I spent a little time this morning following the google links from one place to the next. I eventually ended up on a relatively poorly thought out blog named "Western Hero" or something like that. Like most right-wing blogs (and right-wing pundits on mainstream outlets), critical methodology isn't WH's strong point, including such risible jems as describing links to stories in such ways as the descriptions bear little resemblance to the story itself. A good example of this mistake can be seen if you want to search for "debunk Iraq death count Lancet" + "Western Hero" -- you'll get a piece from 2009 (don't ask me how I got there...I was looking for information on Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa's Academically Adrift) linking to a BBC article that, WH claims, "debunks" the Lancet report.
Unfortunately for WH, the article does no such thing. What it does do is discuss how the lead researcher refused to give research information to the American Association for Public Opinion Research, leading that body to censure him. It says nothing about the validity of the claims made in the Lancet, and in fact makes a point of noting that AAPOR doesn't comment on the accuracy of the research...only that the researcher has not been forthcoming in providing material. The BBC article, by the way, is here. There are plenty of other examples on the site, if you care to dredge through some of the most poorly supported writing and self-congratulatory echo-chamber comments you can find concentrated in one place.
In a way, the results of that search did connect to Arum and Roksa's work, because it's clear -- or perhaps more accurately I should say that it appears from anecdotal evidence of googling serious issues -- that colleges and universities are producing a large amount of fools who can't evaluate evidence or engage in much critical thinking. If a student of mine had linked that BBC article as an attempt to prove anything about the Lancet's Iraq War civilian deaths, he or she would get a nice note about support needing to do what you claim it does. If the paper were about questions raised concerning research methodology and transparency in statistics gathering, the article has relevance; as a debunking of the research, it is silent.
Later today, I'll be listening to Arum at a luncheon keynote. It'll be interesting to hear what he has to say, but I haven't read through the book -- I've only digested the digested version available on the Chronicle of Higher Education site. I have questions about what's being measured as learning -- questions I'm willing to bet the book (which is as of this morning sitting on my desk) goes some way to answer -- and more importantly how do we quantify something I find to be inherently unquantifiable: the co-curricular and extra-curricular (intentional and more often unintentional by the way) components of those four years spent in college? As a recent Pew survey has found, 84% of college graduates are satisfied with the cost of their education relative to the benefits. While that survey question doesn't speak to learning (I can be plenty satisfied without having learned anything if I achieve a favorable outcome like getting a good job), the survey as a whole seems to ask about some of those "unquantifiables."
14 February 2011
The internet flattens distinction.
If you ever want to get depressed about the state of the world, spend some time reading comments on articles on the internet. Now on your regular sites like CNN, you expect a certain amount of stupidity, because most of the people commenting there are stupid. Sorry, but they are. They couldn't think through anything more complicated than a value-meal menu at a drive-thru.
You can call it smug elitism if you want, but when Glenn Beck is a highly-rated talk show host and best-selling author, I'd call it something closer to the truth.
On your more esoteric sites, like the Chronicle of Higher Education, you might expect the comments to be more thought-through. However, you'd be horribly, horribly wrong. The magic of the internet is that a mere link can join us together, and so it takes only a small piece of html code to direct knuckle-dragging half-literate asshats, whose main connection to higher education is that they once went to a party at the college where their second cousin was enrolled, to the Chronicle of Higher Education articles and comments.
Take the recent article on Francis Fox Piven, the professor of political science and sociology whose currently in Glenn Beck's rhetorical doghouse. The article went up on February 10th and comments are now closed, I suspect in part because of the absolutely useless nature of the "dialogue" that the 75 comments represent.
From these comments, I have "learned" the following:
1. Piven is really the bad person here, because she advocates violence. Apparently, calling for mass mobilization is advocating violence because her examples, like the Greek anti-austerity protests, have resulted in violence. In other words, if violence is a possibility, or if violence has ever occurred as the result of mass mobilization and civil disobedience, then you are an advocate for violence, which pretty much makes every single mass movement a violent movement.
