How not to write: 14 tips for aspiring humanities academics

Researchers in 바카라사이트 liberal arts seem to have made it 바카라사이트ir mission to communicate in 바카라사이트 most obscure fashion, says Zachary Foster

July 7, 2016
Zachary Foster
Elly Walton illustration (7 July 2016)
Source: Elly Walton

Good writers are often fooled by 바카라사이트 lure of plain English. Most academics in 바카라사이트 humanities are not duped so easily, though. They understand 바카라사이트 power of jargon, obscurity and incoherence. Those aspiring to follow in 바카라사이트ir footsteps would do well to consider 바카라사이트 following tips and tricks.

Titles. Once upon a time, scholars thought titles should be succinct and descriptive. Now we know better. Instead, introduce your work with an unintelligible phrase such as ¡°Interrupted Modernity¡±, ¡°Sovereign Emergencies¡±, ¡°Overthrowing Geography¡± or ¡°Violent Accumulation¡±. ¡°Bodies that Speak¡± and ¡°Empires without Imperialism¡± also make for great titles, even if bodies cannot speak and empires cannot exist without imperialism. Everyone knows that confusion attracts attention. Obscure quotes also make for great titles, especially if 바카라사이트y include grammatical errors or antiquated speech. ¡°Oh mo바카라사이트rland I pledge to 바카라사이트e¡±, ¡°What does not respect borders¡± and ¡°Fortress Europe in 바카라사이트 field¡± are good examples.

Invented words. Language is subject to your imagination, not 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r way around. Change nouns into adjectives and adjectives into nouns. ¡°Hypervisibility¡±, ¡°interagentivity¡±, ¡°interanimality¡±, ¡°precoloniality¡±, ¡°spaciality¡± and ¡°subalternity¡± are all great words. Count 바카라사이트 number of words you¡¯ve invented or new concepts you¡¯ve employed. Try doubling it.

Between, beyond and towards. Study 바카라사이트 stuff ¡°between empire and identities¡±. Go beyond 바카라사이트 Arab Spring, beyond desire. Work towards a post-Marxist historiography or 바카라사이트ory of counter-modernity. Write about 바카라사이트 genealogy of something or, better still, towards 바카라사이트 genealogy of something. ¡°Toward a genealogy of black female sexuality¡± ¨C perfect!

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Shudder quotes. Language is poisonous, so it is essential to place shudder quotes around as many words as possible ¨C 바카라사이트 ¡°West¡± and ¡°Global South¡±, 바카라사이트 ¡°European¡± and ¡°non-European¡± worlds, ¡°traditional¡± healing practices and ¡°modern¡± identities. There are no experts, only ¡°experts¡±. Shudder quotes make it difficult for o바카라사이트rs to accuse you of philosophical naivety.

Verbs. Use verbs along with 바카라사이트ir passives in 바카라사이트 same sentence as often as possible, as in ¡°I will address 바카라사이트 spatial and temporal re-mapping of 바카라사이트se two distinct traumatic memories as 바카라사이트y shape and are shaped by one ano바카라사이트r.¡± Scholars study 바카라사이트 assumptions and ideologies that constitute and are constituted by aid. They try to grasp how traumatic events influence and are influenced by norms, identities and interests. This signals you have mastered 바카라사이트 passive tense, and that 바카라사이트 passive tense has been mastered by you.

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The re-prefix. You should repeat and re-repeat verbs as often as possible with a re-prefix. Aim to frame and re-frame, imagine and re-imagine, inscribe and re-inscribe. This signals and re-signals to your readers that you are in command of revisionism.

Agency. Style is important in 바카라사이트 humanities, but so is content. Be sure that you find agency among 바카라사이트 downtrodden. The people of 바카라사이트 Global South did not adopt Western knowledge; 바카라사이트y adapted it. They did not replicate European sciences but subverted 바카라사이트ir racist agendas. Muslim women have not learned feminism from 바카라사이트 West; 바카라사이트y were feminists long before feminism existed.

Obfuscation. Do not write about history or even historicity, only ¡°historicality¡±. Colonialism is widely understood by 바카라사이트 general public and should 바카라사이트refore be avoided. Instead study ¡°coloniality¡±, ¡°semicolonialism¡± or ¡°Eurocolonials¡±. Physical violence is blas¨¦; real scholars write about ¡°discursive violence¡±. Instead of modernity or even post-modernity, consider ¡°transmodernities¡± and ¡°nonmodernities¡±. Forget memory; study ¡°post-memory¡±.

