November 2015
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Some readers apparently did not know I was an afficiando of the late 60s/early 70s rock ‘n’ roll boogie genre…
…so to clear things up, here is the Savoy Brown "boogie," the standard for the genre, from 1969: I hope this helps my "uncool" readers get up to speed.
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New Books in November
Authors and/or publishers kindly sent me these new books this month: Creating Scientific Controversies: Uncertainty and Bias in Science and Society by David Harker (Cambridge University Press, 2015). One Child: Do We Have a Right to More? by Sarah Conly (Oxford University Press, 2016). The Love of Strangers: What Six Muslim Students Learned in Jane…
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Suspect arrested in threat of gun violence at U of Chicago
The suspect is a student at the University of Illinois at Chicago. UPDATE: More details on the genius behind this threat.
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Blast from the past: “Ignorance of philosophy, identity politics and the cosmopolitan ideal”
From early September 2014.
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Panic and fear at colleges nationwide…
…and I'm sure it will only get worse, since the country is awash in firearms and the insufficiently regulated Internet provides a forum for crazies and malcontents to spark terror.
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Signs of the times: a list of schools that offered retirement incentives and “buyouts” to faculty in recent years
Blog Emperor Caron has a list of schools and links to the stories with details. It's perhaps worth noting that a number of these schools are now hiring junior faculty this year, indicating that their finances have stabilized, and they are now ready to meet the institutional needs that require full-time faculty. I expect we will…
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Reminder: Call for Papers for the inaugural meeting of the International Society for Nietzsche Studies, meeting in Bonn in June 2016
The deadline is December 15. We will have funds available to cover travel and lodging for authors of accepted papers who are graduate students or faculty in non-permanent posts.
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Since the world is insane…
…we might as well have some "boogie music" courtesy of Farm, a now-forgotten 1971 band. Enjoy and good night.
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U Chicago closed tomorrow, Monday, Nov. 30
Since the world is bonkers: The University was informed by FBI counterterrorism officials today (Sunday) that an unknown individual posted an online threat of gun violence against the University of Chicago, specifically mentioning “the campus quad” on Monday morning at 10 a.m. Based on the FBI’s assessment of this threat and recent tragic events at…
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“The Case Against Free Speech,” revised…
…after lots of helpful feedback and workshops over the last year or so. My "case" is only against arguments that speech has some unique positive value; I think the libertarian approach towards speech regulation in the U.S. is basically the right one, given the nature of our political culture. I also think, but don't discuss in this…
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Union-busting ruling class sets its sights on Illinois
It's good the New York Times is shining a light on this mischief. Illinois was a natural target in one way, given the number of ex-Governors who ended up in jail, and the dysfunctional finances (which the current plutocrat in office, Bruce Rauner, promptly made worse by letting the state income tax slip back from 5%…
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In Memoriam: John Forrester (1949-2015)
Best-known for his work on the history and philosophy of psychoanalysis, Professor Forrester served on the History and Philosophy of Science faculty at Cambridge University at the time of his death. There is an obituary from The Indepenent here.
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Roland Barthes on Donald Trump…
…indirectly.
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Harvard Law professor Randally Kennedy on recent events at Harvard, racism, higher education and protesting students
Another very interesting piece on the issue du jour in American universities.
With the disclaimer that I read Appiah’s ‘report’ quickly, and only had access to the excerpt of Kramnick’s that you…