2. If someone uses a word in their organization's name, then they must adhere to the meaning of that word. Since Beck is so prone to bringing up Hitler, it was only a matter of time before the name of the Great Evil One was evoked in the comment section, which led to the incredible claim that Hitler was in fact of the Left. Here, "physicsprof" supplies the analogy, while throwing in a little dig at the social sciences:
3. It's often best simply to repeat what someone says and act like you've made a point:
Besides, repetition is a tactic often employed by my five year old against my ten year old. It's effective largely because it posits no position and is irritating much in the same way that a poorly wiped anus becomes irritating.
Now one of the real lessons that should come out of all of this perusing the comment board at CHE is that many commenters have no actual association or familiarity with higher education. They may have graduated from college, but they certainly don't know anything about the professional culture of universities or the academic culture of departments and disciplines. One moron even spoke of the "simple French philosophers." I'd like him or her to point me to that one, because I have yet to read a French philosopher who was "simple" in any use of the word (although right wing -- and even analytic philosophy's -- caricatures of figures such as Derrida for instance would make his work appear simple-headed...but that comes from not reading very carefully or not at all).
So they are trolls. They have no interest in higher education other than to see it cohere to a lockstep point of view (something they accuse the Left of doing...because the Left apparently is so well organized) in which their history of America is the only valid history. It can be summed up in a statement made by Rick Santorum at the recent CPAC get-together that America is perfect (which if you think about it is quite a proud statement from one who supposedly believes in the concept of Original Sin and we are all sinners etc.). To point out areas where the U.S. perhaps made errors or didn't live up to its promises is to of course hate America. Although, the best response to Santorum's statement might be to ask, "If America is so perfect, why are you so angry with it?"
For these souls, history was given. It wasn't a site of contestation, but sprung fully-formed from the head of Reagan. Or Goldwater. At any rate, for these people living in the eternal present, America is perfect because we no longer have slavery and we no longer allow children to work the mills, etc., and forty years from now, these same hate-filled bigots -- having learned the same lesson their present day counterparts have learned about race -- will stand in front of crowds and talk about how perfect America is because we no longer condone the lynching of homosexuals.
This post is already very long, but just imagine another few paragraphs on the interesting rhetorical moves that the Right employs to turn their hatred and intolerance back at the Left. It generally goes along the lines of "every voice is equal," thereby employing the rhetoric of equality to suggest for instance that repeated studies and the considered weight of scientific research and opinion is equal to Glenn Beck saying "no it's not" on the subject of climate change, or in this case to suggest that somehow there's a level of equality between the academic and intellectual credentials of Noam Chomsky and Rush Limbaugh. Where do you even start with such ridiculous assertions?
You can call it smug elitism if you want, but when Glenn Beck is a highly-rated talk show host and best-selling author, I'd call it something closer to the truth.
On your more esoteric sites, like the Chronicle of Higher Education, you might expect the comments to be more thought-through. However, you'd be horribly, horribly wrong. The magic of the internet is that a mere link can join us together, and so it takes only a small piece of html code to direct knuckle-dragging half-literate asshats, whose main connection to higher education is that they once went to a party at the college where their second cousin was enrolled, to the Chronicle of Higher Education articles and comments.
Take the recent article on Francis Fox Piven, the professor of political science and sociology whose currently in Glenn Beck's rhetorical doghouse. The article went up on February 10th and comments are now closed, I suspect in part because of the absolutely useless nature of the "dialogue" that the 75 comments represent.
From these comments, I have "learned" the following:
1. Piven is really the bad person here, because she advocates violence. Apparently, calling for mass mobilization is advocating violence because her examples, like the Greek anti-austerity protests, have resulted in violence. In other words, if violence is a possibility, or if violence has ever occurred as the result of mass mobilization and civil disobedience, then you are an advocate for violence, which pretty much makes every single mass movement a violent movement.
