I I have some terrible habits of thought which I did not learn in graduate school, but rather as an assistant professor, in conjunction with Reeducation. As we know, Reeducation meant the acceptance of a standard interpretive paradigm which called itself ‘growth’ but was in fact asphyxiation. This weblog was created in part to cast … More Exhuming Banes III

This is one of the days on which my instinct to cut and run from the academic fold is very strong. These are some of the Banes with which I have always tried to work and to say are “all right” – but which are hard to handle in large doses, especially when there is … More Banes and More Banes

1. In This Concrete Moment I have a splitting headache, caused by redoing footnotes. This onerous task is in itself enough to cause a splitting headache. And I now get splitting headaches from academic writing, anyway, so in this circumstance, I have a double splitting headache. Academic writing has not always given me splitting headaches. … More On Writing

1. Mirror, Mirror… Lakshmi Chaudhry clearly does not read the blogs I do. She believes blogs, and YouTube videos as well, are fame-crazed Americans’ attempts to attain a form of micro-celebrity. Voyeurism, narcissism, and exhibitionism are the order of the day. I would not say that about the blogs I read, any more than I … More Exhuming Banes II

Here again is what Bearcy, the pantheist, says about the Jantelov and its internalization. The religious terminology he uses, I would not, but the text is worth thinking about. These are the sentences from it which jump out at me today: According to my narrow point of view, the Law of Jante is the main … More Exhuming Banes I

I I got a trolling e-mail and was disconcerted. Initially, I was just hurt, because it was in fact a hurtful remark. I apologized, thinking, if you have hurt me, then I must deserve it. Then, I realized the remark had been rude. I e-mailed again, saying, look, that was rude. If you really wanted … More On Trolls and Banes

Slaves of Academe has reminded us more than once that in academia, as in life, good deeds rarely go unpunished. Sometimes, however, they are rewarded or at least not opposed. This leads to feelings of empowerment, which brings perspective and focus, and fosters further accomplishment. This is why I have always considered empowerment a positive … More Se vuol ballare