Podcast #31 - Academic Fakery and the New Jack Hustle

OK - it's on.

Apparently, some Korean reporters are calling around certain foreign professors now, looking for a story. Even if there is none. Apparently, some official literature listed some foreign professor who had studied at Trinity College and who had also attended the officially academically linked Georgetown as having gotten his Ph.D. from Georgetown instead of the other way around. Not his fault, who cares, right? Not when there's a witch hunt on, and now the media's returning to its old stomping grounds of "look at how bad the foreigners are!"

I myself have been listed as having gone to all kinds of school I haven't, and have been listed as "professor" and "Dr. Michael Hurt" and with a "Ph.D." behind my name, when none of these things are true. One web site for a school I was teaching at had, unbeknownst to me, listed me in the course description (which I don't check) as a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Harvard University.

That was news to me.

So I informed them of the error, and even had to remind the department to remind the other department who talks to the guys who update the web site once a week who...

You get the picture.

And on top of that, there was some incentive on the school's part to fudge with profiles, since that leads to more students enrolling in the summer session I was teaching in. But short of that, I think it was actually just a clerical error, and they had gotten me mixed up with someone else. I've also had my undergraduate alma mater listed as my non-existent Ph.D. (I'm a doctoral candidate, but not yet finished with the dissertation), and all kinds of secretaries who don't speak much English have put my name next to the wrong others names countless times.

And that ain't my fault. I correct any error I see, and must be one of the most academically honest fools out there. Yet, it's a shame to see someone like me, who made no mistake of his own and has an Oxford undergraduate degree (meaning, why would this guy feel the need to "pump up" his stats when he already commands respect in his field, not to mention having gone to a power hitter school?), yet the best this idiotic reporter in question can do is come up with some web site that had mislisted his background.

So when Regina called me up, I brought out a friend to do a podcast on the subject and nip this shit in the bud - that reporter works for a major English-language daily here in Korea. I hope he gets to hear this podcast and take a nice big sip of shut-the-fuck-up.

And if anyone wants to question my credentials, feel free to go up my ass with a microscope if you'd like. My shit is clean and fresh as a freshly-talcumed baby's bottom. I've got official transcripts, raised seals, and even pictures of me at graduation in the black gown, bitches.

Look for your story elsewhere.

Listen to the podcast in the menu to the left, or click here.

Running Time: 1:22:25
File Size: 56.6 MB
File Info: 96 kbps (48 kpbs mono) at 44.1 kHz, MPEG-2, layer 3 (MP3)

Show Links:

Where the Hell Am I? (ExpatJane's Blog)
http://expatjane.blogspot.com/

Comments

[rothkowitz]

I think I know what you mean.I had a similar,small scale example this morning with an interview for a 5 hour per week company job.

I have an F2 visa,had sent copies of my BA,MA and CELTA(which are not even needed for this variety of short term,non Education Board involved part-time gig in light of the F2)and am still required to front up with the actual documents if and when the job eventuates(which would only last 10 weeks besides)

My thoughts were

1,You don't know your jobs
2,Do you know what the quals mean and how would you know the diff?
3,You watch too much Korean TV
4,Nonsense like this is impinging upon me making quick-legitimate-money before heading home in Dec.for school again.

[Jerry]

Wow, and I thought US Service members get all of the grief.

[Faker]

Well, send that reporter my way. My university's website lists me as having an undergraduate diploma from an unremarkable Canadian university. It's a bold faced lie...I also have a graduate degree from a prestigious British university.

[Faker]

BTW, as you say in your Podcast, the media is so obviously trying to "create an artificial balance" (Koreans got hit pretty hard on the foreign press...first with the fake diplomas, then for paying off terrorists). It's really sad that they chose to follow that pattern once again.

[Aaron]

Reminds me of the time when I gave a presentation at a Harvard conference and a Korean newspaper listed me as a professor at Harvard. I got a good laugh out of that.

[law]

I really enjoyed this podcast. thanks.

[dwilliams]

Go get em Mike, hey I graduated from a major university in Texas and I have no need to lie. These reporters should be going after these celebrities that lie instead of you.

[dwilliams]

Go get em Mike, hey I graduated from a major university in Texas and I have no need to lie. These reporters should be going after these celebrities that lie instead of you.

[expatjane]

Actually, dwilliams, the podcast was prompted because some fuckwit was going after my academic advisor/professor.

I don't play, so I contacted my professor immediately and went on the offensive.

However, I contacted Mike later that day because it had happened to me (credentials listed as something they weren't - intentionallly or unintentionally - dunno?) I know it's had happened to Mike too. I figured he could relate to the anger I was feeling over having to deflect suspicion off of my advisor.

It does seem, however, that this reporter realizes there is no story. I'm watching and if he has a slow day and publishes it based only on conjecture, as Mike says, it's on.

[Lolo]

heyhey, that was yet another entertaining podcast. I do have a girlcrush on expatjane, yesyes, I admit it. And together with Mike it's explosive hahah!
It was however a rather dispiriting topic and I feel quite frustrated regarding koreans societys view on credentials(and appearance in general), but more importantly their view on knowledge. I do somewhat sympathize with the koreans emphasize on education since it was a big part of their spectacular economic growth, putting themself on the map as part of the free world. But as humans tends to do, they took it to the extreme, thinking more is always better. I wonder though if more education is in fact more knowledge and if not, does anyone care? I always thought somehow that formal education is just a way to quantify knowledge, so it can be measured and compared. Which is fine since it would be quite time consuming and arduous to find out each applicants knowledge level. But with that said it would be natural to have people that possesses knowledge that is not yet quantified and I assume that all people possess some knowledge that is not on paper. I rather think that credentials tells us that a person acquired the knowledge but not if they can use it correctly, as they say, knowledge is power as long as one knows how to use it. I usually don't think that people that only can regurgitate their textbook or professor are consider smart people. However, I don't know that many genuinely clever people, just a few.

[lovelypyeha]

Hilarious, tear them a new one my friend and get some matterhorn boots from the PX on base and give em a good academic stompin...