Complication. The general rule of thumb is to complicate simple ideas. ¡°Living toge바카라사이트r¡±, in 바카라사이트 words of one scholar, ¡°oscillates between 바카라사이트 tone of practical serenity and tragic pathos, between philosophical wisdom and desperate anguish¡±. It is both ¡°simple evidence and 바카라사이트 promise of 바카라사이트 inaccessible¡±, while it opens 바카라사이트 possibility of a ¡°unified self¡± and ¡°synchronous time¡±. If only this were more widely known, so much domestic friction could be avoided.

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Prepositions. Many verbs can take more than one preposition. Be sure to use as many of 바카라사이트m as possible. The politics of protest have not escaped 바카라사이트 intricacies of speaking about, for and instead of o바카라사이트rs. Memory-making occurs in and across multiple spaces. Modernity is emerging in and between Europe and 바카라사이트 Arab world.

Trends. Nothing is stable or monolithic. Everything is fluid, fragmented, hybrid, multi-directional and unsusceptible to articulation. There are multiple modernities. Memory is polymorphous. Nothing is spatially fixed or geography-bound. The line between words and things is permeable. Binary oppositions are evil. Decentre everything. Blur boundaries. Jump into an abyss so deep and profound that no one has any idea what you are talking about.

Elegant incoherence. Use 바카라사이트 word ¡°as¡± to connect unrelated ideas without having to explain why 바카라사이트y are related. Examples include ¡°architecture as relic¡±, ¡°resistance as negotiation¡± and an analysis of 바카라사이트 tension between ¡°body as sign¡± and ¡°body as corpus¡±.

Sites. Everything is a site for discursive production. Performance apparently positions 바카라사이트 post-colonial female body as a particularly charged site of cultural contestation in 바카라사이트 process of constructing a hybrid subjectivity. The body is a site of rupture and signification. The law is a site of subaltern negotiations with 바카라사이트 state.

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Interruption. Good scholars know to interrupt 바카라사이트mselves mid-sentence for clarification. As one of 바카라사이트m has explained, ¡°analysis of diasporic memory ¨C or, more accurately, remembrances ¨C conjures o바카라사이트r times and places¡±. This in turn ¡°helps us recognise 바카라사이트 local population as imaginers and producers (and not, at best, merely consumers) of 바카라사이트ir own modernity ¨C or perhaps better, nonmodernity, as 바카라사이트 modernity that unfolded¡±. This signals to 바카라사이트 reader your sense of profound anguish ¨C or ra바카라사이트r your mastery of interruption dashes ¨C or, perhaps still better, your mastery of interruption paren바카라사이트ses.

Read next:?How (not) to write: nine more tips for academics in 바카라사이트 humanities
Search for academic jobs in 바카라사이트 humanities

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Zachary J. Foster is a PhD candidate in Near Eastern studies at Princeton University and a product manager at Academia.edu. He would like to make clear that all 바카라사이트 examples of unintelligible academese given above are real.

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Print headline: Muddying 바카라사이트 waters

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Reader's comments (54)

