Thanks for all the replies on my last post. Yes, what I wrote about my academic career happened exactly as I described. Yes, I did not get access to information, to jobs, to opportunities because of my academic interest in Israel, the Middle East, and in the Holocaust. I always felt like an alien among all the others because they did not want to listen or see. But today, reading German media, talking to others, and watching German TV proves me right. I am no longer an alien!
The majority finally discovers what I know already since years. There is a lot of hate and incompetence. Many German academics behave against better knowledge, against the facts. Something I was confronted with from the early beginning of my career. Now many people are surprised and ask: Where does it come from? – Well, my opinion on that is the following:
The structures at universities are very supportive for spreading lies and wrong information. Lecturers like myself can do whatever they want during their classes and courses. Same is true for professors, certainly. No one ever asks. No one also ever wants to hear anything. During my time teaching at universities no professor or anyone else ever asked about the content of my seminars. Most professors did not even know me.
It was not my fault. I attended department meetings and reached out to professors, although I never got paid for the time, I spent on all these efforts. It was their disinterest. They were happy that someone did the teaching, especially the BA teaching, but: “Lecturer, do not waste my time with questions”. At some point I stopped all efforts to get in touch with the professors and simply did my stuff. Sure…freedom of research and teaching…but this huge amount of freedom means also, that the lecturers and professors can basically teach whatever they want.
And then there is a lack of discussion. My students discussed things during the first years I taught. They asked questions, were open minded, had enough self-confidence to ask or answer. To speak in front of the audience and in front of me, the expert. The longer I taught, the less students did that. They never learned. They do not know how to analyze a text. There is a tremendous lack of text comprehension. They do not know how to stand a different opinion, how to argue, how to accept that the own estimation is wrong.
These are faults of the German school system, of the curricula, the parents and, also of the students themselves. Everyone believes that he or she has the right of being a student. In my eyes this is totally wrong. We have certain skills, everyone is good in doing something. But this does not mean that every pupil has the skill to become an academic. And it is not necessary! I am blonde and not very tall. I will never become a tall, well paid, actress with dark hairs. I had to accept the facts already when I was a little girl. So, why not accepting who you are and what you are competent in? What do the parents tell these pupils? "You can do everything you want in life"? No, you cannot, there are limits.
This leads me to the next issue: The topics I am dealing with are very complicated. There are no easy answers, there are no easy solutions for problems. What we see right now happens, if people try to behave like experts, but they are not. They are human beings, they feel, but there is a lack of knowledge. I feel also sorry if someone needs a heart surgery, I am a human being. But I would never pretend to be a heart surgeon, or try to behave like one or try to explain a heart surgeon his or her job. -
So, this is what comes to my mind if I see, hear, and read what is going on in today´s society.
As for more profane things that happened this week: I wrote some more articles about the Roman Empire and the German Kaiserreich 1871-1918. I worked with my authors and checked their texts. I wrote another video script for a new video about the war between France and Prussia in 1870/71. I also helped a friend of mine brainstorming on his planned talks in the US, sent information and made contacts that might be helpful for him.
Beside this very productive part of my week, there was and still is a lot of waiting for answers and replies. The working morale of some colleagues is just annoying! Still no progress on three projects I finish already in November and January. So, more waiting…