Taking a sabbath from academe ...

I have never taken a sabbatical before ... but, will soon apply for one.  Over the years I have read many essays in the Chronicle, among others, that addressed many aspects of sabbaticals.  The latest one, in the AAUP's Academe, is a beaut.  The author, Max Page, is professor of architecture and history at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.  Page questions who took the sabbath out of sabbatical; a wonderful title, right?  His argument is made clear in the subtitle: "Worshipping real academic productivity means giving it a rest now and then."  He writes:

What “sabbatical” meant was that the land—your productive capacity, your brain, your heart—should not be used or exercised in exactly the same way it had been for the previous six years. It needs to be refertilized. It will be more productive and life giving (and refereed journal article producing) if it is allowed a rest from its usual activities. I found it particularly remarkable, and disturbing, that in the sabbatical seminar I attended no one spoke about improving the quality of the work of their sabbatical, only that they produce more, and faster.

Yep. to produce that 30,000th essay on left handed textile industry workers in Timbuktu :)

My plea to my striving colleagues is to be true to the origins of the word. Don’t do nothing—but don’t focus on your usual activities either. Do not till the same soil; dare to do things differently for a year. You will be doing exactly what you are supposed to be doing— honoring your profession and the confidence placed in you— when you explore new areas, pursue projects that might fail, expand your mind with art or music or great literature, and generally upset your routine.
You will be doing what you were hired to do, renewing your capacity for thinking, teaching, researching, serving the public good. You will be doing yourself, and the very idea of the university, a favor.

 I shall try.  Thanks for the reminder.