Yesterday’s post on the continued presence of derogatory team names and mascots in American professional sports was, in part, prompted by my reading of Geronimo‘s autobiography. It is a short book, an easy read, and comes with an excellent introduction by Frederick Turner. (Geronimo: His Own Story, As told to S. M. Barrett, with introductionContinue reading “Geronimo and the Cruel, Beautiful, West”
Category Archives: Politics
Redskins and Indians: America Isn’t Done With the Natives Yet
Years ago, on ESPN, I saw a young African-American player on the Washington Redskins‘ roster interviewed about the periodic controversy over his team’s name. The interviewer asked, quite straightforwardly, ‘Do you think the team should change its name?’ The young man, looking worried–perhaps knowing he stood a good chance of offending someone and aware ofContinue reading “Redskins and Indians: America Isn’t Done With the Natives Yet”
School as Preparatory Space for the Workplace
During the course of an essay on Keith Moon and the pleasures of drumming (‘The Fun Stuff‘, The New Yorker, 29 November 2010) James Wood writes: Georges Bataille has some haunting words about how the workplace is the scene of our domestication and repression: it is where we are forced to put away our Dionysianism. TheContinue reading “School as Preparatory Space for the Workplace”
General Petraeus at CUNY: Poor Judgment Under Fire
General David Petraeus‘ $200,000 deal with CUNY is no longer on; he will now teach in the fall at CUNY’s Macaulay Honors College for the princely sum of $1. Yesterday, I participated in a Huffington Post Live segment–along with Cary Nelson, former president of the American Association of University Professors and Kieran Lalor of the NewContinue reading “General Petraeus at CUNY: Poor Judgment Under Fire”
William Pfaff on the Indispensability of Clerical Leadership
In reviewing Garry Wills‘ Why Priests? A Failed Tradition (‘Challenge to the Church,’ New York Review of Books, 9 May 2013), William Pfaff writes: How does a religion survive without structure and a self-perpetuating leadership? The practice of naming bishops to lead the Church in various Christian centers has existed since apostolic times. Aside fromContinue reading “William Pfaff on the Indispensability of Clerical Leadership”
The All Too Inevitable Denouement of the Trayvon Martin Story
In commenting on the murder of Trayvon Martin last year, I wrote: The killing of Trayvon Martin is a classically American nightmare: a suburb somewhere, a dark night, a young black man on the streets, guns in the hands of people who imagine it will make them safer, calls to 911 that provide grim, brief,Continue reading “The All Too Inevitable Denouement of the Trayvon Martin Story”
General Petraeus Goes to CUNY: Nobel Prize Winners, Eat Your Heart Out
The initial reaction to the hiring of General David Petraeus to teach at CUNY’s Macaulay Honors College was one of astonishment at the salary–$150k for one semester–offered; this has since devolved into looking askance at the source of the funds and an inquiry into whether such expenditure was the best possible for a public universityContinue reading “General Petraeus Goes to CUNY: Nobel Prize Winners, Eat Your Heart Out”
CUNY Board of Trustees and General Petraeus: Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
The ‘General David Petraeus is teaching at CUNY for a ludicrous amount’ scandal has been brewing for a while now. To catch up on its all its salacious, rage-provoking details, you could do worse than check out Corey Robin‘s coverage. In brief: cash-strapped urban public university invites retired US military figure to teach one course forContinue reading “CUNY Board of Trustees and General Petraeus: Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?”
On Being a ‘Professional Philosopher’, Contd.
In my previous post on being a professional philosopher, I had emphasized the scholarly world: publishing, writing, theoretical orientation etc. Today, I want to take note of another very important duty of the modern professional philosopher: teaching. Most philosophers in the modern university teach a mixture of classes: the introductory ‘service’ courses, which in manyContinue reading “On Being a ‘Professional Philosopher’, Contd.”
Herbert Marcuse on the Unity of Theory and Practice
In Counterrevolution and Revolt (Beacon Press, Boston, 1972), as part of his critical take on the New Left, Herbert Marcuse writes: The pertification of Marxian theory violates the very principle the New Left proclaims: the unity of theory and practice. A theory which has not caught up with the practice of capitalism cannot possibly guide theContinue reading “Herbert Marcuse on the Unity of Theory and Practice”
Samir Chopra 