Solitary humanities

Collaboration in the sciences makes good sense: Two of us can see more, and more clearly, than one of us can. Together we can correct one another’s work, share our experience, and if all goes well, advance human knowledge. But ask a tenure-and-promotion committee just about anywhere in the United States, and you’ll learn that admitting to collaboration in the humanities is like admitting to doping in the Tour de France. Everyone does it, but woe to the one who is caught.

David O’Hara and John Kaag on anti-collaborative norms in the humanities (tip: Andrew Sullivan)