Academic

Cartoons in the Academy

By Kelly Anders

Cruise the halls of a typical grouping of faculty offices in any law school, and several cartoons are sure to adorn the walls and doors. Some are funny in a mild-mannered way, while others can be quite political. Are cartoon postings yet another perk of being tenured, or do untenured faculty and staff feel just as comfortable displaying these images? Do they make us more ?human? to students, or does their presence provide a small sense of comfort that academic seriousness has not made us lose our youthful edge? Personally, I do not have any funnies or political commentary taped on my door, but I do have a book of museum cartoons from The New Yorker in my office. Some of my colleagues occasionally use a cartoon in their classes. If you have cartoons nearby, what are they depicting and how are they used? Does anyone mention them?

Full post as published by The Faculty Lounge on September 14, 2009 (boomark / email).