2. If someone uses a word in their organization's name, then they must adhere to the meaning of that word. Since Beck is so prone to bringing up Hitler, it was only a matter of time before the name of the Great Evil One was evoked in the comment section, which led to the incredible claim that Hitler was in fact of the Left. Here, "physicsprof" supplies the analogy, while throwing in a little dig at the social sciences:
The difference between Newtonian mechanics and political science is that the former is an exact science while the latter is open to interpretation (=BS). Surely the left would like to disown Lenin and Hitler and would readily twist the evidence, but the facts are simple, both parties had exactly the same name (NSDRP vs NSDAP, with R and A standing for the same word, labor, written in Russian and German) and carbon-copied programs. [comment 36]Ah, so their acronyms are very similar and in fact the words based on the acronyms are similar. I see. Apparently, to disown Hitler, the Left has to twist evidence. Evidence like Hitler taking over the NSDAP and removing or killing any of the actual socialists involved in the party or maybe evidence like Hitler imprisoning or killing leaders of socialist and communist parties. But it's all in the name...you see, the Nazis really were Leftists because they used "Socialist" and "Workers" in their name. In much the same way, the German Democratic Republic was in fact a democratic republic.
3. It's often best simply to repeat what someone says and act like you've made a point:
Beck lacks much in the way of common sense, but acknowledging his past and background it makes sense. He can be thankful that he lives in a democracy that allows him to spout off his stupidity. [comment 67]
(followed by...)
Fox Piven lacks much in the way of common sense, but acknowledging her past and background it make sense. She can be thankful that she lives in a democracy that allows her to spout off her stupidity.Well, of course it's too easy to let someone else do your thinking for you. We call it plagiarism in my freshman English courses. However, I'm not blind to the underlying point #69 was trying to make, but trying to make a point and actually making one are two different things. Beck is a moron with very little understanding of history, and what he does know proves the maxim that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. He consistently fails to account for changing contexts, cannot understand that a multitude of factors impact events and actions, and is prone to equating nearly everything with Hitler. It's easy to make #67's statement about Beck; it's not so easy to see it applicable to Piven.
Too easy. [comment 69]
Besides, repetition is a tactic often employed by my five year old against my ten year old. It's effective largely because it posits no position and is irritating much in the same way that a poorly wiped anus becomes irritating.
Now one of the real lessons that should come out of all of this perusing the comment board at CHE is that many commenters have no actual association or familiarity with higher education. They may have graduated from college, but they certainly don't know anything about the professional culture of universities or the academic culture of departments and disciplines. One moron even spoke of the "simple French philosophers." I'd like him or her to point me to that one, because I have yet to read a French philosopher who was "simple" in any use of the word (although right wing -- and even analytic philosophy's -- caricatures of figures such as Derrida for instance would make his work appear simple-headed...but that comes from not reading very carefully or not at all).
So they are trolls. They have no interest in higher education other than to see it cohere to a lockstep point of view (something they accuse the Left of doing...because the Left apparently is so well organized) in which their history of America is the only valid history. It can be summed up in a statement made by Rick Santorum at the recent CPAC get-together that America is perfect (which if you think about it is quite a proud statement from one who supposedly believes in the concept of Original Sin and we are all sinners etc.). To point out areas where the U.S. perhaps made errors or didn't live up to its promises is to of course hate America. Although, the best response to Santorum's statement might be to ask, "If America is so perfect, why are you so angry with it?"
For these souls, history was given. It wasn't a site of contestation, but sprung fully-formed from the head of Reagan. Or Goldwater. At any rate, for these people living in the eternal present, America is perfect because we no longer have slavery and we no longer allow children to work the mills, etc., and forty years from now, these same hate-filled bigots -- having learned the same lesson their present day counterparts have learned about race -- will stand in front of crowds and talk about how perfect America is because we no longer condone the lynching of homosexuals.
