Academic Socialization

April 30, 2026

One of the things that surprised me most about being a graduate student is the scarcity of advice on how to be an academic. The proseminar is supposed to serve that function, but given the importance of the subject, it is often too informal, and faculty more often than not would rather talk about anything other than the matter at hand. I was also surprised by how unfamiliar many of my American colleagues were with books I had taken to be part of the canon. I do not remember much of their specific content, but I do remember Howard Becker’s books having a big impact on me as an undergraduate. So I put together a list of short essays and books on academic life that I have come across over the years. Disclaimer: my personal biases are fully reflected in this list.

Short-Form

• Paul Krugman. How I Work.
• Daniel Dennett. Higher-Order Truths About Chmess.
• Ezra Zuckerman. On Genre: A Few More Tips to Article-Writers.
• Martin Schwartz. The Importance of Stupidity in Scientific Research.
• John Levi Martin. The Problem with Grad Student Culture.
• John Levi Martin. Enslaved by the Project.
• John Levi Martin. Thriving in Graduate School.
• John Levi Martin. Coping with Failure.
• John Levi Martin. Having an Awesome CV.

Long-Form

• John Levi Martin. Thinking Through Theory/Methods/Statistics.
• Richard Swedberg. The Art of Social Theory.
• Howard Becker. Tricks of the Trade.
• Andrew Abbott. Methods of Discovery.
• Stanley Lieberson. Making It Count.
• King, Keohane, and Verba. Designing Social Inquiry.
• Arthur Stinchcombe. Constructing Social Theories.
• Glenn Firebaugh. Seven Rules for Social Research.
• Peter Hedström. Dissecting the Social.
• John Goldthorpe. Sociology as a Population Science.

On Writing and Argumentation

• Howard Becker. Writing for Social Scientists.
• Eviatar Zerubavel. The Clockwork Muse.
• George Orwell. Politics and the English Language.
• Strunk and White. The Elements of Style.
• William Zinsser. On Writing Well.
• Anthony Weston. A Rulebook for Arguments.
• Anne Lamott. Bird by Bird.

Misc

• Kieran Healy. Making Slides.
• Karen Kelsky. The Professor Is In.

On My Reading List

• Stanislav Andreski. Social Sciences as Sorcery.
• David Stark. Practicing Sociology.
• Walter Sinnott-Armstrong. Think Again.
• Fogelin and Sinnott-Armstrong. Understanding Arguments.
• Michael Billig. Arguing and Thinking.
• Michael Billig. Learn to Write Badly.