Sowell’s New Book on Intellectuals

15May/103

Sowell’s New Book on Intellectuals

If you've read any of my analyses of the trouble with the liberal arts, you'll know that my diagnosis is similar to what's represented here. For example, in departments of literature, you'll find people advocating deconstruction as a kind of talking cure that will translate us out of the hidebound confines of the human condition. It's really that important. Likewise, for those who've made their living deriving apocalyptic scenarios due to AGW, part of the motivation seems to be the seductive idea that meteorologists suddenly hold the key to the continued existence of humanity at large.

All of which is balderdash, of course, but ladle me on a little strokage and some grant monies, please, because I am the truly indispensable man. Do I look a little Caliban-ish? That is only because of the superficiality of your bourgeois conception of beauty, pig.

Dan Collins

Dan Collins is a dude who blogs. He used to blog elsewhere. Now he blogs here.

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Cowboy
May 15th, 2010 - 17:03

Dan:

I’ve long believed that the main motivating principle behind 90% of the bullshit written by most of my colleagues in English Departments is money and position.

There’s a widespread perception that if you employ standard literary analytical tools, there just aren’t valuable things to say about Shakespeare (et al) any longer. Therefore, the need to “invent” new analytical methods (usually, by co-opting them from another department–political science [Marx], philosophy [Sartre], anthropology [cultural studies]).

I’m not sure where the discipline can go from here. The destructive forces that made English–and most Humanities disciplines–a laughing stock in the last ten years may have done too much damage.

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- Dan Collins
  May 15th, 2010 - 18:31
  
  Retrenchment of what’s dismissively called stylistics might be a good starting point.
  
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Meep
May 16th, 2010 - 10:58

It’s not restricted to humanities, of course.

Academia is not known for its humility. Mainly because there are usually no repercussions if they’re wrong about anything [or at least, the particular wrong people tend not to suffer any from bad decisions made on wrong conclusions]. And they keep coming up against undergrads, who aren’t exactly much of a challenge, given that college is now what high school used to be.

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