Category Archives: Politics

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Posted on April 17, 2017 by Timothy Burke

Formal argument in the classic style has real limits. Sometimes when we try to rule some sentiment or response in an argument or dialogue as “out of bounds” by classing it as a logical fallacy or as some other form … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Generalist's Work, Oh Not Again He's Going to Tell Us It's a Complex System, Politics | 12 Comments

Style and Substance

Posted on March 2, 2017 by Timothy Burke

One of the complicated underterrains of struggle within the contemporary academy involves the use of language and representation. Many scholars in all disciplines have a sophisticated and subtle understanding of how we speak in our disciplines and across our disciplines, … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Politics | 5 Comments

Remain in Light

Posted on February 16, 2017 by Timothy Burke

I don’t know what there is to say when you “read the comments” as it were. It feels hopeless. My colleague Sa’ed Atshan is profoundly committed to trying to get out of the standard confinements of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. At … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Politics | 7 Comments

Fighting for the Ancien Regime

Posted on February 1, 2017 by Timothy Burke

Among the many things that educated progressives failed to understand about the world around them over the last twenty years–and this is not just an American story, but a global one–is that we were not marginal, not since the 1970s. … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Information Technology and Information Literacy, Politics | 6 Comments

You Will Never Be Good Enough For David Brooks

Posted on January 24, 2017 by Timothy Burke

I think the thing I hate most about most mainstream punditry, liberal and conservative, but especially David Brooks, is a brutal combination of two connected syndromes: complete lack of self-reflection and a relentless moving of goalposts to conform to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | 12 Comments

Interregnum

Posted on January 20, 2017 by Timothy Burke

In the past, one of the sources of strength for progressives rested in reading the laughably incorrect past predictions of conservatives or traditionalists about the likely consequences of progressive reforms to their institutions. It’s a tremendous hoot, for example, to … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | 11 Comments

The Anatomy of Anti-Trumpism: Ten Thoughts and Reconsiderations

Posted on January 4, 2017 by Timothy Burke

1. “Trump is liar; how could anyone think he’s honest” What progressives didn’t or wouldn’t understand is what at least some Trump supporters meant when they called him honest. At least some of them understand perfectly well that he is … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | 8 Comments

Trumpism and Expertise

Posted on December 15, 2016 by Timothy Burke

The conventional wisdom was that the Cold War ended when the Soviet Union fell and its satellite states became independent once again. I think actually that the Cold War just ended right now in 2016. What is it that has … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Oath for Experts, Oh Not Again He's Going to Tell Us It's a Complex System, Politics | Comments Off

The Room Where It Happens

Posted on December 8, 2016 by Timothy Burke

It would be in a way a comfort–and also a terror–to think, “Well, that’s those people, it’s the way they think, we cannot stop them and there is no way to engage them.” It’s true, there is no way to … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Oh Not Again He's Going to Tell Us It's a Complex System, Politics, Swarthmore | 1 Comment

The Definition of Madness

Posted on November 10, 2016 by Timothy Burke

Why am I getting so irritated with people earnestly posting about eliminating the electoral college, reducing voter suppression, encouraging more mail-in voting, and so on? Or saying that losing is a result only one small variable (Comey’s dumbass meddling, successful … Continue reading →