http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/who-killed-liberal-arts_652007.html?nopager=1
It would be very easy to just disagree with this trumpeteer of the old guard. Claim that this one writer is out of date, that he implicitly rejects the positive changes to the liberal arts across universities in recent decades, and is unable to appreciate the full scope of pop-culture studies or anything that veers away from old white men of respected authority. Such rings the post-modern critique that sits inside us and pushes out these opinions; but standards are for many art undergrads quite low in what they produce and in the capacity to discuss what they are learning without single-line arguments of dogmatism. To assess a topic with complexity, with a good scope of readings and gathered multiple opinions, to enter weighty texts and comprehend their many meanings is in decline because it is contrary to examination culture and quick answers, which is not long thoughtful debate. Epstein is saying that change is not always for the good, it hasn't been for American arts, and in the American universities that cover his partial experience, the negatives have risen as the favour and reputation of the arts has declined.
The politicisation comment got my attention. In my area of Islamism studies and sociology, politicisation is heavy, palpable. The answers proposed partial and often simplistic, because the writers are adhering to the sub-discliplinary commands of political allegiances. In my drafts, when I have indicated how easily sociology reinforces one camp of argument only (that of external reasons for why Islamism has emerged), this has been marked as something that should not be included. A faux pas to note that common explanations of sociology, here are so limited.
Critique of the arts and social sciences is essential, especially when limitations on thought concerning a subject are easy to see. The arts should be robust enough to take critique, but now they are in decline and depth of analysis is so often lacking—and not just in under-grads. To write on this, is to walk on egg-shells. Epstein deserves credit for explaining what he has seen.
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To readers, I have apparently reached the mark of having over a hundred views. Early days, but it has been a pleasure. Cheers.
Thursday, 13 September 2012
Thursday, 2 August 2012
Prison Art and Punishment
I sent this off to
a few friends today:
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/2529b79c-d644-11e1-b547-00144feabdc0.html
It got me thinking and feeling. I was surprised by the beauty of the pictures. Art on whatever canvas is available, with simple materials to escape the grim situation of confinement. What sad and tragic longing for the “free world”, the beautiful world outside of their prisons.
It got me thinking and feeling. I was surprised by the beauty of the pictures. Art on whatever canvas is available, with simple materials to escape the grim situation of confinement. What sad and tragic longing for the “free world”, the beautiful world outside of their prisons.
Following this, I read comments on
another post calling for death by hanging for paedophiles, murderers, drug
dealers and the like. Art is an escape I thought, a chance to find calm, to
leave an old self behind and make something worthwhile as an artist, even if
you come from an awful background and have done great evil to other humans.
Then to read the comments (there were over 1,300), most of which supported
death by hanging, but not all, it just seemed like there was an inversion. The
incarcerated artists were trying to find peace, but the posters out there in
the free world wanted death, and punishment and public killing. It was very sad
to read such hate and bloodlust from the free.
Monday, 18 June 2012
Aphorism and Succinctly Grasping the Real
I am writing on a point by the sociologist Anthony Giddens, and his claim that modernity is weakly understood (its facets, its changes, its transitions) although people are embedded within it. This causes me to wonder, are some fiction writers (e.g. Coetzee, Eagleton) so skilled at summary aphorism and weighing in briefly on big issues, because their occupation involves a disconnect and imagining every day?
Eyes to the stars, creating fiction, their grasp of great events and influences can be stronger and what they want to say well-conveyed in merely a few paragraphs. This contrasts to the tome of labour and often slower expression of the academic, which is rarely succinct outside of the introduction.
Eyes to the stars, creating fiction, their grasp of great events and influences can be stronger and what they want to say well-conveyed in merely a few paragraphs. This contrasts to the tome of labour and often slower expression of the academic, which is rarely succinct outside of the introduction.
Wednesday, 23 May 2012
Today I read something interesting about a Longshoreman
http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/book-world-eric-hoffer-the-longshoreman-philosopher-by-tom-bethell/2012/05/09/gIQAasr0DU_story.html
What a fascinating character. Eric Hoffer: the autodidact, prolific writer and questor.
Real writers, real thinkers and doubters can have the most unusual backgrounds, being from unexpected professions while retaining their focus on writing. Not at all what you would expect. Not all are experts and elites—protected as long as they teach, lecture, navigate the bureaucracy of universities and play the baronial game of the academic departments. Maybe being a part-time Longshoreman is ideal for a writer? Active, with some time off.
