Continued from this Derailment
I don't think we should treat the right to tenure as a labour right, but as a way of guaranteeing labour rights. There are still unions on campuses, afterall. Hopefully we can imagine labour rights as being embedded in tenure but not tenure itself.
And onward with the other related items from the previous thread...
More on the case that started these threads - if the shooting weren't itself proof she needs mental health assistance, this is:
Yes, I think they're going to fire her.
They should have told her that not only does she have a job, they approved her tenure. Oh, but now she has to go to jail for life. Bummer.
Tenure shouldn't be a "right", there are far more people who want to be professors than positions available, so giving the job away doesn't make much sense.
ETA: I guess this thread is not really about that nut in Alabamba. I'm not arguing against the existence of tenure, as something to be earned. I am arguing against the notion it should never be denied, which would be relevant if the thread was about that alabamba neuroscientist.
Just to be clear, I don't think that any of the proponents of tenure, on the other board, suggested that it should never be denied. I could be mistaken about that...
Gender is another issue worth thinking about.
The tenure process as currently instituted leads to a need to be very productive between the ages of 22 and 32, approximately. You'll need to move a few times during that period, and continuously work 60 to 70 to 80 hour work weeks. Due to the realities of contemporary family values and norms this handicaps women.