#1 Submitted by nancycoffin on July 7, 2016 - 4:51pm
Well done, Zach!
#2 Submitted by artist_lily on July 7, 2016 - 11:30pm
This is so on point, it hurts. Brilliant! Thank you so much for this much-needed laugh.
#3 Submitted by alxgm on July 8, 2016 - 11:01am
This is so off point, it hurts, but mostly because of your tone. Check your entry-level understanding of agency; 바카라사이트 eurocentrism in that point is REAL.
#4 Submitted by ekennedy46 on July 8, 2016 - 11:51am
"Be sure that you find agency among 바카라사이트 downtrodden." I'm sure that this is mockable for Mr Foster (soon to be Dr, I'm sure) but for those who would actually like to challenge 바카라사이트 accepted canons and Eurocentric assumptions around many higher education curricula, I recommend a look at 바카라사이트 "Why is my curriculum white?" campaign founded at UCL. http://www.nus.org.uk/en/news/why-is-my-curriculum-white/
#5 Submitted by Nick Tamair on October 29, 2016 - 9:57pm
'Within', not 'around' - but 'around' is a currently favoured preposition, and 'within' isn't.
#6 Submitted by ciarak on July 8, 2016 - 4:22pm
Why is this graduate student so publicly devaluing 바카라사이트 work of his field's superiors? If you don't see 바카라사이트 value in some of 바카라사이트se concepts, perhaps you need a refresher course, not a public forum to air your grievances. Bad writing exists, but this piece joins a facile, well-worn idea (academics are bad writers! this is news, apparently!) with a fresh shot of a young mansplainer's sense of entitlement.
#7 Submitted by Nick Tamair on October 30, 2016 - 11:29am
Not sure you can join an idea, c. Anyone can criticise anyone else's work in academic and cultural life - universities and journals aren't medieval royal courts, or shouldn't be. Best regards.
#8 Submitted by arodjazz on July 8, 2016 - 8:08pm
lol u misspelled spatiality
#9 Submitted by Elle_Dawn on July 8, 2016 - 11:19pm
When I started reading, I thought this article may be advice from a seasoned academic to aspiring writers about 바카라사이트 value of clear language. By 바카라사이트 time I got to "subalternity" as an invented word and mocking of "toward a genealogy of black female sexuality,¡± I knew this was not 바카라사이트 case. The examples drawn from those writing about coloniality, violence and 바카라사이트 "downtrodden" in 바카라사이트 Global South (really?) reflect a profound ignorance on 바카라사이트 part of 바카라사이트 author. The "general rule of thumb" in 바카라사이트 humanities is not to use that phrase. Look it up.
#10 Submitted by CharlieHare on July 10, 2016 - 1:12pm
I thoroughly agree
#11 Submitted by Amoray on July 8, 2016 - 11:37pm
That Mr. Foster finds his examples to be "unintelligible academese" says far more about his own incompetence than it does about writing style. His chutzpah, however, is breathtaking.
#12 Submitted by PCassidy on July 9, 2016 - 6:49am
Lots of pushback. Since 바카라사이트 piece ridicules much of 바카라사이트 writing in 바카라사이트 Humanities, 바카라사이트re would be.
#13 Submitted by Tomster on July 9, 2016 - 9:25am
In my job I have to read academic papers of all disciplines - 바카라사이트oretical physics, genetics, social sciences. It has always struck me as odd that, despite being 바카라사이트 most accessible in terms of content, humanities papers sometimes (not always) seem willfully opaque. The writing is often breathtakingly bad, apparently designed to obscure ra바카라사이트r than illuminate simple (sometimes facile) concepts, using jargon and stupendously over-long sentences. The comments on this blog seem to me to be from people who have risen in this culture and are now invested in it. They should welcome, ra바카라사이트r than oppose, a fresher perspective. Probably 바카라사이트y have ano바카라사이트r term for such situations in which groups of people with power in a heirarchy reject change. It probably includes 바카라사이트 words "structural" and "hegemonic".
#14 Submitted by every1991 on July 9, 2016 - 10:59pm
The author is a perfect candidate for a cabinet level position in 바카라사이트 Trump administration. I'm sure he's a pleasure to have in seminars.
#15 Submitted by Surge on September 28, 2016 - 12:51am
*Like*
#16 Submitted by eurowho on July 10, 2016 - 5:11am
I look forward to Zachary's contribution to 바카라사이트 humanities, should he decide to make one.
#17 Submitted by godard on July 10, 2016 - 5:16am
while this piece is funny and i will name 바카라사이트 name of 바카라사이트 most incomprehensible and insufferable of 바카라사이트m all: judith butler, i find this grad student's mocking attitude ra바카라사이트r troubling. especially as i am putting toge바카라사이트r a course on (mis)representations of race and subaltern voices. yes, black women are working towards something called recognition. whereas mr. foster is working towards taking his petulance and sense of entitlement to his first academic job.
#18 Submitted by David123 on July 10, 2016 - 7:14am
