Academe Today

The Case for Intellectual Confrontation

Why is an adversarial culture worth defending? Because in some cases, a blanket stance of supportiveness diminshes the quality of academic work.

Government

As Fafsa Tool Outage Continues, Lawmakers Investigate Why It Happened

The data-retrieval tool will be back online for people on income-driven repayment plans at the end of the month, but there is little respite for many prospective students who rely on it.

Research

Zap! Can Electrical Stimulation Help Us Learn?

Researchers are looking into whether administering an electrical pulse to nerves around the head and neck can improve cognitive function.

Special Reports

The Far-Reaching Legacy of the ‘Georgetown 272’

Six people who learned that they descended from slaves sold by Georgetown University more than 175 years ago reflect on family and life.

The Chronicle Interview

As Robots Displace Workers, Higher Ed ‘Will Change a Great Deal,’ Researcher Says

A co-founder of MIT’s Initiative on the Digital Economy warns artificial-intelligence luminaries that if technological-unemployment trends continue, "the people will rise up before the machines do."

Commentary

Doing the Right Thing in Sexual-Misconduct Cases

If neither side is entirely happy with the result, that might indicate that the process was sound.  

The Chronicle Review

The Christian Agenda Behind Inmate Education

For prisoners, learning often comes with evangelical strings attached.

Lingua Franca

Grammar Blunders and Journalistic Discourtesy

Geoff Pullum helps investigate a fictive "grammar blunder." His reward is to be misquoted and to get no answer when he complains (though a correction is quietly made later). And journalists wonder why academics are sometimes reluctant to take their calls.

First Person

Some Lesser-Known Truths About Academe

They warn you about the job market but not necessarily all the other ways in which you might not fit faculty life.

Vitae

In Praise of the First Person

Why you should be encouraging your undergraduate and graduate students to write in the first person.