Posted on 05/09/2012 4:43:31 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
The trade paper of the academic industry just fired a writer who dared express skepticism about the academic worth of a number of doctoral dissertations in the field of black studies. Liz McMillan, editor of the Chronicle of Higher Education wrote a "Note to readers" explaining why Naomi Schaefer Riley's blog posting on Brainstorm last week ("The Most Persuasive Case for Eliminating Black Studies? Just Read the Dissertations" merited her dismissal and an abject apology from the editorial honcho.
Reactions are mostly predictable, from both leftists and conservatives.
Riley is, of course, being widely termed a racist. She summarized her critics in a second post, her last before she was fired from the CoHE blog titled "Brainstorm":
The comments regarding my post seem to boil down to the following:
I am picking on people because they are black (and I am a racist).
I am picking on people even though I don't have a Ph.D.
I am picking on people who are too young and inexperienced to defend themselves.
I am picking on people even though I haven't read their entire dissertations.Let me take the first two criticisms first. My qualifications to post on this blog consist of the fact that I have been a journalist writing about higher education for close to 15 years now. My work has been published in every major newspaper in the country and I have written two books on the subject as well. The editors at those papers and those publishers and at The Chronicle have all been aware that I hold no advanced degree. Black studies is now an academic discipline at most universities, which means I get to comment on that too.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
or “First Lady”
I’ve never taken a Black Studies class (or a Women’s Studies..er Womyn’s Studies) or any other victimology class. The tragedy is the students taking these next to worthless classes are being taken advantage of by leftist profs. These majors are nothing more than feel-good exercises which will benefit the students taking them nothing. There is room in other majors (history etc.) for classes dealing with ethnic groups and their role in shaping America. But a whole major devoted to telling the student how awful their country is and what victims they are is patently worthless.
That’s right!
You reminded me.
Michelle Obama graduated Princeton in Sociology with
an African American studies minor!
I tend to agree. Universities were originally designed to educate the whole person. They weren't necessarily set up to get someone a job. It's certainly nice if your major is likely to get you a good job, but an all around education is still important. People talking strictly about their jobs and little else are pretty boring to be around. My dentist can disport on a wide variety of subjects...and usually does. It makes the dental experience a lot easier to tolerate.
Then OIC will shove him into an oven for being the wrong race.
Her actual degree should have been in Sociopathy, not Sociology
Unlike her husbands, at least parts of Michelle Lavaughn Robinson’s pathetic illiterate sniveling thesis have been published, blaming white people at Princeton for either never making her feel included, or for making her feel bad when she did feel included in values like a work ethic
http://obamaprincetonthesis.wordpress.com/
Good one.
“So why is Brewer down on Asian studies?”
Pull your head out.
The LAW she signed in 2010 “...prohibits classes that advocate ethnic solidarity, that are designed primarily for students of a particular race or that promote resentment toward a certain ethnic group. It also prohibits classes that promote the overthrow of the U.S. government.”
Arizona is now threatening the universities with the same policy. Oh my!
“Michelle Obama graduated Princeton in Sociology with
an African American studies minor!”
How does that get you admitted to Harvard?????? Why not just get a “general studies” degree if you just want to pad your GPA?
Br'r buckeball says Brewer wants to appoint this guy who's against what are called Asian studies ~ and the law, as you cite it, has nothing to do with what are called Asian studies.
Add the word "Phony" and watch them burst an artery or two...
Actually, the post you responded to said:
“Gov Brewer (R-AZ) wants to appoint a Regent to the ASU board who believes that we should eliminate all College majors that will not reasonably allow the student to find a job. Black Studies, Women’s Studies, Asian Studies, etc.”
I haven’t heard anything about it, nor have I found anything in the press about it. However, if true, it would NOT mean they were against Asian Studies UNLESS there was no way a degree in that program would allow you to find work.
There IS a movement in Arizona to stop the teaching of racism in public schools.
“Perpetual Phony Grievance Studies”
Blame it on the stupid hippies who marched in the 60s chanting ‘Hey hey ho ho Western Civ has got to go!’
I have a graduate degree in east asia studies - although there were grievance types in my cohort it was a legitimate course & was ultimately useful in my line of work.
Now ~ let's deconstruct the thought pattern that led you to suggest otherwise ~ and it begins with "a little bit of knowledge" about Arizona's law eliminating anti-American/pro-Mexican courses in the public schools in districts with a predominantly Mexican settlement pattern.
WE ALL KNOW ABOUT THAT. The topic has been on FR several dozen times.
In this case I think the poster who started naming "programs" just pulled them out of his own nether regions without much thought ~ and, as it turned out, value!
Your response, more in righteous indignation than anything, trying to catch me in another statement YOU THINK proves I am actually a Leftwingtard (SEE: TRAYVON) ends up backfiring on you.
No, I"m hardly a Leftwingtard but I do rather enjoy going where the evidence is ~ and in this case I doubt Brewer has said to cancel Asian studies programs ~ after all, Arizona is very much a part of the business community of the Pacific Littoral and they have products they want to sell Japan, China, Korea, Malaysia, and others in that region!
Like nanoscience? LOL
Yes nigher means being near but it also means being on the left side (specifically of two horses or vehicles) -- in fact there is a "news" report that Rick Santorum said "We know the candidate Barack Obama, what he was like – the anti-war government nig …"
The UK Guardian goes on to ask what else could Santorum be thinking about other than the N-word? Well as several readers who are more professional than the "professional" employees of The UK Guardian asked what about niggardly? (and numerous other words.)
Actually, Chronicle of Almost Education works too.
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