It seems this one was free. Less orthodox and certainly not produced by a university or a typical now-lengthy school-system, but steadily assembled by his own will. Quite possibly an illegal migrant, how deeply they are stigmatised now. He was a man, a writer who followed his own interests into publications.
Note: I have heard mention of Eric Hoffer before. In a history unit on Nazi studies, and another unit on Fundamentalism. He has been relied upon and quoted, even by non-Longshoremen academics.
What a fascinating character. Eric Hoffer: the autodidact, prolific writer and questor.
Real writers, real thinkers and doubters can have the most unusual backgrounds, being from unexpected professions while retaining their focus on writing. Not at all what you would expect. Not all are experts and elites—protected as long as they teach, lecture, navigate the bureaucracy of universities and play the baronial game of the academic departments. Maybe being a part-time Longshoreman is ideal for a writer? Active, with some time off.
It seems this one was free. Less orthodox and certainly not produced by a university or a typical now-lengthy school-system, but steadily assembled by his own will. Quite possibly an illegal migrant, how deeply they are stigmatised now. He was a man, a writer who followed his own interests into publications.
Note: I have heard mention of Eric Hoffer before. In a history unit on Nazi studies, and another unit on Fundamentalism. He has been relied upon and quoted, even by non-Longshoremen academics.
Monday, 21 May 2012
We Must Talk Tea
Reading, writing, critical thought or contemplation, these can all be aided by tea. Some in the professions prefer coffee, and it certainly gets you going, or dredges you from tired drowsiness into some semblance of normalcy. This however is on tea, the first post on tea. Tea doesn't just wake us, it calms, it can sharpen our senses, bring us to task and deep thought about our work or purpose. Tea can aid discussions, something known by Asian cultures. It can loosen tongues and allow better expression and lower anxiety. Here we shall discuss temperature and the serving of some varieties.
The first point is on boiling. Don't boil the water, if you don't need to. Boiling water can damage the tea leaves, it will change the intended taste, and prevent gauging the taste until it is cooler. Unless you can drink boiling water, determining when it is perfect will be difficult. If you want to have the tea in 5-10 minutes, after finishing a bit of writing, putting in pure boiling water can make sense. Problem is (and this is dependent on the tea) after some minutes, the drink is becoming stronger, and the longer you wait the stronger it gets. Did you want a cup of overly strong tea with burnt tea leaves and a damaged taste?
No, the temperature of serving can go a bit lower than that. Whether using a bag, or leaves in a teapot, the intent is to suffuse the water with the taste of the leaves. This is to steep. There has been a great deal of work that has gone into each teaspoon of tea leaves, and enjoying this labour is easy. Determine how strong you or your guest wants the tea, check the type of tea it is. Strong, aromatic and powerful tea leaves can be made into a weak cup of tea, it simply means you do not leave them in or soaking for long. If one wants to be frugal, a Russian caravan tea-bag can easily last three cups of tea. If you want a weak tea to have a more full taste, simply wait a while as it soaks. This will require a decent temperature or it will be cold when it is served.
Some guidelines then:
1) Don't boil your water.
2) Get a kettle with a temperature gauge. This will prove very helpful to serving a near-perfect cup of tea from even humble ingredients.
3) Consider what you want to do with the tea first. How long it will need to sit, how strong is the tea normally after a few minutes?
4) Pour green tea at 70-75 degree Celsius (°C).
5) Black tea slightly hotter at 80-85.
6) If serving with honey, serve at a slightly lower temperature so as to not damage the honey and its health benefits.
7) Avoid the poor-quality honeys typically sold in supermarkets. It tastes sugary but is nothing compared to the all natural stuff, with its many distinct flavours.
8) Experiment with honey and tea types. How dark a honey do you want to use? What will be the most clear flavour, and will there be secondary or tertiary tastes?
9) Try a small amount of cinnamon, nutmeg or both.
10) If your guest is used to letting boiling tea stand, encourage them to drink so it does not go cold.
11) If the water does boil, add tap water to cool it down to the right temperature. Again the temperature gauge is useful.
Now you can try for better cups of tea, and make writing or study that little bit easier.
Note: the above comes from but a few years of interest and experimentation with tea. Having moved to the city of Melbourne, I took up tea drinking and gained an interest in combining it with the most natural and tasty honey I could get. Melbourne has many excellent honey providers. To balance the taste of the tea with the honey, I tried different temperatures and steeping times.