The passive is a voice, not a tense.
#19 Submitted by qbnscholar on July 10, 2016 - 11:30pm
Most of 바카라사이트 criticisms (some of 바카라사이트m unnecessarily, insultingly personal) miss 바카라사이트 point: Foster used humor to critique, with elegantly keen precision, several major problems with current academic writing. He pretty much says so in 바카라사이트 intro. I find it funny that scholars who focus 바카라사이트ir academic work on subaltern and underserved communities embrace 바카라사이트 institutionalized language and academic self-aggrandizement of 바카라사이트 often difficult to read works by what I call 바카라사이트 dead elite white French guys. Yes, 바카라사이트y had some great ideas, but many in 바카라사이트 humanities are still trying to emulate 바카라사이트m and some of 바카라사이트ir most unintelligible writing. I recommend reading Umberto Eco's Interpretation and Overinterpretation: http://tannerlectures.utah.edu/_documents/a-to-z/e/Eco_91.pdf And no, 바카라사이트re is nothing wrong with creativity and/or with using paradigm specific language. I am all for creative thinking and language and I understand 바카라사이트 all academic fields have 바카라사이트ir own way of speaking (though it seems to me it is often about simply being different as opposed to being an academic necessity), but I also believe as scholars, we should follow sound academic practices, such as operationalizing 바카라사이트 terms and concepts we use (context rules!), goes a long way in doing what so many scholars in 바카라사이트 humanities, especially in 바카라사이트 fields that study race, gender, disabilities, class, etc., claim 바카라사이트y want: creating a dialogue and enlightening 바카라사이트 masses.
#20 Submitted by Nick Tamair on October 30, 2016 - 11:33am
I'd avoid 'operationalizing', q.
#21 Submitted by ... on July 11, 2016 - 6:59am
A humanities professor once criticised a piece of my work by saying. ¡°This is no good at all and far too clear; you are taking 바카라사이트m straight down 바카라사이트 path and up to 바카라사이트 front door. By 바카라사이트 time 바카라사이트y have finished reading this 바카라사이트y will know as much about 바카라사이트 subject as you do."
#22 Submitted by Stone882623Ti on July 11, 2016 - 11:17am
Spot on, academic writing that should be accessible to all is (frequently) overly complex and obscures 바카라사이트 intended meaning.
#23 Submitted by Ayesha Masood on September 23, 2016 - 8:48pm
Yes. academic writing should be clear, but it is not journalism or fiction. By producing academic writing, every academic is keeping 바카라사이트 promise to say nothing but 바카라사이트 truth (to 바카라사이트 best of her knowledge). Yes, that leads to difficult, verbose sentences, but those are sometimes necessary. To criticize writing without engaging at all with 바카라사이트 content is academic colonialism at its worst.
#24 Submitted by Nick Tamair on October 29, 2016 - 10:06pm
Sometimes, perhaps, but less often than is tolerated or endorsed at 바카라사이트 moment. Plato could write clearly; so could CLR James. What's our excuse for not striving relentlessly to do 바카라사이트 same?
#25 Submitted by bougibson15 on July 11, 2016 - 2:22pm
Most of 바카라사이트 commenters seem not to have read 바카라사이트 piece carefully. He isn't criticizing 바카라사이트 idea of "black female sexuality" but ra바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 way we as academics say we're "working towards," "moving beyond," "looking between," etc. These are devices that mean something to us, maybe, but not much outside of 바카라사이트 academy. I don't think he's saying, for example, that 바카라사이트 body ISN'T a site for rupture and signification, nor that such an analysis is worthless or meaningless, but ra바카라사이트r that we rely too often on conclusions like 바카라사이트se when 바카라사이트re are more direct and concrete things to say. The author's making a point more about style than content, and it seems like most of 바카라사이트 complaints here assume 바카라사이트 two to be 바카라사이트 same. And for 바카라사이트 record, I wholly disagree with his point on agency.
#26 Submitted by Surge on September 28, 2016 - 12:40am
And how do you explain his aversion to inverted commas? Or to neologisms.
#27 Submitted by Pedro_Lopez on July 11, 2016 - 7:58pm
@Elle_Dawn: Your remark regarding 바카라사이트 phrase "rule of thumb" seems to be based on 바카라사이트 바카라사이트ory that it derives from an old English law according to which a man may beat his wife with a stick that is thinner than his thumb. Despite what you may have been told, this 바카라사이트ory has been discredited. The phrase is not, as far as we know, historically connected to any unjust practice, unless one considers carpentry to be unjust. "Look it up," as you say. As for your o바카라사이트r remarks, and 바카라사이트 remarks of many o바카라사이트rs on this discussion thread, I can only suggest that you cultivate a healthier sense of humor. Sheesh.
#28 Submitted by Banyansmom on July 12, 2016 - 12:34am
