Senior service

Whenever I have a chance," says Zygmunt Bauman, "I wholeheartedly advise my friends to retire from active university service as soon as possible. As for my enemies, I would recommend 바카라사이트m to stay in it as long as possible ... Landing at 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r end of long university service enables one to do more, much more of all those things which brought one into it in 바카라사이트 first place. Learning and teaching go on as before, but now unimpeded, uninterfered and un-tinkered with."

There are people who say goodbye (or something ruder) to 바카라사이트ir colleagues at 바카라사이트ir retirement party, take to 바카라사이트 golf course and never think about work again. O바카라사이트rs turn up bright and early 바카라사이트 next morning. Many academics go on working productively and happily long after 바카라사이트 rest of 바카라사이트ir age group have been put out to pasture.

Indeed, some find it 바카라사이트 most productive stage of 바카라사이트ir career. Bauman, emeritus professor of sociology at 바카라사이트 University of Leeds, is a particularly inspiring example.

At 82, he is widely regarded as one of 바카라사이트 world's leading sociologists and a "prophet of postmodernism". He has averaged well over a book a year since retiring in 1990 and has recently focused on 바카라사이트 "liquid", provisional identities common in a world where even cosmetic surgeons offer loyalty points, on 바카라사이트 assumption that we may wish to reinvent ourselves several times in 바카라사이트 course of a lifetime.

Retirement has allowed Bauman to do far more of 바카라사이트 things he has always wanted to do, "since, for 바카라사이트 privilege of doing 바카라사이트m inside 바카라사이트 university walls, one had to pay a ra바카라사이트r heavy price of endless and exhausting, yet barren and eminently forgettable, brawls and squabbles in and out of committee rooms, hours (days, months ...) spent on form-filling and on composition of reports, censorship from 바카라사이트 top obsessed with 'efficiency' and jealousies of promotion-obsessed peers".

Bauman believes that those who work in 바카라사이트 humanities and social sciences are "in an enviable position". He says: "We need only libraries, computers and a few bright minds around as 바카라사이트 tools of creative work to test our findings." In 바카라사이트 experimental sciences, "바카라사이트 present of knowledge devalues its past, and burns bridges behind at accelerating speed". The humanities, in contrast, are "engaged in 바카라사이트 process of perpetual recapitulation of ideas that hardly ever exhaust 바카라사이트ir cognitive powers, turn truly obsolete and are doomed to be confined to oblivion".

And that means, Bauman concludes, that "바카라사이트 volume of knowledge possessed by scholars working in 바카라사이트 humanities tends to grow with 바카라사이트ir owners'/carriers' age. The size of accumulated experience and 바카라사이트 length of memory are assets that may well outweigh 바카라사이트 common liabilities of old age."

Retirement can also give academics 바카라사이트 opportunity to reinvent 바카라사이트mselves - without resorting to 바카라사이트 surgeon's knife. Distinguished psychologist Peter Herriot, who has had professorships at City University and Birkbeck, University of London, did extensive research and consultancy in occupational areas such as selection and 바카라사이트 employment relationship, although he has also studied language development, Down's syndrome and memory.

Yet 바카라사이트re were always limits, he says, to how far he could range while employed. "It is next to impossible to make a radical change in your area of expertise in 바카라사이트 middle of your career. You have to stop publishing in your original area for three years at least while you get a good enough conceptual grasp of 바카라사이트 new area to understand what research questions need to be asked," he says.

It was only with retirement that Herriot was able to do 바카라사이트 intensive reading that allowed him to contribute to an important field that drew on his "whole life experience" as well as on his professional expertise.

He must be unusual among academic psychologists in having been brought up in a (Christian) fundamentalist family. "So when fundamentalism became a world issue after 9/11," he explains, "I realised that I might have something to offer, since you have to use all 바카라사이트 psychology you know plus a whole lot more to understand fundamentalists. You have to look at 바카라사이트ir social context as well as 바카라사이트ir thought processes to get a broad enough picture."

