tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7146512.post2911394592707516837..comments2024-03-12T22:31:46.500-04:00Comments on What Would Phoebe Do?: It's their thingPhoebe Maltz Bovyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996039330841139883noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7146512.post-17078447550741874202007-08-25T09:49:00.000-04:002007-08-25T09:49:00.000-04:00I'm pretty sure that if one advances a view based ...I'm pretty sure that if one advances a view based on bad information, it's not an argument either. Here's the argument you need to make: 1. blogging is a medium conducive to serious intellectual analysis (this is a premise that may need defense, a la "anonymous's" post). 2. However, conservatives are incapable of serious intellectual analysis on blogs. This is because a. they are incapable of serious intellectual analysis tout court (which we know is not true), or b. there is a necessary disconnect between the practice of blogging and conservative philosophical forms of thought (I'd like to see this case made). That would constitute an argument, even if it were flawed. What you "argued" - that conservatives can only rant hackneyed political attacks, and further, that they stay away from the academy (presumably because they are so ignorant) - is really just silly and, dare I say, ignorant. There are enough academic conservatives to belie that point, and enough stories of conservatives denied entrance to the academy by liberal academics to suggest that the very opposite is the case - that liberals prefer not to encounter serious alternatives. It's that "comfort zone" of which you rightly speak.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7146512.post-85239966168194872902007-08-25T09:16:00.000-04:002007-08-25T09:16:00.000-04:00I'm pretty sure that if you don't agree with somet...I'm pretty sure that if you don't agree with something, it cannot be called an argument.Phoebe Maltz Bovyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17996039330841139883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7146512.post-83351132851110935732007-08-25T07:34:00.000-04:002007-08-25T07:34:00.000-04:00This is, frankly, a ridiculous argument - if argum...This is, frankly, a ridiculous argument - if argument is the right word. Can it be the case that you are claiming because there are intellectually impoverished political tacticians speaking about higher education (a la Horowitz, etc.), that conservatism and the life of the mind in the academy are antithetical? I wonder how many conservative blogs you read, other than the "big" ones that tend to be the most inflammatory. There are plenty of conservatives - of many stripes - in the academy, from the traditionalist (MacIntyre) to the liberal (Mansfield) to the libertarian (Barnett) who belie this silly supposition. It's screeds like this that simply feed the fire of the bombastic conservative operatives, and detract rightful attention from the serious academic work that is being done by legions of various conservative academics.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7146512.post-53453118429690669962007-08-17T11:53:00.000-04:002007-08-17T11:53:00.000-04:00I agree that such a forum is desperately needed; t...I agree that such a forum is desperately needed; the Abu El Haj tenure battle at Columbia is an example of why it is needed.<BR/><BR/>This is an instance of demonstrably bad scholarship. the woman's sole book, Facts on the Ground, is supposed to be an anthropological study of Israeli archaeology, But it is done with facts and methods so bad only a post-colonialist could have written it. The core of her absurd and unsubstantiable argument is that ancient Israel never existed.<BR/><BR/>It is probably true that a book this fictional about any other topic wold have sunk like a stone. Because she was attacking Israel, they gave her a job at Barnard College, where almost the entire anthropology Department signed the divestment petition.<BR/><BR/>But because it is about Israel, it is hard to get the discussion to focus on the bad facts she uses. Even though some of them are actually funny. Like, Jerusalem in the time of Jesus was "not Jewish" and, in the year 70 Jerusalem was burned not by the Romans but by a working class uprising.<BR/><BR/>It would be nice to have a place where the bad scholarship could be discussed. Even in the case of a professor who wants to destroy Israel.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7146512.post-89896092424869855982007-08-16T21:19:00.000-04:002007-08-16T21:19:00.000-04:00Thanks all, for the phoebe-lanche at my place!Thanks all, for the phoebe-lanche at my place!The Sanity Inspectorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04808433661634318393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7146512.post-80104804858210798182007-08-16T15:51:00.000-04:002007-08-16T15:51:00.000-04:00OK Phoebe:Here's a challenge to you.What is an exa...OK Phoebe:<BR/><BR/>Here's a challenge to you.<BR/><BR/>What is an example of a good blog on academia from the left side?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7146512.post-51992024345246596682007-08-16T05:52:00.000-04:002007-08-16T05:52:00.000-04:00Conservative blogging on the condition of muslim w...Conservative blogging on the condition of muslim women in France must be entertaining pieces.Fr.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00949205875058796064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7146512.post-64978892021631976692007-08-15T12:19:00.000-04:002007-08-15T12:19:00.000-04:00If you're collecting conservative rants about acad...If you're collecting conservative rants about academia, <A HREF="http://atlantarofters.blogspot.com/2005/11/advice-to-child-going-off-to-college.html" REL="nofollow">have one of mine.</A>The Sanity Inspectorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04808433661634318393noreply@blogger.com