Academe is a hotbed of craven snitches
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Academe is a hotbed of craven snitches
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Re: Academe is a hotbed of craven snitches
#2Re: Academe is a hotbed of craven snitches
#3Is this satire or something? Since when is being a snitch a bad thing? Isn't that what people complain about with cops, that they don't report each other?
So now what, we want the same thing with academia? That they can do whatever they want, secure in the knowledge no one will report them?
And isn't "craven snitch" an oxymoron? To be a snitch you need at least a bit of bravery, even if you are being anonymous, since there's always the chance you'll be found out.
Re: Academe is a hotbed of craven snitches
#4It's sad but true in my experience. My thesis advisor makes this a sport, apparently. I learned this after I graduated. One friend explained that my advisor would often call up colleagues at other universities and tell them not to hire particular people. He's apparently known for this habit. It's one thing to provide a recommendation when requested. It's another to routinely campaign against others and provide anti-recommendations.
But he's thrived himself. He's got a swish appointment just outside of Boston.
Re: Academe is a hotbed of craven snitches
#5Is this satire or something? Since when is being a snitch a bad thing? Isn't that what people complain about with cops, that they don't report each other? So now what, we want the same thing with academia? That they can do whatever they want, secure in the knowledge no one will report them? And isn't "craven snitch" an oxymoron? To be a snitch you need at least a bit of bravery, even if you are being anonymous, since…
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Re: Academe is a hotbed of craven snitches
#6Is this satire or something? Since when is being a snitch a bad thing? Isn't that what people complain about with cops, that they don't report each other? So now what, we want the same thing with academia? That they can do whatever they want, secure in the knowledge no one will report them? And isn't "craven snitch" an oxymoron? To be a snitch you need at least a bit of bravery, even if you are being anonymous, since…
> First let us pause to consider our terms: Was Schlissel’s narc a “snitch” or a “whistle-blower”? Whistle-blowers are generally attempting to topple or thwart the powerful, and Schlissel was certainly powerful. But the reported offense was, in the words of a lawyer I spoke with, “a nothingburger.” Let us provisionally define snitching as turning someone in anonymously, for either minor or nonexistent offenses, or pretextually. Also: using institutional mechanisms to kneecap rivals, harass enemies, settle scores and grudges, or advantage oneself. Not to mention squealing on someone for social-media posts and joining online mobs to protest exercises of academic and intellectual freedom.
For those who bravely make it to the 3rd paragraph.
Re: Academe is a hotbed of craven snitches
#7[deleted]
Re: Academe is a hotbed of craven snitches
#8If you are the President of a university (or a company) that has an explicit official policy prohibiting romantic relationships between superiors and subordinates, and you have a semi-secret romantic relationship with a subordinate that many people know about, then someone in the know who is upset with one of your management decisions retaliates by telling the truth to HR, then I have zero sympathy for you. Are they a 'snitch'? Sure. But you chose to flagrantly violate the rules, thinking that you were special.
Re: Academe is a hotbed of craven snitches
#9I'm having a serious "Gell-Mann Amnesia effect" moment on this one:
I don't think that representation of the Ewell paper is quite accurate, though admittedly it's been over a year since I read it.
Despite being Jewish (would have had different significance later than during his time!) Schenker was a proud german nationalist and in his own words considered his method one of the ways german people could assert their superiority over other cultures.
The Ewell paper is actually pretty clear that schenkerian analysis is technically valid and quite valuable for many purposes. But also that its origins were in an explicitly racist project, and that applying it without understanding that frame could get you racist results even if you didn't intend them.
It's easy to go after this paper because it sincerely uses "critical race theory" vocabulary, but it's a solid contribution to answering the question "why are some fields so incredibly white even if no one intends them to be that way?"
The essay both-sides it, but Ewell's paper is researched and professional even with its flaws, while in context Jackson's response was fairly nasty and defensive, basically just accusing Ewell of black antisemitism.
I've been following this particular one for years (grew up on schenkerian analysis, in a musical family) and I am definitely not neutral on it. Ewell's moral rigidity on this is unpalatable sometimes and I think you could fairly call him a hothead. But the author's description of the conflict is a lot more "balanced" than the conflict itself really deserves. This is essentially an academic raising a painful point within a field that he clearly loves, and others trying to shut it down because of the embarrassment they feel it exposes them all to.
Seeing how the author misrepresents this issue to make their point makes me not really trust the rest of it. I just happen to be somewhat informed on this one.
Re: Academe is a hotbed of craven snitches
#10It's sad but true in my experience. My thesis advisor makes this a sport, apparently. I learned this after I graduated. One friend explained that my advisor would often call up colleagues at other universities and tell them not to hire particular people. He's apparently known for this habit. It's one thing to provide a recommendation when requested. It's another to routinely campaign against others and provide anti-r…
yes, I got one like this too.. and, he wants stock in the companies of his "students" .. which he self-invites