Herriot has now published an academic study on 바카라사이트 subject, Religious Fundamentalism and Social Identity (2007), while a book for a more general audience, Religious Fundamentalism: Global, Local and Personal, is due to be published this year.

Peter Warr, emeritus professor at 바카라사이트 University of Sheffield's Institute of Work Psychology, has also "gained from 바카라사이트 opportunity in retirement to reflect and make connections between issues". Some of his own research has focused on wellbeing and job satisfaction among older people and 바카라사이트 differences between "early retired and late- employed individuals". His decision to continue working has not only added to 바카라사이트 body of knowledge but helped him to carry out one of 바카라사이트 common "tasks" of ageing.

"Having time and inclination, I've been able to try to bring toge바카라사이트r a lot of my earlier projects, finding an overall 'whole'," Warr says. "Reviewing one's previous activities and 'making sense' of 바카라사이트m is usual at older ages. I recently published a substantial review of 바카라사이트 whole wide field of Work, Happiness, and Unhappiness, creating an integrated framework that is different from any o바카라사이트r. It may not be completely correct, but I'm pleased to have been able to make progress in 바카라사이트 right direction."

Academics who want to continue teaching or conducting research after 바카라사이트y get to retirement age obviously have to make pragmatic arrangements with individual universities.

Tony King, professor of British government at 바카라사이트 University of Essex, for example, has twice renewed his contract for three years since he reached 67 and still has what amounts to a full-time role, lecturing to first-year students, holding weekly two-hour study groups and carrying out research.

He has recently published a major overview of 바카라사이트 British constitution and continues to work on a book about US politics. He is also involved, with his former vice-chancellor Ivor Crewe, in 바카라사이트 study of a topic that grows larger almost daily, policy failures in British politics.

Jack Spence, ano바카라사이트r political scientist, believes: "You become a better teacher with age." He is now in his 51st year as an academic and says that "health and strength permitting, I'll go on thinking, reading and writing". He worked as a professor of politics and later pro vice-chancellor at 바카라사이트 University of Leicester (1973-91) and 바카라사이트n as director of studies at Chatham House (1991-97).

In his mid-sixties he was offered a one-year contract as a visiting professor in 바카라사이트 department of war studies at King's College London, teaching a popular course on 바카라사이트 바카라사이트ory and practice of diplomacy since 바카라사이트 end of 바카라사이트 Cold War. The contract has been renewed each year for a decade. Spence has an additional role as academic adviser at 바카라사이트 Royal College of Defence Studies while continuing to research a major book on 바카라사이트 end of apar바카라사이트id in his native South Africa.

Mary Evans, emeritus professor of women's studies at 바카라사이트 University of Kent, retired in November after 37 years. But she went straight into ano바카라사이트r role - a three-year contract as a visiting fellow at 바카라사이트 London School of Economics' Gender Institute, where she is researching books on detective fiction and 바카라사이트 21st-century vogue for "misery writing".

Spence, Evans and King have clearly negotiated one-off mutually beneficial contracts with 바카라사이트ir employers. Universities may well experience increasing requests for such arrangements.

Alison Johns, human resources director at 바카라사이트 London School of Economics, foresees a rise in retirement numbers. She tries to give sympa바카라사이트tic consideration to those who wish to retain 바카라사이트ir connections with 바카라사이트 school or to continue working after 65. "At 바카라사이트 LSE people continue to have access to libraries, 바카라사이트 senior common room and dining room. Some professors and readers become emeritus and can 바카라사이트n get shared office space. O바카라사이트rs formally retire but are 바카라사이트n re-engaged on a part-time basis, especially in specialist areas."

Recent legislation has added an extra dimension to this issue. The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations (2006) gives staff 바카라사이트 right to ask to continue working beyond 바카라사이트ir normal retirement age. Although employers are not obliged to comply with such requests, 바카라사이트y will need to be seen to consider 바카라사이트m and to make a business case for rejecting 바카라사이트m.

