Two Notes ...

by Cliopatria

At Informed Comment, Juan Cole has a spirited reply to my colleague, KC Johnson, and George Will on intellectual diversity in academic communities. Needless to say, Cole teaches in a department that has been one of KC's favorite targets.

In case you're having trouble thinking of a holiday gift for Jonathan Dresner, Eric Muller, or Greg Robinson, Chris Bray at Histori-Blogography has an idea. Oh, and Chris, give yourself a new name for your blog.

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Greg James Robinson - 12/4/2004

Yes, I too appreciate Chris's being a good sport, and also his praise for my work. Actually, my greatest achievement as far as that presentation was concerned may have been summing up a 36 page paper in 15 minutes!

Ralph E. Luker - 12/1/2004

I'm glad you took the comments in good spirit, Chris, and glad too that you're a part of the community of history bloggers!

Chris Bray - 12/1/2004

Chris Bray's puerile suggestion is addressed only to Eric Muller because Chris Bray only personally knows Eric Muller, despite having heard Greg Robinson give his excellent paper at the Judgments Judged conference. I was going to head over and say hi to Robinson too, but the free lunch was calling my name. These things happen.

In other news, Histori-blography used to be called Historioblography, which was supposed to be a really dreadful play on "historiography," but it didn't fit the page and made everything load strangely. We'd change it, but it's a group blog, and we never get around to discussing an alternative. We're grad students -- we do things slowly.

David T. Beito - 11/29/2004

He should come to my department, at the University of Alabama. I think a fair estimate would be that at least 70 percent of my colleagues (probably more) voted for Kerry.

Greg James Robinson - 11/29/2004

Chris Bray's puerile suggestion (which, you will note, is addressed only to Eric Muller)reminds me of George S. Kaufman's definition of a "gift book": one you would not accept under any other circumstances. On second thought, perhaps Malkin should be careful about encouraging people to send her book. It could end up being sold in a country that has group libel laws...
It was that committed leftist, Richard Nixon, who said that liberals (it is idiotic and partisan slime to call people who vote Democratic "Leftists") are always predominant in the government bureaucracy because they are the ones who have the idealism to serve, while conservatives tend to go into business. Whether we like it or not, there is a self-selection in career terms which is probably more powerful than group-think and certainly more potent than any kind of bias in selection. In the same way, the faculty at a fundamentalist Christian institution is likely to be more in tune with such values, if only becuase they would otherwise face ostracism or loneliness there

Richard Henry Morgan - 11/29/2004

You might get the impression from Cole that leftists are only found in small liberal arts colleges. Just where that came from, I know not.

David T. Beito - 11/29/2004

I get the impression that Cole didn't read the original study by Daniel Klein which found leftwing domination in all academic displines including engineering.

Jonathan Dresner - 11/29/2004

You know, I've never read Mein Kampf, either....

I'm not sure that a blog with a name that comes from James Joyce should be throwing a lot of stones....