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Author Archives: Timothy Burke
The (Ab)Uses of Fantasy
Evidently I’m not alone in thinking that last week’s episode of Game of Thrones was a major disappointment. By this I (and other critics) do not mean that it was simply a case of poor craftmanship. Instead, it featured a … Continue reading
Posted in Popular Culture, Sheer Raw Geekery
5 Comments
The Ground Beneath Our Feet
I was a part of an interesting conversation about assessment this week. I left the discussion thinking that we had in fact become more systematically self-examining in the last decade in a good way. If accrediting agencies want to take … Continue reading
Posted in Academia, Defining "Liberal Arts", Swarthmore
2 Comments
Apples for the Teacher, Teacher is an Apple
Why does AltSchool, as described in this article, as well as similar kinds of tech-industry attempts to “disrupt” education, bug me so much? I’d like to be more welcoming and enthusiastic. It’s just that I don’t think there’s enough experimentation … Continue reading
Hearts and Minds
Much as I disliked Jonathan Haidt’s recent book The Righteous Mind overall, I’m quite interested in many of the basic propositions that this strain of cognitive science and social psychology are proposing about mind, consciousness, agency, responsibility and will. Most … Continue reading
“The Child Repents and Is Forgiven”
I occasionally out myself here at this blog, on Facebook or at Swarthmore as having a fairly encyclopedic knowledge about mainstream superhero comics, like a few other academics, but I’ve been much less inclined to make even a limited foray … Continue reading
Raise the Barn/Autopsy the Corpse
A more detailed thinking-through of the case of Sweet Briar, and a proposal. Five places to start a dissection of Sweet Briar College and the decision of its Board to close the school: Laura McKenna, “The Unfortunate Fate of Sweet … Continue reading
Posted in Academia, Swarthmore
7 Comments
#Save Sweet Briar
The more I read about the decision to shut down Sweet Briar College, the less sense it makes to me. Essentially, when I look at Sweet Briar, I see the following: 1) A physical plant, a faculty and a staff … Continue reading
Posted in Academia
8 Comments
Where There’s Smoke
My main problem with Laura Kipnis’ much-discussed essay “Sexual Paranoia” is the excluded middle it outlines. Practicioners of dialectic modes of argument often claim that this approach is necessary in order to locate and recommend that middle. It’s the “Untouchables” … Continue reading
Posted in Academia, Politics
5 Comments
Practice What We Preach?
I’ve been reworking an essay on the concept of “liberal arts” this week. One of the major issues I’m trying to think about is the relatively weak match between what many liberal arts faculty frequently say about the lifelong advantages … Continue reading
Posted in Academia, Defining "Liberal Arts", Swarthmore
6 Comments
The People Perish
The trouble with Hilary Clinton’s email is not Hilary Clinton’s email. The trouble is that the Democratic Party is apparently committed beyond recall to nominating an individual to be President whose entire strategic vision is: a) I’m owed. It’s my … Continue reading
Posted in Politics
4 Comments