The History of the “Tenured Radical”

Most bloggers treat their blog as an online journal. Others use it to communicate with others about their pregnancy, eating habits, or their last trip to Spain. Claire Potter, professor of History and American Studies, has a different approach.

“The Tenured Radical is an alternate personality,” Potter said. “It’s kind of like me in drag, or something.”

Perhaps Wesleyan’s most famous blog, and certainly it’s most controversial, Claire Potter’s “The Tenured Radical” brims with sarcasm, criticism, and wit. The Tenured Radical was early to the blogosphere, as Potter began its first incarnation in 2007. It was immediately popular.

“Right off the bat, I was getting something like 200 hits a day,” Potter said.

Currently, the blog averages around 1,500 hits per day, largely because of her recent coverage of an Oklahoma transgender professor’s denial of tenure. However, more has changed since 2007 besides the size of the audience....