Andrew J Douglas

@ajdouglas

1.414 Folgt2.650 Follower876 Posts

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Andrew J Douglas@ajdouglas· 4d

This is such an interesting test case. Can a community buy off private creditors and recharter its college as a cooperatively owned institution? As the prevailing political economy of higher ed drives more schools to closure, these are the questions we'll be increasingly compelled to ask.

Legal questions. Hampshire's corporate structure: Is member substitutions even an option? Bond covenants: Do the covenant agreements permit acceptance of conditional gifts for governance changes? ... https://pitch.com/v/hampshire-next-3ahh2i/b4bebd24-aa12-4be0-8d7f-a497bd5042a5

Andrew J Douglas@ajdouglas· 7d

A brutalist masterpiece that doesn’t seem so brutal. Maybe it’s just the San Diego weather.

Geisel Library at UCSD as seen from the serpent trail on a sunny afternoon.

Andrew J Douglas@ajdouglas· 9d

There’s no way to spin this. “Big yech”—actually a nice typo (slip?) in the article—was able to buy off the leadership of the nation’s second largest teacher’s union for a paltry $12.5 million.

Teaching educators about AI is a “moral imperative”, said Randi Weingarten, the AFT president. She argues that AI training empowers teachers to make informed decisions about how, when or whether to use AI in their instruction. And without outside funding, it was a choice between taking big yech’s money or doing nothing, she said.

Andrew J Douglas@ajdouglas· 14d

New piece by Jared Loggins and me in the Boston Univ. Law Review. Wide-ranging conversation on the uncertain role of the university in end times fascism, campus worker complicity in genocide and scholasticide, and missed opportunities of the Black University movement. www.bu.edu/bulawreview/...

FROM THE ASHES OF THIS DESTRUCTION: A CONVERSATION ON BLACK STUDY AND THE POSSIBILITY OF THE BLACK UNIVERSITY

ANDREW J. DOUGLAS∗& JARED A. LOGGINS**

Jared Loggins: I feel compelled to open this discussion with Palestine and the failure of our higher education institutions on so many levels. There are no words to adequately capture the weight and scale of cruelty, destruction, suffering, and death at the hands of Israel’s despotic government. It is genocide. There are no universities standing in Gaza. It is epistemic violence and scholasticide. We are talking about complete decimation of Palestinian life and institutions. We are talking about the razing of libraries, schools, and heritage sites. Whole families wiped out. We have failed to “face the worst” as George Kateb once put it. Higher ed institutions are far from blameless.6 Students, staff, and faculty alike...

Andrew J Douglas@ajdouglas· 18d

Post a perfect album from the 90s.

Andrew J Douglas@ajdouglas· Jul 9

Happy London Marathon lottery day to all who celebrate. Apparently odds of getting in went from like 1% to 7% this year with the double. Pfft. Whatever. Rather run Boston anyway. 🙄😔

Rejection email from the London Marathon lottery. Boo hoo.

Andrew J Douglas@ajdouglas· Jun 28

It was no Western States. And I’m no Jennifer Lichter. But I slogged my way through a 50-mile trail race in humid Alabama last night. Race began at sunset and I managed to finish within 10 minutes of sunrise. Unique experience for sure. #running #ultrarunning How’s that for a finisher’s buckle. 🐺

Me after running the Night Howler 50-miler near Birmingham, AL.

Closeup of the finisher’s buckle—a dark metal belt buckle molded into a snarling wolf with dark purple eyes.

Andrew J Douglas@ajdouglas· May 20

Just started in on the “universities” chapter—whew! Thanks for this @thrasherxy.bsky.social

Hot-off-the-press copy of Steven Thrasher’s The Overseer Class.

Andrew J Douglas@ajdouglas· May 18

VAP job in Labor Studies at Morehouse. We're past the formal application deadline, but this was posted very late and I'm told folks can and should still apply. morehouse.peopleadmin.com/postings/14459

Job Type Faculty
Position Title Visiting Assistant Professor
Position Number FV0008
Department Division of Humanities, Social Sciences, Media, and Arts
Location Morehouse College - Atlanta GA
Position Summary
The Division of Humanities, Social Sciences, Media and the Arts is seeking applications for a full-time, interdisciplinary Visiting Assistant Professor (VAP). The department home will be based on the selected candidate’s credentials (the Departments of Sociology, Political Science and Africana Studies & History are available options). Candidates who can support the International Comparative Labor Studies (ICLS ) initiative by helping to develop and to teach courses for a new ICLS minor, are of particular interest. This position is entirely funded by generous grants from the Prudential Foundation and the Wellspring Philanthropic Fund. The goal is to increase capacity to institutionalize ICLS through having both senior and junior level faculty.