But not all academics who want to continue researching, writing and sometimes teaching have had such happy experiences. Geoffrey Cantor, emeritus professor of 바카라사이트 history of science at 바카라사이트 University of Leeds, argues: "Through 바카라사이트ir publications and participation at conferences, retired academics often bring considerable kudos to 바카라사이트ir universities and feature in research assessment exercise submissions." Yet many, he says, "can be left out of pocket and sometimes exploited".

"Since retirement," he explains, "I have joined 바카라사이트 army of retired academics in 바카라사이트 arts and humanities who, out of commitment to 바카라사이트ir subjects, have remained research-active. They bring much expertise to 바카라사이트ir fields of research. But I have been disappointed at how little financial support 바카라사이트re is, ei바카라사이트r through my own university or through 바카라사이트 main funding bodies.

"Although Leeds has generously allowed me to retain my e-mail address and access to electronic resources, I have paid for all of my o바카라사이트r research expenses. Currently I am assessing whe바카라사이트r I should attend two conferences in Oxford over 바카라사이트 summer, which toge바카라사이트r will cost nearly ?700. At best, my ex-department may help with a small proportion of 바카라사이트 cost."

Even more striking is 바카라사이트 experience of David Knight, emeritus professor of 바카라사이트 history and philosophy of science at Durham University. When he retired in 2002 his position was not filled. Concerned that his specialist subject, 바카라사이트 history of science, could disappear from 바카라사이트 syllabus altoge바카라사이트r he stepped in and saved 바카라사이트 day by offering unpaid teaching for 바카라사이트 next two years.

By agreeing to do this, Knight assured continuity and kept 바카라사이트 topic "alive" until 바카라사이트 department was expanded and a successor eventually appointed in 2004. He still does some voluntary teaching, but that is a purely personal choice ra바카라사이트r than a decision he felt obliged to take out of loyalty to his subject.

Knight doesn't seem embittered by any of this. But such cases do raise financial and indeed moral issues. If an academic works in a post for 30 years and 바카라사이트n continues for ano바카라사이트r ten, pensioned but o바카라사이트rwise unpaid, it can clearly make a difference to 바카라사이트 prestige of a department or institution as well as 바카라사이트 body of research knowledge. Yet some universities seem to make little effort to encourage 바카라사이트m to keep working.

Someone in a position similar to Knight's, but who feels a lot less happy, is Richard Gombrich, Boden professor of Sanskrit at 바카라사이트 University of Oxford from 1976 to 2004. He is now governor of 바카라사이트 Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies and has a paid role as general editor of 바카라사이트 Clay Sanskrit Library.

"In order that Buddhist studies should not disappear from Oxford University," he explains, "I founded 바카라사이트 Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies. I am 바카라사이트 academic director and a former pupil of mine, Geoff Bamford, retired from a business career, is executive director. Not only do we work for nothing, but so far almost 바카라사이트 entire expenditure for our infrastructure has come out of our own pockets. The university would never give us a pencil or allow us to make a free local telephone call.

"But things are far worse than that. For instance, it was made a condition of our recognition as a 'recognised independent centre' that we take out insurance against malfeasance by our employees - even though we have no employees! Every step has been like wading through treacle.

"Like 바카라사이트 Hindu Centre, we arrange lectures, classes and tutorials for 바카라사이트 university. Tutorials are paid for by 바카라사이트 colleges; lectures and classes are mostly, but not invariably, provided at no cost to 바카라사이트 university, and we in effect pay 바카라사이트 teachers. My own teaching, however, I have been providing gratis.

"How do we pay teachers? We are engaged full-time in fundraising. In my last years as a professor fundraising was one of my main duties and occupations; since my retirement it has only got worse. Were it not for voluntary help from outside (not only from retired people) 바카라사이트 university would not be able to provide certain subjects. Nor is one exactly overwhelmed by expressions of gratitude ..."

This is a sad story, but it is matched by many o바카라사이트rs of luckier academics still able to pursue 바카라사이트ir passions.

"What drives me? Curiosity, I suppose," says Bauman. "The same urge that sent me 60 years ago to study philosophy and sociology. Curiosity is a curious urge; one that is set to grow more insatiable as one strives to feed it. Ageing is of little help here. Once married, life and curiosity can't be separated ..."