The first point is on boiling. Don't boil the water, if you don't need to. Boiling water can damage the tea leaves, it will change the intended taste, and prevent gauging the taste until it is cooler. Unless you can drink boiling water, determining when it is perfect will be difficult. If you want to have the tea in 5-10 minutes, after finishing a bit of writing, putting in pure boiling water can make sense. Problem is (and this is dependent on the tea) after some minutes, the drink is becoming stronger, and the longer you wait the stronger it gets. Did you want a cup of overly strong tea with burnt tea leaves and a damaged taste?
No, the temperature of serving can go a bit lower than that. Whether using a bag, or leaves in a teapot, the intent is to suffuse the water with the taste of the leaves. This is to steep. There has been a great deal of work that has gone into each teaspoon of tea leaves, and enjoying this labour is easy. Determine how strong you or your guest wants the tea, check the type of tea it is. Strong, aromatic and powerful tea leaves can be made into a weak cup of tea, it simply means you do not leave them in or soaking for long. If one wants to be frugal, a Russian caravan tea-bag can easily last three cups of tea. If you want a weak tea to have a more full taste, simply wait a while as it soaks. This will require a decent temperature or it will be cold when it is served.
Some guidelines then:
1) Don't boil your water.
2) Get a kettle with a temperature gauge. This will prove very helpful to serving a near-perfect cup of tea from even humble ingredients.
3) Consider what you want to do with the tea first. How long it will need to sit, how strong is the tea normally after a few minutes?
4) Pour green tea at 70-75 degree Celsius (°C).
5) Black tea slightly hotter at 80-85.
6) If serving with honey, serve at a slightly lower temperature so as to not damage the honey and its health benefits.
7) Avoid the poor-quality honeys typically sold in supermarkets. It tastes sugary but is nothing compared to the all natural stuff, with its many distinct flavours.
8) Experiment with honey and tea types. How dark a honey do you want to use? What will be the most clear flavour, and will there be secondary or tertiary tastes?
9) Try a small amount of cinnamon, nutmeg or both.
10) If your guest is used to letting boiling tea stand, encourage them to drink so it does not go cold.
11) If the water does boil, add tap water to cool it down to the right temperature. Again the temperature gauge is useful.
Now you can try for better cups of tea, and make writing or study that little bit easier.
Note: the above comes from but a few years of interest and experimentation with tea. Having moved to the city of Melbourne, I took up tea drinking and gained an interest in combining it with the most natural and tasty honey I could get. Melbourne has many excellent honey providers. To balance the taste of the tea with the honey, I tried different temperatures and steeping times.
The First Point
This blog has just begun. It is a collection of thoughts. It is for the discussion of articles, pieces words and ideas encountered. It takes inspiration from Hans Durrer's page, Across Cultures: http://durrer-intercultural.blogspot.com.au/
I have seen that work well for presenting small essays and pieces; although my interests are not always the same as Hans, I think this can work for the same purpose. Small works can be later made into articles, and there is the potential for good discussions to be had. Of course I have my interests, and have studied Sociology amongst other things, but this won't just be about Sociology. No this blog is a form of freedom, a chance to discuss anything that provokes thought for me. Anything I read on http://www.aldaily.com/ or encounter otherwise. It is a record of these written thoughts and responses as they develop.
It is appropriate then for this first post to mention a newly learned word. I like to get new words down so that they are not forgotten and can be used later. Increasing one's vocabulary is important for this provincial (I do not come from the city). The word is punctum, from Latin. It can mean a small point, a beginning, but it is also a medical term that denotes a tiny opening, the tip puncture during surgery. For non-surgeons, it can simply be for a point, which is how I saw it used in a journal text.
This then is my first punctum into blogging. Please consume with tea.
I have seen that work well for presenting small essays and pieces; although my interests are not always the same as Hans, I think this can work for the same purpose. Small works can be later made into articles, and there is the potential for good discussions to be had. Of course I have my interests, and have studied Sociology amongst other things, but this won't just be about Sociology. No this blog is a form of freedom, a chance to discuss anything that provokes thought for me. Anything I read on http://www.aldaily.com/ or encounter otherwise. It is a record of these written thoughts and responses as they develop.
It is appropriate then for this first post to mention a newly learned word. I like to get new words down so that they are not forgotten and can be used later. Increasing one's vocabulary is important for this provincial (I do not come from the city). The word is punctum, from Latin. It can mean a small point, a beginning, but it is also a medical term that denotes a tiny opening, the tip puncture during surgery. For non-surgeons, it can simply be for a point, which is how I saw it used in a journal text.
This then is my first punctum into blogging. Please consume with tea.
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