13 ms·

I'm just a grad student in the humanities but my experience as the instructor of courses has been nothing like the one described in this post. I don't know anyo

I'm just a grad student in the humanities but my experience as the instructor of courses has been nothing like the one described in this post. I don't know anyone in our department that has ever been called by a textbook rep let alone taken out for lunch. Hell, there have been a couple times when I couldn't even get them to send me a copy of the book I'm teaching. I also haven't had any choice in what version of the book I use. I've had the bookstore call me and tell me that there is a new edition and they won't order the old edition so i have to use the new edition or some other book entirely.

rahimnathwani 13y ago
"I've had the bookstore call me and tell me that there is a new edition and they won't order the old edition" Eh? How does a single phone call from a single bookshop prevent you from assigning a particular edition of a particular book for your students? Are you in a remote location in a country without an Amazon or Abebooks equivalent? This is not meant as snark. I honestly don't get it, and would like to understand the background to the situation you describe.
- blueblob 13y ago
  The school that I attended rented textbooks to students. It was included in tuition ~$300/year and everyone had to pay it. I could understand how they would prevent you getting a particular edition because they effectively purchase new books about every 3 years (depending on the enrollment in the course). Unfortunately, I still ran into a problem like this article speaks about in that one of the professors wrote a book and charged about $25 for their book for the course and made it required. Granted $25 is not a lot but they were effectively skipping the system's rental program.
- sliverstorm 13y ago
  I believe there are often old rules from when there was no Amazon (which wasn't that long ago). Fifteen years ago if your teacher assigned a book that could not be had at the bookstore... where would two hundred students find a copy?
  - rahimnathwani 13y ago
    "where would two hundred students find a copy?" They would buy them from one of the 400 students who studied the same course over the previous 2 years. In the current universe, older students are stuck with textbooks they no longer need, whilst younger students are worried about buying these same textbooks lest they miss out on some required content. I bought a used copy of 'Intermediate Microeconomics (2nd edition)' from an older student when I arrived at university, for less than half the price of the newer 3rd edition, which had been published that year. The book was much cheaper then, so I saved only a few pounds, but the current 8th edition costs over 150USD. I'm not sure how the content of a first or second course in microeconomics has changed over the last 20 years, but a used copy of the 3rd edition can now be had for less than 10USD.
- _delirium 13y ago
  I don't know if it's the case there, but many schools have a requirement that assigned textbooks have to be available through the local university bookstore. Students don't have to buy them through that bookstore, but it has to be an option; you can't assign a textbook that the bookstore can't or won't stock. I believe the original intent of these rules was to keep professors from assigning obscure or out-of-print books that students would have trouble acquiring.
- jccalhoun 13y ago
  this is the university bookstore (which is run by Barnes and Noble but I think this policy is separate from them.). I suppose I could have said to the students "you will have to buy your book online" but some of them might not have liked that. Some student athletes also get books paid for on their scholarship and probably are expected to buy from the university bookstore. Like I said, I am just a grad student so I just do what I'm told. I was teaching a summer course and they called and I just did what they said. If I was a tenured prof I might have took the time to figure out something else. Regardless, in the courses I've taught that use textbooks I've always encouraged students to use older editions if I know that they are substantially similar to the latest edition.
MrOrelliOReilly 13y ago
As someone who took both humanities and engineering courses during undergrad, the textbook $$$ bloat problem was in my opinion MUCH more pronounced in the sciences and maths (or even courses like economics). Humanities courses tend not to even use textbooks (in my experience), just many single books that a crafty student could get from the library instead of buying, and weren't outrageously priced.

rahimnathwani 13y ago

"I've had the bookstore call me and tell me that there is a new edition and they won't order the old edition" Eh? How does a single phone call from a single bookshop prevent you from assigning a particular edition of a particular book for your students? Are you in a remote location in a country without an Amazon or Abebooks equivalent? This is not meant as snark. I honestly don't get it, and would like to understand the background to the situation you describe.

blueblob 13y ago
The school that I attended rented textbooks to students. It was included in tuition ~$300/year and everyone had to pay it. I could understand how they would prevent you getting a particular edition because they effectively purchase new books about every 3 years (depending on the enrollment in the course). Unfortunately, I still ran into a problem like this article speaks about in that one of the professors wrote a book and charged about $25 for their book for the course and made it required. Granted $25 is not a lot but they were effectively skipping the system's rental program.
sliverstorm 13y ago
I believe there are often old rules from when there was no Amazon (which wasn't that long ago). Fifteen years ago if your teacher assigned a book that could not be had at the bookstore... where would two hundred students find a copy?
- rahimnathwani 13y ago
  "where would two hundred students find a copy?" They would buy them from one of the 400 students who studied the same course over the previous 2 years. In the current universe, older students are stuck with textbooks they no longer need, whilst younger students are worried about buying these same textbooks lest they miss out on some required content. I bought a used copy of 'Intermediate Microeconomics (2nd edition)' from an older student when I arrived at university, for less than half the price of the newer 3rd edition, which had been published that year. The book was much cheaper then, so I saved only a few pounds, but the current 8th edition costs over 150USD. I'm not sure how the content of a first or second course in microeconomics has changed over the last 20 years, but a used copy of the 3rd edition can now be had for less than 10USD.
_delirium 13y ago
I don't know if it's the case there, but many schools have a requirement that assigned textbooks have to be available through the local university bookstore. Students don't have to buy them through that bookstore, but it has to be an option; you can't assign a textbook that the bookstore can't or won't stock. I believe the original intent of these rules was to keep professors from assigning obscure or out-of-print books that students would have trouble acquiring.
jccalhoun 13y ago
this is the university bookstore (which is run by Barnes and Noble but I think this policy is separate from them.). I suppose I could have said to the students "you will have to buy your book online" but some of them might not have liked that. Some student athletes also get books paid for on their scholarship and probably are expected to buy from the university bookstore. Like I said, I am just a grad student so I just do what I'm told. I was teaching a summer course and they called and I just did what they said. If I was a tenured prof I might have took the time to figure out something else. Regardless, in the courses I've taught that use textbooks I've always encouraged students to use older editions if I know that they are substantially similar to the latest edition.

MrOrelliOReilly 13y ago

As someone who took both humanities and engineering courses during undergrad, the textbook $$$ bloat problem was in my opinion MUCH more pronounced in the sciences and maths (or even courses like economics). Humanities courses tend not to even use textbooks (in my experience), just many single books that a crafty student could get from the library instead of buying, and weren't outrageously priced.