Author Archives: Timothy Burke

The Trouble With Sustainability II: A Dynamic Steady-State?

Posted on February 26, 2015 by Timothy Burke

Have human beings ever built organizations that can sustain projects over very long time spans? Yes. Cathedral-building is a classic example. The joint-stock company, at least in its earliest iterations, is another example that many would cite. Organizations that by … Continue reading →

Posted in Oh Not Again He's Going to Tell Us It's a Complex System, Politics | 10 Comments

The Trouble With Sustainability I: The Clock of the Short Now

Posted on February 24, 2015 by Timothy Burke

More than a week later, I continue to really think about our recent “sustainability charrette” at Swarthmore College led by folks like David Orr, Hunter Lovins, John Fullerton and Nikki Silvestri. At least one of the things I keep thinking … Continue reading →

Posted in Oh Not Again He's Going to Tell Us It's a Complex System, Politics | 9 Comments

Wary About Wisdom

Posted on February 24, 2015 by Timothy Burke

Cathy Davidson has been steadily working away at the problem of inequality within higher education and at how higher education contributes to inequality. I admire the intensity of her focus and her willingness to consider radical rethinking of institutions of … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Defining "Liberal Arts" | 6 Comments

Bourdieu + Foucault Spell Trouble For Us All

Posted on February 19, 2015 by Timothy Burke

I wonder sometimes if one of the perverse consequences of the general dissemination of Bourdieu-style analysis of culture and habitus has been to inform and strengthen conservative attacks on public support for education, the arts, and so on. Especially when … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Politics | 4 Comments

A Note on Abstraction and Referents

Posted on February 19, 2015 by Timothy Burke

I may eventually finish two more pieces that I had in mind for my “Grasping the Nettle” series, but I also understand very well the response that a few folks had that the whole series seems so disconnected from specifics … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging | 1 Comment

You And What Army?

Posted on January 20, 2015 by Timothy Burke

Perhaps “check your privilege” is just a form of in-group signalling, a move that distributes discursive power between people who see themselves as belonging to the same social and political community. It functions as a kind of progressive Robert’s Rules … Continue reading →

Posted in Grasping the Nettle, Politics | 8 Comments

An Ethic of Care

Posted on January 16, 2015 by Timothy Burke

There’s an odd thing about privilege-checking as it has evolved into a shaming slogan, a sort of taunt. Shame only works if the target has an internal sense that the moral argument of the shamers is valid, or if the … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging, Grasping the Nettle, Politics | 13 Comments

Nobody Expects the Facebook Inquisition

Posted on January 15, 2015 by Timothy Burke

Another day, another story of busybodies calling the police to punish another citizen for doing something that the busybody doesn’t approve of. Or in this case, not doing something, namely, not keeping their children inside and under 24/7 monitoring. 21st … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging, Grasping the Nettle, Politics | 3 Comments

The Soft Target

Posted on January 14, 2015 by Timothy Burke

The 20th Century was more than a literal graveyard for almost uncountable millions of people, it was also a mausoleum for the idea of taking on the hardest targets. Overthrow a tyrant by force of arms? Here come a bunch … Continue reading →

Posted in Grasping the Nettle, Politics | 3 Comments

The Increment

Posted on January 9, 2015 by Timothy Burke

“We have to do something. Anything is better than nothing.” A standard topos in political rhetoric that to me usually signals desperation. Let’s get started! Let’s not think too much! What, are you happy with the status quo? It’s not … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging, Grasping the Nettle, Politics | 3 Comments