Category Archives: academia

Ah, the joys of libel…

…let’s play how many problems can you spot with this: However, a more intricate criticism is offered by the followers of Leo Strauss, who also believe in a hermeneutics of culture, and often echo many of Adorno’s criticisms of accessibility and art. Their critique rests on the anti-capitalist nature of Adorno’s orientation, arguing that while …

January 29, 2009 – 11:39 pm | By ashok | Posted in academia, personal | Comments (6)

English professor demonstrates why sitting around and being paid to muse can create really crappy articles

William Deresiewicz, whose “The Disadvantages of an Elite Education” article was excellent, has produced an absolute stinker in the Chronicle of Higher Education: “The End of Solitude” is a case study in how not to write. It’s far too long and very badly argued, and it is the latter I want to focus on, because …

January 24, 2009 – 7:19 am | By ashok | Posted in academia | Comments (2)

Professor William Ayers and the Corruption of the Academy

Before I begin, let me make something clear: reading Bill Ayers’ blog has made me feel really sorry for the guy, not because he’s done anything right, but because he just sounds nuts. Part of me feels as if he’s being used, weirdly enough, by people like Senator Obama and the educational/political establishment in Chicago. …

October 21, 2008 – 4:42 am | By ashok | Posted in academia, education, politics | Comments (6)

Creating Statesmen, Part Final: The Rebirth of the Humanities

Madison in Federalist 10 writes: As long as the reason of man continues fallible, and he is at liberty to exercise it, different opinions will be formed. As long as the connection subsists between his reason and his self-love, his opinions and his passions will have a reciprocal influence on each other; and the former …

October 7, 2008 – 10:19 pm | By ashok | Posted in academia, education, politics | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Puff-Piece Features about Philosophy Do the World No Good: Isn’t Philosophy about asking Tough Questions?

I’m happy the Professor is getting some recognition, but the interesting issues this piece raises are dropped as soon as they come up. 1. The first issue that this article raises regards the status of public universities: Auburn is a land-grant university: it became one in 1872 under a federal program geared toward helping the …

September 23, 2008 – 7:47 pm | By ashok | Posted in academia, education, philosophy | Tagged | Comments (4)

9/11/2001

The events are real enough. I’m still debating what role 9/11 played in my thought and actions. I had class at Rutgers in New Brunswick, NJ early that morning. My dorm two years before had a clear view of the New York skyline; I used to get up in the morning sophomore year and the …

September 2, 2008 – 7:05 am | By ashok | Posted in academia | Tagged , | Comments (6)

Mood, and a thought on Partisanship

I am not in a bad mood. I am in an awful mood. I’m doing my best to remember that “I’m better than this,” but I need to get out, get my mind off where it wants to go. I hate how my past defines me, let me put it that way. And I hate …

August 31, 2008 – 8:40 pm | By ashok | Posted in academia, personal, politics | Comments (5)

Attended a wedding this weekend. In case you were curious about who got married:

For Mignon and Aaron Thurow, with faith, hope, & of course love In the past, Mignon has devoted considerable energy to examining the virtue of hope. Aaron has spoken at length of how our age refuses to believe people can act for a cause, can be motivated by faith more than self-interest. It is our …

August 25, 2008 – 9:30 pm | By ashok | Posted in academia, love, personal | Tagged | Comments (1)

Build your own list: What must people majoring in the humanities and liberal arts know?

I was just thinking the other day that I nearly forgot everything learned at Rutgers. While I was exposed to lots of awesome things, I never really had the chance to put it all together and make sense of the whole. This post is a prompt – I’m interested in what you think people should …

August 19, 2008 – 2:34 am | By ashok | Posted in academia, education | Tagged | Comments (3)

Rant: If The Liberal Arts Are To Survive, Then People Can’t Be 6 Figures in Debt For An English Degree

To all budding philanthropists in America: If you are worried about things like a decline in reading, an inability to express oneself well verbally, a general lack of knowledge about the past or its significance, or the emergence of a thoughtless populist politics, then take note: You can’t expect people to dedicate themselves fully to …

February 26, 2008 – 1:59 pm | By ashok | Posted in academia, education | Tagged | Comments (7)