[lbo-talk] Tuesday evening report from OWS

[Carrol Cox]

On 10/28/2011 9:24 AM, Doug Henwood wrote:
>
> On Oct 28, 2011, at 1:27 AM, Jordan Carroll wrote:
>
>> Just a few more anti-academic cliches left! So, Jodi Dean is an ivory tower
>> elitist pinko who should be doing real work in the real world, or at least
>> teaching the classics, but instead she's into that French theory. This is
>> all particularly troublesome because the Chinese are diligently studying
>> math and science while our students take classes on the Simpsons,
>> pornography, the Koran, and identity politics. It just goes to show you:
>> those who can, do, and those who can't, teach. Of course, that's why tuition
>> is sky-rocketing, class sizes are ballooning, and everybody hires adjuncts
>> instead of full professors.
>
> I think you've got it, man! The only difference between this and the right-wing version is that the right-winger would have also blamed government for rising tuition.
>
> Doug

Be careful not to mush different things together. I totally reject 
Joanna's academic baiting, but I do want to keep the category, 
"academic" a neutral category that, depending on context, can be used 
either negatively or positively. Dean's politics, as I so far understand 
them, are 'purely' academic. If they do get embodied in political 
activity or organizing, they would become vicious. But in so far as 
shag's summary is accurate, her politics being merely academic are 
probably harmless.

Carrol