Preferred qualifications include a terminal degree with emphasis on labor, workers and/or employee ownership. We are especially interested in candidates who can design and teach new courses for the ICLS minor curriculum. The successful candidate will have a teaching load of up to 4 courses per year, including contributions to the College’s General Education curriculum. The candidate is also expected to maintain an appropriate level of scholarly work and service for Visiting Professor status.

We are looking for a colleague who thinks creatively about their teaching, engages in scholarship, and can be committed to the mission of Morehouse College—to develop men with disciplined minds who lead lives of leadership and service by emphasizing the intellectual and character development of its students and by assuming a special responsibility for teaching the history and culture of black people.

The start date is August 1, 2026.

An official transcript will be required of the selected candidate.
Required Qualifications
Advanc…

Andrew J Douglas@ajdouglas· May 16

New River Marathon, just outside of Boone, NC. Beautiful course. Beautiful 5th place trophy! 🌲 This was a training run. Next up: a nighttime 50-miler in Alabama in June. 😬 #Run #Running

Finishers time for the New River Marathon—3:04:00.

Finishers medal for the New River Marathon and a tree sculpture carved from part of a tree. They handed these out for age group winners.

Andrew J Douglas@ajdouglas· May 7

Two cheers for private-equity backed ed tech. "Scheduled maintenance" is quite a euphemism for a massive ransom attack on one of the world's largest data harvesting firms.

Nice little cartoon of flying robots fixing a rocket ship. "Canvas is currently undergoing schedule maintenance, check back soon"

Andrew J Douglas@ajdouglas· Apr 21

When you take a 22-year hiatus between your second and third Boston Marathon.

Boston Marathon medals from 2003, 2004, and 2026. Latter is twice the size of the old ones.

Andrew J Douglas@ajdouglas· Apr 20

Told a friend today’s race would be either a DNF or a PR. Glad it was the latter. Been ill for weeks. Decided to run this last-minute and was sure I’d hit a wall or cramp up down the stretch. But it just felt good all the way to Boylston. Guess I’m running Boston again next year. 😎

My 2026 Boston Marathon results: 2:54:02.

2026 Boston Marathon finishers medal sitting upon a wood table.

Andrew J Douglas@ajdouglas· Apr 11

First time on the campus of William & Mary. Beautiful grounds. These buildings represent so much hidden labor, past and present. Thinking about the urgency of VA’s public sector collective bargaining push and the need to include academic workers. www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...

Historic building with bronze statue on the campus of W&M

Building at W&M with purple flowers in full bloom.

Andrew J Douglas@ajdouglas· Apr 8

Forever fuck NYT sane washing.

NYT headline that reads:

Trump Finds His Offramp With Iran. But the Causes of War Remain Unresolved.

President Trump’s short-term intimidation may have worked, but the fundamental divides with Iran are as sharp as they were in February.

Andrew J Douglas@ajdouglas· Apr 7

Mood

Cover image for Dionne Warwick’s 1967 protest song, “The Windows of the World.”

Andrew J Douglas@ajdouglas· Mar 24

The timeline today is basically Emory Douglas on loop.

Old Emory Douglas cartoon featuring three frames, each with the same drawing of a uniformed pig with a rifle and tear gas, but each with a different label: local police, national guard, marines.

Andrew J Douglas@ajdouglas· Mar 24

“Breaking News”

Andrew J Douglas@ajdouglas· Mar 20

One month to go. It’s been 22 years since I last ran the Boston Marathon. #Running

Message from the Boston Athletic Association announcing one month to go until the 130th Boston Marathon.

Andrew J Douglas@ajdouglas· Mar 18

Our AAUP chapter has been running a reading group all year. Been great. Even some alumni have gotten involved. Just this afternoon we—HBCU faculty in Atlanta with an administration totally sold out to the industry—are set to discuss this one. datasociety.net/library/404-...

