T A B L E_ T A L K Do women's studies programs do more harm than good? Join the debate in Table Talk's Education area R E C E N T L Y Going adjunct By Andreas Killen The grueling plight of underemployed academics and the violent fantasies they entertain (09/17/98) Vocational fiction 101 By Carol Lloyd The principles of creative writing can help make sense of the absurd autobiographical art of résumé creation (09/16/98) Penile Ponderings By Lori Gottlieb When a professor asks you to grope your friend's organs for extra credit, what's the right thing to do? (09/15/98) The $10,000 hoop By Zachary Karabell Why college doesn't matter (09/14/98) Why Ivory Tower? By Carol Llloyd Salon launches a new university section

A ONE-STOP PLAYGROUND FOR WEEKEND FUN AND FRIVOLITY From Books "Pure Drivel" by Steve Martin Martin's book of diminutive, often hilarious essays -- some of which have appeared in the New Yorker -- is the sort of thing you can whiz through in an evening, light reading that's effortless and silly even as it's subtly erudite. For him, it's just a matter of knowing where to put the punch line, and it works practically every time. Reviewed by Stephanie Zacharek. From Wanderlust Where am I gonna go today? Exploring the world of teaching English overseas from the comfort of your desktop. By Aaron Paulson. From Sharps and Flats CD reviews "Nuggets," the '60s compilation that's the only one of Rolling Stone's all-time best 200 albums never to have been released on CD, finally gets the box-set treatment from Rhino. Plus: New albums by Sheryl Crow, Pansy Division and Danilo Perez. From 21st Is cyberpunk still breathing? Two new science-fiction novels -- "Mir: A Novel of Virtual Reality" by Alexander Besher and "Silicon Sunset: Where the Information Highway Really Leads" by Scott T. Grusky -- take a stab at an increasingly moribund genre. Reviewed by Andrew Leonard. From Joyce Millman on TV Strangeness in the night What's a nice boy like Conan O'Brien doing in a place like late night TV? Daytime talk shows get all the attention for their (predictably) flamboyant displays of nuttiness. But if you're interested in truly intriguing head cases, then late night is the place to be. From Mothers Who Think In defense of parenthood Have you ever felt like your parents had little or no effect on your personality? In her new book, "The Nurture Assumption," Judith Rich Harris argues these feelings may be more than fantasies. Reinterpreting the data from decades of psychological studies on the individual personality, she argues that no matter how you parent, junior may still turnout to be the next Charles Manson. Katie Allison Granju asks whether Harris' theories are not simply about letting parents off the hook.