DR. JENNIFER BURNS ’93 is an associate professor of history at Stanford University, where she teaches courses on American political, cultural, and intellectual history. As a historian of the 20th century United States, she is working at these intersections and how they play out in policy and politics.
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HOW DID YOU DECIDE TO GO INTO ACADEMIA?
Before I went to college, it never occurred to me that being a college professor was a job. I wanted to be a journalist. I was the editor of the Taft Papyrus, and that was a role I really enjoyed. However, I remember early in college sitting in a class on European history, and the professor strolled in wearing his black turtleneck and holding a cup of coffee, and began the lecture, “In the history of . Jennifer Burns ’93, Stanford University. LINDA A. CICERO/STANFORD
western civilization…” and the thought went through my head, this is a cool job to have. A lot of people warned me how difficult it was to find work in academia—I still warn my students of this, and the employment climate has gotten worse. But for the lucky few who make it, being a college professor is a great life. I am currently writing a biography of the economist Milton Friedman, who was also an important figure in the conservative movement. I am learning a lot about the history of economics, which I only studied a little bit in college. What interests me are the connections between economics and politics.
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WHAT’S THE BEST PART OF ACADEMIA?
The best part is the time and freedom to explore whatever it is that catches my interest intellectually. I love to read and write, and those are essential parts of the job. I also have a great deal of freedom to structure my own time, as long as I get the work done and the classes taught.
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WHERE DO YOU SEE ACADEMIA GOING IN THE NEXT DECADE?
Unfortunately, I think academia will become even more bifurcated as our society becomes more divided. There is a vast difference between the top 100 schools in the country and the rest. At the top tier,
students are given a rigorous education, by and large, and most professors and teaching staff can make a decent living. But the rise of for-profit schools will erode standards. It is also clear we are facing a crisis of student debt. I’m not sure how it will play out, but it is not sustainable for so many students to graduate with such significant debt.
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WHAT’S BEEN THE BIGGEST CHANGE YOU’VE SEEN IN THE CLASSROOM?
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Technology is probably the biggest change. In the classroom, smartphones and laptops can be a real distraction. Also, with the rise of the flipped classroom—parts of the instruction available online—it can mean students discount the face to face, com-
JENNIFER BURNS ’93 munity aspect of education. Social media has also been disruptive. Ideally, college is a time for reflection and experimentation. But in a few seconds an email, video, or tweet can go viral, pulling students and professors into the news cycle and politicizing the campus. The acrimonious and angry tone of ensuing debates is the opposite of the connections we are trying to foster. Students deserve the space and time to work out their ideas without the whole world watching.
Taft Bulletin / SPRING 2017
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