This post is already very long, but just imagine another few paragraphs on the interesting rhetorical moves that the Right employs to turn their hatred and intolerance back at the Left. It generally goes along the lines of "every voice is equal," thereby employing the rhetoric of equality to suggest for instance that repeated studies and the considered weight of scientific research and opinion is equal to Glenn Beck saying "no it's not" on the subject of climate change, or in this case to suggest that somehow there's a level of equality between the academic and intellectual credentials of Noam Chomsky and Rush Limbaugh. Where do you even start with such ridiculous assertions?
11 February 2011
Conundrum.
What's a conservative to do? He or she despises the federal government and all those wasteful agencies like the United States Postal Service, but damn the USPS is going to issue a stamp of the greatest President who ever walked this earth, Ronald Reagan.
Shudder. Do you rush out and buy as many of these stamps as you can, knowing that you can use them "forever," regardless of postal rate increases, or do you resist the USPS's shrewd attempt to co-opt conservatives into propping up this socialist organization?
It's a nice portrait. My only complaint is that the background should have more to do with his Presidency, like maybe showing his administration officials shaking hands and exchanging gifts and reconnaissance photos with Saddam Hussein, or American factories closing, or his beloved Contras blowing up hospitals and schools. Or at least a set of faces in the background, in Mount Rushmore style, of Pinochet, Hussein, and P.W. Botha.
Shudder. Do you rush out and buy as many of these stamps as you can, knowing that you can use them "forever," regardless of postal rate increases, or do you resist the USPS's shrewd attempt to co-opt conservatives into propping up this socialist organization?
It's a nice portrait. My only complaint is that the background should have more to do with his Presidency, like maybe showing his administration officials shaking hands and exchanging gifts and reconnaissance photos with Saddam Hussein, or American factories closing, or his beloved Contras blowing up hospitals and schools. Or at least a set of faces in the background, in Mount Rushmore style, of Pinochet, Hussein, and P.W. Botha.
10 February 2011
Is it a bad sign to fall asleep ten minutes after you start reading?
I have been having trouble lately staying awake -- whether afternoon or night -- when trying to read. In my profession, that's a very bad thing. I'm hoping it's mostly because I have been conditioned over the last few years to view reading as a bedtime activity -- as of late I've been reading The Magic Tree House series to our daughter.
Then I'm digging through Emerson.
Tomorrow, or rather later today, I will teach Emerson to a group of students and I'm not exactly sure where the class will go. That's a fairly enjoyable thing for me. I have more examples and points of emphasis than will fit into 1 hour and 15 minutes, but they're simply markers to connect to the class's direction.
I do know we will talk about foolish consistencies and Emerson's very interesting observation that the discontent of the multitude, while easily manipulated, is more consequential than the discontent of the "cultivated classes," whose opposition he belittles as "feminine rage."
Then I'm digging through Emerson.
Tomorrow, or rather later today, I will teach Emerson to a group of students and I'm not exactly sure where the class will go. That's a fairly enjoyable thing for me. I have more examples and points of emphasis than will fit into 1 hour and 15 minutes, but they're simply markers to connect to the class's direction.
I do know we will talk about foolish consistencies and Emerson's very interesting observation that the discontent of the multitude, while easily manipulated, is more consequential than the discontent of the "cultivated classes," whose opposition he belittles as "feminine rage."
31 January 2011
So I've been traveling.
Just when I was getting going again, other things got in the way.
Like having to leave the frozen east for the more enjoyable climate of San Francisco.
San Francisco was hosting one of those academic conferences in one of those big non-descript hotels that occupy the areas around the business districts of American cities. This one happened to be down around Market Street, within an easy walk of the Ferry Terminal, which has a nice farmers market on the weekend.
There was also a storefront from some boutique olive oil manufacturer that sold rather expensive olive oil and olive trees to boot. I'd love to have an olive tree, but I'm not sure it would grow in my current location. I'd love even more to have an avocado tree, but again I doubt the climate would suit it around here.
