I am going crazy. The last few days, I have been burying myself in academic research. The titles all go like this:
I am sick of it. Sick of IT!!!!
Such titles are fine for undergraduates, but come on folks. You're academics. You're supposed to be capable of thought!
If there were a really good reason for it, I would be happy. True, the title/subtitle allows you to combine a hook and a descriptive subtitle. But surely, that's not the only way to do things.
Titles seem to go in fads. A hundred-fifty years ago, a good title might read:
or
A calm and impartial exposition of
the origin and immediate cause
of the
terrible riots in Philadelphia
on May 6th, 7th, and 8th, A.D. 1844.
By a Protestant and native Philadelphian.
Sure, you laugh at that title. Why? Why not?
Just know, I'm laughing at your titles too. And The Chronicle is laughing along. A recent article denounced the plague of subtitles run amok in academic circles.
I hereby renounce the use of the colon in titles except when absolutely, undeniably necessary. The following titles are among the last you will see me pen/type/think.
(as a side note, I'm also going to flee lists as much as possible)
FHQWHGADS: Studies in postmodern uncraft as pop-culture re-expression defense against irony.
The Man, The Machine, and The Magic Chef: Narratives of technological change and gender placement in postwar American kitchens.
Here's Looking at You, Kid: Panopticism, data mining, and the illusion of privacy after the Dot-Com Bust.
Truth, Trust, and the Textual Camera: Nonfiction on the Web (yes. I admit it. I am actually writing this paper)
Dialectic Narratives: Materialist theory and Baudrillardist hyperreality
Forgetting Marx: Neocultural dematerialism, the semantic paradigm of consensus and feminism
Yes, the last two were from elsewhere. So long as you're looking at the site, you may as well get your discordian tarot reading as well.
Seriously, if you have a thoughtful reason for us all to use those silly title/subtitles, email me at jnm@rubberpaw.com. I would d love to understand the reason.