Very interesting article on literary criticism. (I spotted it over at Slashdot.) Well worth the read.
Posted by Andy on January 9, 2004 12:18 PM|Permalink
Comments
(14:24:11) alan: i was sticking with that decontruction article pretty well, and then about 3-4 paragraphs from the end my brain fuzzed over
(14:25:12) andy: no, no, the last paragraphs are the good parts
(14:25:21) andy: get back over there, and finish the article! move!
(14:25:31) andy:
(14:25:44) ***alan
(14:27:35) alan: ah yes, nice summation
(14:27:53) andy: that article sums up my experience at U/Chicago
(14:27:58) alan: heh
(14:28:09) andy: except I am less articulate and clever than the author of the article, of course.
(14:28:29) alan: his example was actually quite clever
(14:28:35) alan: it proved the point, while mocking it
(14:28:39) andy: yes
(14:28:48) alan: as he said, his own article provides a beginner the chance to practice
(14:28:53) andy: reading stuff like that makes the Internet worthwhile.
(14:29:29) alan: i'm pasting this dialogue into a post comment
So by pasting this instant message conversation, has it become a self-deconstructing mockery of a self-deconstructing mockery of a self-deconstructing field?
That's really old. I read it when I was in North Carolina, I believe, which places it in the mid nineties.
It's clever on its own merits, but it falls into a pattern of Techie Contempt for the Humanities which I discussed here: http://ed.puddingbowl.org/archives/001643.html In fact I had that article (read those many years ago) in the back of my mind when I wrote the entry.
I don't think it's healthy to encourage Slashdotters to take particular pride in their ignorance of the humanities, or at least those humanities which can't be found on Kazaa. They're doing quite well in that regard already.
Thanks for the link, Andy - the article gave me flashbacks to my days at U of C. The part at the end about isolation was dead-on. In fact, my program specifically advocated that notion, although not in the same terms. We were told that the point of academic writing in the humanities was to contribute to existing or ongoing academic conversations - effectively keeping the dialogue within small, insular scholarly circles. After I graduated, I deconstructed Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London" and it was infinitely more fun than anything I worked on in grad school.
Comments
(14:24:11) alan: i was sticking with that decontruction article pretty well, and then about 3-4 paragraphs from the end my brain fuzzed over
(14:25:12) andy: no, no, the last paragraphs are the good parts
(14:25:21) andy: get back over there, and finish the article! move!
(14:25:31) andy:
(14:25:44) ***alan
(14:27:35) alan: ah yes, nice summation
(14:27:53) andy: that article sums up my experience at U/Chicago
(14:27:58) alan: heh
(14:28:09) andy: except I am less articulate and clever than the author of the article, of course.
(14:28:29) alan: his example was actually quite clever
(14:28:35) alan: it proved the point, while mocking it
(14:28:39) andy: yes
(14:28:48) alan: as he said, his own article provides a beginner the chance to practice
(14:28:53) andy: reading stuff like that makes the Internet worthwhile.
(14:29:29) alan: i'm pasting this dialogue into a post comment
So by pasting this instant message conversation, has it become a self-deconstructing mockery of a self-deconstructing mockery of a self-deconstructing field?
Posted by: alan | January 9, 2004 2:31 PM
That's really old. I read it when I was in North Carolina, I believe, which places it in the mid nineties.
It's clever on its own merits, but it falls into a pattern of Techie Contempt for the Humanities which I discussed here: http://ed.puddingbowl.org/archives/001643.html In fact I had that article (read those many years ago) in the back of my mind when I wrote the entry.
I don't think it's healthy to encourage Slashdotters to take particular pride in their ignorance of the humanities, or at least those humanities which can't be found on Kazaa. They're doing quite well in that regard already.
Posted by: Ed Heil | January 9, 2004 2:36 PM
Thanks for the link, Andy - the article gave me flashbacks to my days at U of C. The part at the end about isolation was dead-on. In fact, my program specifically advocated that notion, although not in the same terms. We were told that the point of academic writing in the humanities was to contribute to existing or ongoing academic conversations - effectively keeping the dialogue within small, insular scholarly circles. After I graduated, I deconstructed Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London" and it was infinitely more fun than anything I worked on in grad school.
Posted by: Kim | January 10, 2004 5:28 PM