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Cornel West Releases Resignation Letter from Harvard

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Re: Cornel West Releases Resignation Letter from Harvard

#21

Post by duxup »

pradn wrote: post #15
stevecalifornia wrote: post #6

His resignation letter chastises the school for not giving enough attention to his mother's death-- he only got two condolences. Does this strike anyone else as a really strange thing to bring up a tally of condolences in a resignation letter?

He means that his colleagues at the Divinity School don't seem to care enough about him to send him a condolence for his mother's death. It's about the apathetic work environment at the school. That would be a problem for me, too, at my company if I chose to disclose that via a public email. Hell, I have several colleagues that wish me well when I have a cold.

He might think it is apathy, but it's not like we know their motivations.

Re: Cornel West Releases Resignation Letter from Harvard

#22

Post by elefanten »

freshdonut wrote: post #11
x86_64Ubuntu wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you read the resignation letter? It had pretty much nothing to do with "corruption" or absolute power.

Did you read the resignation letter? I thought it was pretty obvious that corruption - maybe in a less sinister form - was the underlying reason for the issues he brought up.

Given how wrapped the letter is in one-sided rhetoric and how full it is of sweeping, dismissive accusations such as "we all knew the mendacious reasons had nothing to do with academic standards"... how exactly do extract an "obvious" takeaway about the underlying events?

Re: Cornel West Releases Resignation Letter from Harvard

#23

Post by germinalphrase »

stevecalifornia wrote: post #6

His resignation letter chastises the school for not giving enough attention to his mother's death-- he only got two condolences. Does this strike anyone else as a really strange thing to bring up a tally of condolences in a resignation letter?

Perhaps, he expects colleagues in a divinity school would be more aware and responsive to such a large life event.

Re: Cornel West Releases Resignation Letter from Harvard

#26

Post by klyrs »

stevecalifornia wrote: post #6

His resignation letter chastises the school for not giving enough attention to his mother's death-- he only got two condolences. Does this strike anyone else as a really strange thing to bring up a tally of condolences in a resignation letter?

No, the death of a parent (depending on one's relationship) can be incredibly devastating. It is certainly appropriate to bring that to work, because it will almost always impact one's performance.

Is it strange for folks to talk about a newborn child, or marriage at work? Conversely, what about infant death or divorce? Can you bring your "whole self" or just the good news?

Re: Cornel West Releases Resignation Letter from Harvard

#27

Post by handrous »

eric_b wrote: post #17

Yikes, the writing in that letter was not up to par for a professor who was seeking tenure at a prestigious university. The tone, word choice, layout, everything felt amateur and overly emotional. I haven't read many resignation letters but I'd have expected more polish and professionalism.

One takes a rather different tone in a pointed and deliberate "fuck you; strong letter to follow" than in a resignation letter that's mostly polite BS, as is typical.

Re: Cornel West Releases Resignation Letter from Harvard

#28

Post by keel1o »

eric_b wrote: post #17

Yikes, the writing in that letter was not up to par for a professor who was seeking tenure at a prestigious university. The tone, word choice, layout, everything felt amateur and overly emotional. I haven't read many resignation letters but I'd have expected more polish and professionalism.

He's hardly a professor. He's contributed no meaningful research in his field and by my own recollection he only ever appears when he makes headlines for saving something extremely racist, or extremely harsh.

He's a divisive figure and a celebrity "philosopher". A literal nobody. It comes to me, and anyone else with experience an academia, that such a washout would never make tenure. Even at a "woke" academic institution.

Re: Cornel West Releases Resignation Letter from Harvard

#29

Post by whymauri »

eplanit wrote: post #18

The main reasons in his conclusion are: Harvard doesn't support Palestine, he's displeased by the level of sympathy he received at his mother's passing, and general issues with the underlying politics of the curriculum. It all seems a bit self-centered. Why publicize the letter, other than to signal and cue the outrage mob? The letter helps make the point of how absurd these heavily-endowed universities have become.

>Harvard doesn't support Palestine

I read this differently. Figured that his point is that Harvard is willing to block his career based on an academic disagreement surrounding Palestine. Instead of engaging with his perspective and providing, well, a collegial environment for this discourse, they've undermined his academic career (while still benefiting from his speeches, tutelage, and instruction).

Re: Cornel West Releases Resignation Letter from Harvard

#30

Post by x86_64Ubuntu »

freshdonut wrote: post #11
x86_64Ubuntu wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you read the resignation letter? It had pretty much nothing to do with "corruption" or absolute power.

Did you read the resignation letter? I thought it was pretty obvious that corruption - maybe in a less sinister form - was the underlying reason for the issues he brought up.

He spoke about Palestine and not getting enough condolences for his mother's death. Neither of those subjects jump out as "corruption".
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