Discourse on the Culture
There was an article in the New York Times wherein David Brooks, a man I don't mind reading, was talking about the lack of cultural discourse:
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/26/whats-happened-to-cultural-discourse/
I gave it a bit of thought, and I think there's something important to this idea, if true. "Cultural discourse," that sort of parlor room conversation of pseudo-philosophical matters and human nature you've heard of but rarely see, is an important bridge between the academic and, for lack of a better word, the "man on the street." Given how isolated academia is these days in areas such as sociology and philosophy, that's a real problem, for both the academics (who are continuing unknown, unappreciated, and potentially unrewarded for their hard work) and everyone else (who is not learning from such discussion, whether it is up to "publishable" level or not).
This seems to me to be a real problem. In fact, on reflection, it's close to the reason I wanted to become a professor. I originally wanted to do it to teach more than anything. And by teaching, what I wanted to do was help people understand things more clearly in the abstract sense; that is, be able to deal with themselves and their world with some self-awareness and the ability to avoid the most obvious fallacies. Cultural discourse, as a concept, seems exactly tailored to do this, since it tries to take what can be learned from those who spend their lives on this stuff, but with as much effort as is possible for those who have 40+ hour jobs and families.
If this is the case, then I think I could at least do my small part to help. What this means is that, in the short run, this blog might change a bit. The same content that's always been here will continue to be here and expand, but with the difference that there will actually be posts more than once a month! Now I will try to give serious thought to cultural thoughts in general, something I always think about but usually avoid writing about because I never considered myself qualified enough to write about. But so long as I exercise caution and self-awareness, I can deal with that; and besides, the idea isn't that we all need to be Ph.Ds, but rather that we should think more about parts of our life we did not before, which was my goal in the first place.
So, should I take this seriously enough to start on it, expect some sort of regularity in posting on these subjects. Either once a week or once every two weeks, depending on how things work out and whether I can come up with enough material. I may actually try to get my name out there, too; who knows.
(Disclaimer: I am still Snurp, so let's not hold our breath on this one, though I feel it's quite in my range of ability and time.)
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/26/whats-happened-to-cultural-discourse/
I gave it a bit of thought, and I think there's something important to this idea, if true. "Cultural discourse," that sort of parlor room conversation of pseudo-philosophical matters and human nature you've heard of but rarely see, is an important bridge between the academic and, for lack of a better word, the "man on the street." Given how isolated academia is these days in areas such as sociology and philosophy, that's a real problem, for both the academics (who are continuing unknown, unappreciated, and potentially unrewarded for their hard work) and everyone else (who is not learning from such discussion, whether it is up to "publishable" level or not).
This seems to me to be a real problem. In fact, on reflection, it's close to the reason I wanted to become a professor. I originally wanted to do it to teach more than anything. And by teaching, what I wanted to do was help people understand things more clearly in the abstract sense; that is, be able to deal with themselves and their world with some self-awareness and the ability to avoid the most obvious fallacies. Cultural discourse, as a concept, seems exactly tailored to do this, since it tries to take what can be learned from those who spend their lives on this stuff, but with as much effort as is possible for those who have 40+ hour jobs and families.
If this is the case, then I think I could at least do my small part to help. What this means is that, in the short run, this blog might change a bit. The same content that's always been here will continue to be here and expand, but with the difference that there will actually be posts more than once a month! Now I will try to give serious thought to cultural thoughts in general, something I always think about but usually avoid writing about because I never considered myself qualified enough to write about. But so long as I exercise caution and self-awareness, I can deal with that; and besides, the idea isn't that we all need to be Ph.Ds, but rather that we should think more about parts of our life we did not before, which was my goal in the first place.
So, should I take this seriously enough to start on it, expect some sort of regularity in posting on these subjects. Either once a week or once every two weeks, depending on how things work out and whether I can come up with enough material. I may actually try to get my name out there, too; who knows.
(Disclaimer: I am still Snurp, so let's not hold our breath on this one, though I feel it's quite in my range of ability and time.)
posted by Derek at 10:10 PM
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