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Friday, July 25, 2003

Office Space

Gee, it must be fun to have office space with the college...


Full post and comments below the fold.

Posted by Alston B. Ramsay at 12:58 PM (0 comments)

Wednesday, July 23, 2003

Oh Wow

Our robed masters at the University of California-Berkeley have deigned to let us know what it is that makes a conservative. The main psychological traits are:

  • Fear and aggression
  • Dogmatism and intolerance of ambiguity
  • Uncertainty avoidance
  • Need for cognitive closure
  • Terror management

    Conservatives, it seems, endorse inequality:
    Concerns with fear and threat, likewise, can be linked to a second key dimension of conservatism - an endorsement of inequality, a view reflected in the Indian caste system, South African apartheid and the conservative, segregationist politics of the late Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-South S.C.).
    And try this one on for size:
    The researchers conceded cases of left-wing ideologues, such as Stalin, Khrushchev or Castro, who, once in power, steadfastly resisted change, allegedly in the name of egalitarianism.

    Yet, they noted that some of these figures might be considered politically conservative in the context of the systems that they defended. The researchers noted that Stalin, for example, was concerned about defending and preserving the existing Soviet system.
    See, as soon as Lefties start doing bad things, they become -- conservatives. How convenient.

    But the coup de grace:
    Disparate conservatives share a resistance to change and acceptance of inequality, the authors said. Hitler, Mussolini, and former President Ronald Reagan were individuals, but all were right-wing conservatives because they preached a return to an idealized past and condoned inequality in some form. Talk host Rush Limbaugh can be described the same way. [Emphasis mine.]
    Hitler, Mussolini, Reagan -- all cut from the same cloth.

    Words truly fail.

    UPDATE It should be said that Russell Kirk, a fine conservative mind, established as one of the hallmarks of conservatism a belief in "the principle of variety." This is not the same thing as "an endorsement of inequality," as these "researchers" have defined it. Rather, it's a philosophical acknowledgement of the differences between men, in terms of ability, character, and so on. This diversity is good and healthy to a free society -- but it does not involve "second-class citizenship" as embodied in the caste system, Apartheid, or Jim Crow. As Kirk says, man should be equal before the judge and God alone. The caste system -- that exemplar of conservatism, ahem -- violates this principle and is decidedly not conservative.

    UPDATE Here's some considered criticism. The author also brings up Adorno's hogwash about the "authoritarian personality" -- I had forgotten all about that!

    Full post and comments below the fold.

    Posted by Emmett at 12:19 PM (0 comments)

    In Today's D

    An article entitled "Religion dept. FSP location frustrates" reads in part:

    "according to some students and professors, the program's location [Edinburgh's New College Divinity School] is antithetical to the Dartmouth religion department's commitment to a secular study of faith.

    "'We are a religion department -- not a theological department," religion professor Susannah Heschel said. "Why we would send students to a Christian denominational institution, I don't know.'

    "...New College offers mostly courses in Christian theology, including some that students said were more conducive to personal testimonials of faith than the kind of intellectual analysis they are used to at Dartmouth."

    "...Heschel, who is also the chair of the Jewish Studies program, said that...the very act of holding the program within a divinity school has the potential to put some students ill at ease.

    "'When I was a student I would have been deeply offended," she said. "Every FSP should be comfortable for every student.'"

    The article largely speaks for itself, but "secular religious studies" is a glaring contradiction. The distinction between "religion" and "theology" is visible in the mind of only a few professors, and I'm sure disappears all together in, say, the Jewish Studies program The article goes on to quote a number of students who, while admitting the FSP's shocking focus on Christianity, said they had no problem with the program.

    Any thoughts from those with more experience in the religion dept. than I?

    Full post and comments below the fold.

    Posted by Scott at 10:32 AM (0 comments)

    Tuesday, July 22, 2003

    Already footing the tax and tuition burden?

    No matter.

    At least in California.

    Kevin Cherry discusses at NRO's The Corner

    Full post and comments below the fold.

    Posted by alex at 1:30 PM (0 comments)

    Monday, July 21, 2003

    President Wright is NOT PC

    I've decided that President Wright's online biography at the Dartmouth website is not PC.

    The last line reads:

    President Wright is married to Susan DeBevoise Wright. He has two sons, a daughter and five grandchildren.

    How dare he allow this?--Distinguishing between sons and daughters? Why not say "children" or "adult children"?

    It's implied heterosexism. It ignores the social construction of gender.

    ...Okay, I don't really believe any of this. But I betcha there are those out there who would. Not many. But then again, they're probably in our own backyards on American college campuses.

    Full post and comments below the fold.

    Posted by alex at 6:01 PM (0 comments)

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