
And let me add this -- Ten years ago, I would never believe that I would ever express the feelings above.
1 comment:
I imagine this virtual office space will become more common in the years to come. As I read about second space, third space, and all these virtual technological class wonders, I wonder if the physical space will become out of vogue at some point in time (at least at some universities pushing the online thing).
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