We didn't stay at the conference hotel or anywhere near Market, really. It's sort of expensive and again sort of generic. There are times when it's very convenient to stay at or near the conference hotel (MLA in LA earlier this month being one of those times), but sometimes it's extremely enjoyable to distance yourself physically and mentally from the conference. We stayed at a place that played a bit role in one of my favorite films. They claim to be a Nob Hill hotel, and in some ways they are, but really it's the edge of Nob Hill and they could be as easily the upper Tenderloin as lower Nob Hill, and besides it's only three blocks from their door to Polk Street, a particularly gritty nightlife area that recalls Adams Morgan but with more menace.
However, I wouldn't characterize the neighborhood as run down or dangerous. Neither the Tenderloin nor Polk are what they were in the mid-1990's, which is to say they're considerably more mundane, although not gentrified. As for the hotel, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone who asks. Just get a renovated room, because that's half the kick.
The conference went well, because I know you were waiting for me to get around to it. Fortunately, the panel I was on was one of the first panels and in addition to having a nearly full room with some good exchanges during the question and answer, I knew that by Thursday afternoon, I was finished worrying about the presentation and could relax for the remainder, which I did. I took a few panels off to visit Coit Tower in particular and North Beach in general, and while the Coit Tower elevator was closed for repairs, I hadn't planned on going up the tower anyway; I just like the murals and views from the grounds are great. We even saw a few of the parrots that make Telegraph Hill their home.
Food: House of Nanking (a favorite of ours on Kearny). The food is excellent, but if you are someone who thinks you should be pampered as a customer, I'd give it a miss. They're pretty brusque. The last time I was there, the place looked like a total dive. This time, the interior had been remodeled and the menu prices reflected that capital investment. I liked the dive look better.
Food: North Beach Pizza (another favorite). Since we'd been there last, the joint had moved across the street. The old location was a bit cramped, always crowded, and not exactly suited to efficient movement. The new place has a really high ceiling and an open design, as well as significantly higher capacity. The pizza is still excellent, especially with a bottle of straw basket chianti.
Food: Gamine (a new one for us). We were walking around Union Street looking for food and came upon this gem. It's tiny and owner-operated, which is a definite plus in my book. It was also stocked with several regulars, as evidenced by the owner's personal attention and setting up of complimentary dessert wines. While we didn't receive such attention, the atmosphere was enjoyable, except for the drunk twenty-something who was hitting on the co-owner, who was the wife of the other owner. I had moules mariniere and pomme frittes, both of which were very very very good -- the sauce had a nice amount of garlic and pepper in it. It was a bit overpriced ($15 for the mussels and $5 for the frittes -- they didn't come as a package as I believe they do at Bistrot du Coin), but not horrifically out of line.
We had some other meals, but I'll leave those to your imagination. Not that I've described these meals in particular.
Air travel is a pain.
Like having to leave the frozen east for the more enjoyable climate of San Francisco.
San Francisco was hosting one of those academic conferences in one of those big non-descript hotels that occupy the areas around the business districts of American cities. This one happened to be down around Market Street, within an easy walk of the Ferry Terminal, which has a nice farmers market on the weekend.
There was also a storefront from some boutique olive oil manufacturer that sold rather expensive olive oil and olive trees to boot. I'd love to have an olive tree, but I'm not sure it would grow in my current location. I'd love even more to have an avocado tree, but again I doubt the climate would suit it around here.
We didn't stay at the conference hotel or anywhere near Market, really. It's sort of expensive and again sort of generic. There are times when it's very convenient to stay at or near the conference hotel (MLA in LA earlier this month being one of those times), but sometimes it's extremely enjoyable to distance yourself physically and mentally from the conference. We stayed at a place that played a bit role in one of my favorite films. They claim to be a Nob Hill hotel, and in some ways they are, but really it's the edge of Nob Hill and they could be as easily the upper Tenderloin as lower Nob Hill, and besides it's only three blocks from their door to Polk Street, a particularly gritty nightlife area that recalls Adams Morgan but with more menace.
However, I wouldn't characterize the neighborhood as run down or dangerous. Neither the Tenderloin nor Polk are what they were in the mid-1990's, which is to say they're considerably more mundane, although not gentrified. As for the hotel, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone who asks. Just get a renovated room, because that's half the kick.
