Marc, are familiar with the Science Fiction series called "The Harriers?" For some apparent reason, a technologically superior race of Politically Correct Anthropologists take over the universe, but reluctantly agree that a military is necessary, but only if supervised by a direct representative. Very funny and apropos stuff.
Hi 120mm,
No, I haven't heard of it which, since I'm an SF junky, is an embarrassmentOriginally Posted by 120mm
. I'll check it out - thanks for the note. BTW, the idea of PC Anthropologists in that role really scares me
.
Marc
Sic Bisquitus Disintegrat...
Marc W.D. Tyrrell, Ph.D.
Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies,
Senior Research Fellow,
The Canadian Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies, NPSIA
Carleton University
http://marctyrrell.com/
You also have to remember one of the axioms of PC research - you're doing the work to confirm what you already know is true. One of the most irritating things I've encountered in the history PC community is the smug conviction that the practitioner of PC history somehow has a unique insight to truth just because they happen to be PC or of a specific gender/racial subset. By this I mean that "only a woman can truly understand Women's History", but she is somehow also qualified by this unique insight to pass unquestionable judgment on any other subset of history she happens to encounter (to include African-American History, Native American History, Political Science, and anything else she latches onto). By the same token, this "researcher" (although often of upper-middle class origins) is somehow qualified by gender or race to understand the situation faced by those of a much lower social class, whose lifestyle she may never have seen up close, let alone experienced.
Sorry...PC always gets my pulse rate spiked.
"On the plains and mountains of the American West, the United States Army had once learned everything there was to learn about hit-and-run tactics and guerrilla warfare."
T.R. Fehrenbach This Kind of War
Hi Steve,
Oh, too true! What's that old saying? "Everything has to happen immediately for puppies, 2 year olds and reformers of any age"? I'd add PC theologians to the list. BTW, it this exact axiom that has led me to refer to them as "theologians" - they "know" the "Truth" and anything that disagree with it is "false consciousness".
Yupper, that's definitely one of the big ones. One of the problems I've always had with it is that it is actually antithetical to the entire idea of verstehen; which leads me to wonder how any cultural Anthropologist with two neurons to ru together could actually support it!
Mine tooSorry...PC always gets my pulse rate spiked.. Someday, when we're in an F2F situation, I'l recount what one of the great female Anthropologists told me (it's on how to distinguish a "true" post-modernist from a post-modernist manquee, but it can't be posted on a public board
Marc
Sic Bisquitus Disintegrat...
Marc W.D. Tyrrell, Ph.D.
Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies,
Senior Research Fellow,
The Canadian Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies, NPSIA
Carleton University
http://marctyrrell.com/
Methinks Messrs Gusterson & Price doth protest too ...
Marc, you sure hit a raw nerve with your article! The boys claim that they are not making ad hominem attacks as they take out their billy clubs and whale away for just that purpose. I'll take your "shoddy scholarship" over their whining any day. Looking forward to seeing your response.
Cheers
John
Hmm..
Odd, that is what stood out for me too. Ball passed to you Marc - slam dunk this time and please - don't offend by mispelling a name - though that may have been our fault - the SWJ guys - not sure...
Welcome to academic scholarly discussion in the finest tradition of the academy. When fact, reason, and discourse fail go for spelling grammar and word choice.
What you also saw within the response was the failure of reason in rejection of experience based on the communications model (lack of peer review and academic journal process). Military topical writing in general was attacked and therefore nullified in one broad sweep regardless of what the review process for SWJ is...
In one glorious ad hominem attack filled with vitrol fanciful violence of logic and rejection of the communications medium of today (psuedonym web forums) they proved marct totally correct in his evaluation of why Doctor Johnny doesn't go to war.
Sam Liles
Selil Blog
Don't forget to duck Secret Squirrel
The scholarship of teaching and learning results in equal hatred from latte leftists and cappuccino conservatives.
All opinions are mine and may or may not reflect those of my employer depending on the chance it might affect funding, politics, or the setting of the sun. As such these are my opinions you can get your own.
Oh go ahead and mispell their names...
Give 'em somethin to squawk about...
Tom
Posting Permissions
Bookmarks