Our last blog forum entry has generated a great, stimulating discussion. I hope it continues.
But, I also wanted to point people to some responses elsewhere. Dr. Nokes, of Unlocked Wordhoard, now has a response up. Highly Eccentric, of The Naked Philologist, has another (even if she promises that her real response is yet to come). JJ Cohen, part of In the Middle, unrelatedly has announced a GW seminar on "Touching the Past." Finally, I put this in the comments to the original blog forum post, but it may've gotten lost. So, let me repeat the announcment that Stanley Fish has a new book coming out that tells academics to be quiet and stay in the classroom.
Ok, now discuss.
UPDATE: Now, Magistra weighs in too.
UPDATE 2: Now, here's Highly Eccentric. And part deux.
3 comments:
Reading the Stanley Fish article I'm struck that it's not quite the thing I expected. I know that he has argued elsewhere that there's no wider social purpose to his subject, but here he is mainly talking about academics preaching politics, not their subject. I can't see anywhere where he says that we shouldn't consider it our job to teach our stuff outside the classroom. What is more annoying is the implication that, because he argues that people should leave to the experts what the experts know about, that academics because of being expert in one thing shouldn't try and make a political contribution. But that too, he seems to shy short of actually saying, at least in what's quoted...
What I got from the article was more "do your job, and that job is teaching in a classroom."
I agree about the politics though. He definitely doesn't want us doing exactly what he's doing -- writing a blog for the NY Times, writing a book about the politics of academia, etc.
Thanks for the plug!
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