The conference went well, because I know you were waiting for me to get around to it. Fortunately, the panel I was on was one of the first panels and in addition to having a nearly full room with some good exchanges during the question and answer, I knew that by Thursday afternoon, I was finished worrying about the presentation and could relax for the remainder, which I did. I took a few panels off to visit Coit Tower in particular and North Beach in general, and while the Coit Tower elevator was closed for repairs, I hadn't planned on going up the tower anyway; I just like the murals and views from the grounds are great. We even saw a few of the parrots that make Telegraph Hill their home.
Food: House of Nanking (a favorite of ours on Kearny). The food is excellent, but if you are someone who thinks you should be pampered as a customer, I'd give it a miss. They're pretty brusque. The last time I was there, the place looked like a total dive. This time, the interior had been remodeled and the menu prices reflected that capital investment. I liked the dive look better.
Food: North Beach Pizza (another favorite). Since we'd been there last, the joint had moved across the street. The old location was a bit cramped, always crowded, and not exactly suited to efficient movement. The new place has a really high ceiling and an open design, as well as significantly higher capacity. The pizza is still excellent, especially with a bottle of straw basket chianti.
Food: Gamine (a new one for us). We were walking around Union Street looking for food and came upon this gem. It's tiny and owner-operated, which is a definite plus in my book. It was also stocked with several regulars, as evidenced by the owner's personal attention and setting up of complimentary dessert wines. While we didn't receive such attention, the atmosphere was enjoyable, except for the drunk twenty-something who was hitting on the co-owner, who was the wife of the other owner. I had moules mariniere and pomme frittes, both of which were very very very good -- the sauce had a nice amount of garlic and pepper in it. It was a bit overpriced ($15 for the mussels and $5 for the frittes -- they didn't come as a package as I believe they do at Bistrot du Coin), but not horrifically out of line.
We had some other meals, but I'll leave those to your imagination. Not that I've described these meals in particular.
Air travel is a pain.
17 January 2011
It's not a resolution, but I'll give it a try.
I've been missing since the start of the fall semester 2010.
Sorry about that.
Or for some of you, sorry about coming back.
You might be curious as to what I've been doing in the intervening five months. Yeah, me too. The short story is that I was taking on too many projects at work and dedicating too much time to my hobbies such as playing guitar and wasting time on the internet.
I've been reading a lot of James Baldwin.
I've been living in exile from DC for over two years now, and it's really getting on my nerves. I am getting sick of pizza and wings and having to drive everywhere. I'm sick of oil furnaces. I'm sick of Confederate flags in this Union state. I'm sick of County governments and school boards that make DC officials look like Honest Abe.
I'm sick of Sarah Palin's bullshit and John Boehner's tan. I'm tired of the Tea Party. I want to believe our society has advanced somewhat in the last fifty years and I don't want to believe that the education system is so utterly broken that Fox News can fuel a mass movement.
I'm ready to scream in my little corner of cyberspace again.
Sorry about that.
Or for some of you, sorry about coming back.
You might be curious as to what I've been doing in the intervening five months. Yeah, me too. The short story is that I was taking on too many projects at work and dedicating too much time to my hobbies such as playing guitar and wasting time on the internet.
I've been reading a lot of James Baldwin.
I've been living in exile from DC for over two years now, and it's really getting on my nerves. I am getting sick of pizza and wings and having to drive everywhere. I'm sick of oil furnaces. I'm sick of Confederate flags in this Union state. I'm sick of County governments and school boards that make DC officials look like Honest Abe.
I'm sick of Sarah Palin's bullshit and John Boehner's tan. I'm tired of the Tea Party. I want to believe our society has advanced somewhat in the last fifty years and I don't want to believe that the education system is so utterly broken that Fox News can fuel a mass movement.
I'm ready to scream in my little corner of cyberspace again.
16 January 2011
Question to Ponder.
Is the USA still largely racist, or is it more likely that a predominant number of racists post comments on the Washington Post website?
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