Andrew J Douglas@ajdouglas· Mar 17

This morning somewhat randomly revisited this interview, “We Must Fight Imperialism Together,” which Sankara gave 41 years ago today. The whole thing, perhaps especially the message for the American working class, is as timely as ever. Full interview here: www.themilitant.com/Intercontine...

Andrew J Douglas@ajdouglas· Mar 17

Yes. I’ll add: there’s a certain tradition that may even be willing forego HVAC. Some admittedly unpopular iconography has been affixed to my office door for over a decade now, through many intermittent months of AC and heat disruption. Teachers and students.

Raggedy piece of paper taped to a door featuring a photo of an aged Du Bois with a quote from a 1933 address at Fisk University: “two things and only two things are necessary—teachers and students. Buildings and endowments may help, but they are not indispensable.”

Andrew J Douglas@ajdouglas· Mar 14

They did, however, publish another, lengthier obituary after he actually died in 1883.

Second NYT obit for Karl Marx, published March 17, 1883. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1883/03/17/102805435.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0

Andrew J Douglas@ajdouglas· Mar 14

Reminder that the New York Times, always a friend of the left, tried to write Karl Marx’s death into existence by publishing a premature obituary in 1871. They never published a correction.

Clipping from the Sept. 6, 1871 New York Times reporting, quite prematurely, on the death of Karl Marx.

Andrew J Douglas@ajdouglas· Mar 12

Ultimately suffered the same fate as the Jefferson School in NY. Less-than-hospitable time for CP workers' schools. credo.library.umass.edu/view/full/mu...

Cover of a 1954 pamphlet defending the Jefferson School of Social Science in NY from Red Scare repression. Black and white drawing of a hand and torch with words: "Man's Right to Knowledge: The Case of the Jefferson School."

"Don't let McCarthyism Darken the Halls of Learning" image of the Jefferson School building in New York at night. From a 1954 pamphlet defending the school against Red Scare repression.

Andrew J Douglas@ajdouglas· Mar 12

May be time to recommit to the workers' schools and people's colleges.

A page from the leaflet:

OUR HISTORY... The California Labor School opened in a loft above a garage in 1942. It grew out of labor and progressive forces forged to defend democracy against fascism. This was the era when
fifteen million American workers joined unions of their choice and became a new force in world history.

The curriculum met the need for a School of a sharply different type, with a program of labor and social sciences centered on the issues of daily life. Under the direction of David Jenkins, recognition of this new adult education program came at once: a hundred leading CIO, AFL and independent unions endorsed the School. Many political, university and business leaders sponsored the programs or lectured in our classes. In 1944, Professor Holland Roberts of Stanford University joined the staff as educational director, assuming the directorship in 1949.

From the beginning the School welcomed all oppressed people. It taught the necessity of removing the cancer of prejudice and discrimination against the Negro, Mexican, Asian and Jewish people, and organized systematic classes in the historic contributions of these peoples to our nation.

...

Now with the rising demands for higher living standards and peace, the School must prepare a new people's leadership. With the people's help it will be done.

Andrew J Douglas@ajdouglas· Mar 12

California Labor School, 1952.

1952 leaflet featuring a black and white drawing of a diverse group of children and the words, "for the security of all children... for PEACE will you work with us?"

Andrew J Douglas@ajdouglas· Mar 10

I teach political theory. Students mostly want to talk about AI in the context of fascism and imperialism.

Screenshot of a quote from the article:

“I now talk about AI with my students not under the framework of cheating or academic honesty but in terms that are frankly existential,” said Dora Zhang, a literature professor at the University of California, Berkeley. “What is it doing to us as a species?”

Andrew J Douglas@ajdouglas· Mar 6

Thinking of Du Bois’s open letter to Nkrumah. Nearly seven decades on, as empire’s missiles strike Ghanaian peacekeepers in Lebanon, as neocolonialism continues its plunder nearly everywhere, may we not forget freedom, peace, and socialism.

Du Bois’s 1957 open letter to Nkrumah, published in the National Guardian.

Andrew J Douglas@ajdouglas· Mar 4

Wall-to-wall, coast-to-coast has to include HBCUs, the “testing ground” for so many assaults on higher ed. Proud that my coworkers and I at Morehouse AAUP have joined @higheredlabor.bsky.social