Tag Archives: elitism

Rant: How Do We Determine If Too Many People Are Going To College Or Not?

Note: I am aware of how hypocritical the end of this is, given that I’m working to be a professor. I’m convinced anyone who stands for anything is prone to hypocrisy – the only way to avoid the problem is to be shameless. 1. Anyone who walks onto a US college or university nowadays is …

July 24, 2008 – 10:46 am | By ashok | Posted in education, politics | Tagged | Comments (1)

For Discussion: Is Politics Theater? Or Can a Government Mastermind Everything? Where did these stupid ideas come from? And what do you want to do about them?

1. People understand politics to be theater, even while insisting it be something more: some power that makes all the trains run on time and beats every enemy and costs no amount of money. I could say “this is irrational,” but duh you already know that. The bigger issue is that I understand politics this …

July 9, 2008 – 5:00 pm | By ashok | Posted in education, politics | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Why Read The Classics? Because They Take the Problem of Happiness Seriously

Very rough, nowhere near complete. For new readers. Comedy is harder than tragedy, and you would think someone nowadays was up to the challenge of explaining how we can be happy without glibly telling us “it’s just a matter of attitude.” Sorry, but we know better – we know we need things; we know providing …

July 3, 2008 – 1:37 am | By ashok | Posted in education, philosophy, politics | Tagged , | Comments (2)

Updating an Amazon Wishlist: Useful or a Waste of Time?

As I was buying a book or two for the dissertation, I realized I still tend to buy books I can’t possibly get full use of, and that there are books that could make me that much smarter which I have failed to get over the years. I really do regret the money and space …

June 28, 2008 – 1:30 pm | By ashok | Posted in personal | Tagged , | Comments (1)

On Political Change

Part of me wants to scream at everyone that they know nothing about politics. Not because, mind you, that I know anything about politics. I know very little. The important thing is that I know I know very little, and am constantly asking questions and wondering how things work. I’m willing to concede to experts …

June 27, 2008 – 4:29 pm | By ashok | Posted in politics | Tagged | Comments (12)

Rant: I Do Teach Politics. But Most People Think Politics Requires No Skill, And Therefore Can’t See What I’m Up To

Very rough, only an outline of an answer. Once again I’ve been asked for the 928347927972th time why I write on poetry and philosophy if I’m a political scientist. I think I’ve answered that at length before with commentary on how we relate to our heritage and the state of the media. Now I want …

June 13, 2008 – 8:57 am | By ashok | Posted in education, politics | Tagged , | Comments (1)

A Speech For all Graduates, Past and Present: Is Education a Good?

for Nancy, Joe, David, Zach, every Sarah I know, Constance and a million others who I wanted to congratulate but didn’t have the right words at the time. This is only a speech: the thoughts in here are subject to being revised, and like some of my rhetoric, certain problems are purposely not being addressed …

May 28, 2008 – 7:33 am | By ashok | Posted in education, philosophy | Tagged , | Comments (3)

You Blog Well. So How Serious Should You Be About Promoting?

1. Xenophon’s Socrates confronts one gentleman in the Memorabilia who claims he need not submit to any law. After all, he can live out in the wild between cities, and there is no law there. Socrates yells at this guy. There’s an argument given – it is Socrates we’re dealing with – and because it’s …

October 2, 2007 – 2:19 pm | By ashok | Posted in blogging | Tagged , | Comments (2)