20.498 fixing the MLA's problem

               Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 20, No. 498.
       Centre for Computing in the Humanities, King's College London
  www.kcl.ac.uk/schools/humanities/cch/research/publications/humanist.html
                        www.princeton.edu/humanist/
                     Submit to: humanist_at_princeton.edu

         Date: Thu, 08 Mar 2007 05:59:56 +0000
         From: Del Thomas Ph D <deltom_at_comcast.net>
         Subject: Re: 20.494 fixing the MLA's problem

It is not easy to read some of the comments as they remind me of the
brutality often found in "education"
at all levels. In this country up to 70% of the population reject
evolution. To many things digital involve
math and science and thus subject to claims that they are less than
real and unnatural. For the most part
these claims or theories are never tested. See below
<http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/07/books/07baudrillard.html>http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/07/books/07baudrillard.html

Then there are those who promote science as the enemy of the
humanities. Also not true.
There was science in the Thoreau lead pencil.

Del

Humanist Discussion Group (by way of Willard McCarty
<mailto:willard.mccarty_at_kcl.ac.uk><willard.mccarty_at_kcl.ac.uk>) wrote:
> Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 20, No. 494.
> Centre for Computing in the Humanities, King's College London
>
><http://www.kcl.ac.uk/schools/humanities/cch/research/publications/humanist.html>www.kcl.ac.uk/schools/humanities/cch/research/publications/humanist.html

>
> www.princeton.edu/humanist/
> Submit to:
> <mailto:humanist_at_princeton.edu>humanist_at_princeton.edu
>
> [1] From:
> <mailto:hinton_at_springnet1.com>"hinton_at_springnet1.com"
> <mailto:hinton_at_springnet1.com><hinton_at_springnet1.com> (25)
> >
> [2] From: "Ray Siemens"
> <mailto:siemens_at_uvic.ca><siemens_at_uvic.ca> (21)
> Subject: fixing things
>
>
>--[1]------------------------------------------------------------------
> Date: Wed, 07 Mar 2007 06:33:15 +0000
> From: <mailto:hinton_at_springnet1.com>"hinton_at_springnet1.com"
> <mailto:hinton_at_springnet1.com><hinton_at_springnet1.com>
> Subject: Re: 20.490 fixing the MLA's problem
>
>At St. Louis U., we fought for years to be able to allow dissertation
>writers to use Xerox. I really think one of the reasons we won was
>that carbon paper got hard to find. But later, when someone there
>tried to hire me back, to work on Computing and Education, Research,
>etc., the faculty response was that they didn't want any of that (and
>possibly they didn't want me back, either).
>
>But at what was then Sangamon State U, in Springfield, IL (now the
>University of Illinois at Springfield), which was founded to be
>"innovative", "free from old-fashioned academic prejudice", "boldly
>looking forward", etc. -- the VPAA told friends of mine to tell me
>that he could not bring himself to consider me for merit pay as long
>as I worked with computers instead of producing scholarly texts of
>unedited Middle English poems. (I went right ahead with what I was
>doing, and sooner or later he was gone.)
>
>HOWEVER -- these cries for abolishing English as she is studied are
>neither new nor interesting. I got my doctorate in the late 50's,
>and we were hearing this sort of stuff then and it surfaces
>regularly, with or without appeals to modern machinery. And frankly,
>it's boring and irrelevant.
>
>My position is -- go and do what you think is necessary. And leave
>other people alone. There is still plenty of good work to do in
>traditional ways, and quite likely there always will be. And no
>doubt there is good work to do your way too.I'm glad to hear that
>student reject notions that the profession MUST be the way any given
>speaker says it must.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>--[2]------------------------------------------------------------------
> Date: Wed, 07 Mar 2007 06:37:10 +0000
> From: "Ray Siemens" <mailto:siemens_at_uvic.ca><siemens_at_uvic.ca>
> Subject: fixing things
>
>Hi Everyone,
>
>I've read the postings associated with the MLA report with great interest,
>and great sympathy -- for all the reasons outlined in, and underlying, those
>postings. Like most of us, I've lived through those experiences too, and I
>find the figures in the MLA report to be both encouraging and discouraging,
>depending on the context in which I approach them.
>
>A further context I'd like to add to our consideration is that of
>professional pragmatics. To this end, I note that a number of us have
>clearly benefited from efforts of the MLA CIT committee (see
><http://www.mla.org/rep_it>http://www.mla.org/rep_it for its
>reports), and of course others. The
>"Guidelines for Evaluating Work with Digital Media in the Modern Languages"
>have pretty good bacon-saving potential; certainly I've used them in that
>capacity, and know of others who have. A newly-hired colleague has just
>used the "Guidelines for Institutional Support of and Access to IT for
>Faculty Members and Students" to make his, and our, world a better place.
>And so on.
>
>Not surprisingly, a number of our community have served on that ctte, and
>chaired it. And this discussion strikes me as an excellent opportunity to
>suggest next steps to it. What should those next steps be?
>
>Cheers,
>
>Ray
>
Received on Thu Mar 08 2007 - 01:32:49 EST