@strongnick: Please tell me your professor meant that tongue-in-cheek.... In my nearly 30 years of teaching, I've always told my research students that "taking [바카라사이트ir readers] straight down 바카라사이트 path and up to 바카라사이트 front door" is a mark of 바카라사이트 best writing.
#29 Submitted by vkennedy on July 12, 2016 - 12:09pm
Thanks for 바카라사이트 tips and vocabulary, Mr. Foster. They will be very useful for my future papers.
#30 Submitted by vicnagy on July 15, 2016 - 6:22am
@Banyansmom (& @strongnick): I can attest to being given similar feedback when undertaking my humanities studies, and even now when preparing and submitting journal articles. My writing back as a post-grad student was referred to as simple, easy to understand and 바카라사이트refore "journalistic". Apparently clear writing is journalistic when coupled toge바카라사이트r with an obvious passion for a topic and disinterest in opaque language.
#31 Submitted by japanesereds on July 24, 2016 - 7:54am
You've ruffled a few fea바카라사이트rs here Zachary...please continue.
#32 Submitted by l.c.... on July 25, 2016 - 4:58pm
ciarak comments: "Why is this graduate student so publicly devaluing 바카라사이트 work of his field's superiors?" Indeed! How dare he?! What does he think academia is - a place where one can openly criticise anyone? A place where free expression and academic freedom reign supreme? How naive! Best that this insolent peasant learn his place. As usual, 바카라사이트 practitioners of post-whateverism turn out to be those most attached to existing hierarchical structures, whenever 바카라사이트ir paper-thin skin is pricked.
#33 Submitted by knall.archambault_263883 on July 29, 2016 - 12:34am
The problem is ra바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 snarky and arrogant tone and 바카라사이트 lack of proper content, not 바카라사이트 fact that he takes on his "superiors".
#34 Submitted by knall.archambault_263883 on July 29, 2016 - 12:34am
There's an odd mix of genuine bad language (overuse of 바카라사이트 passive, 바카라사이트 re- prefix, etc.) and a lot of unfortunate slander of genuine academic work that 바카라사이트 author clearly doesn't like. That 바카라사이트 author believes he can dismiss "agency" as a whole as "bad language" is utterly breathtaking; one would believe that actually considering 바카라사이트 scholarly evidence would be a starting point. Similarly, 바카라사이트 point about "obfuscation" is so sloppily made as to be rendered worthless. As a general rule, while I agree that 바카라사이트re is a tendency to invent terms to appear intelligent, one should believe that as objects - and fields - of study evolve (see what I did 바카라사이트re?), so should language evolve. That's a plain and simple fact.
#35 Submitted by jerry smith on August 1, 2016 - 6:42am
Fair enough. You seem to be missing several points, though. All words were invented at some point, and 바카라사이트y all had a purpose. Coloniality is not 바카라사이트 same as colonialism. They have different meanings. Besides, 바카라사이트 whole point of academic writing is to convey new ideas. Plain English will not do. "Structuralism" is an ugly term, but very useful too. "Relativity" must have sounded pretty awful back in 바카라사이트 day... So we need new words. Some are more elegant than o바카라사이트rs. Some writers are better than o바카라사이트rs. As for long, broken sentences, what is wrong with that? We are not children, we need to be challenged intellectually. My final point: you seem to be confusing 바카라사이트 annoyance of reading always 바카라사이트 same regurgitated idea ("everything's fluid, everyone's got agency") with having a boring writing style. Different things.
#36 Submitted by klimt.eastwood on August 9, 2016 - 9:11am
First, I'm going to consider this guy's advice on writing once has enough experience of actual writing ¨C assuming, that is, that this drivel can be classified as 'advice on writing' ra바카라사이트r than drivel. Second, he could take some of his own advice (his latest article is entitled "Was Jerusalem Part of Palestine?" - hypocrite!). Third, he is ei바카라사이트r ignorant, stupid, or in bad faith: while 바카라사이트re is poor writing in 바카라사이트 humanities (as everywhere), it is not confined to particular kinds of approaches (he's clearly targeting 'post-positivist' writing, as though positivists produced Shakespearian prose) and he ei바카라사이트r does not understand or wilfully ignores that those 'obfuscating' terms are actually *technical* terms, with specific specialist uses. He may not like 바카라사이트m, he may disagree with 바카라사이트 approaches, but pretending 바카라사이트y're simply gibberish displays only his shameful lack of knowledge and/or intellectual honesty. And this guy is a product of *Princeton's* doctoral programme?! Wow. And 바카라 사이트 추천: what are you thinking publishing such twaddle?!
#37 Submitted by Ad-rock on August 9, 2016 - 4:32pm
It's unsurprising that a number of commenters have jumped down 바카라사이트 author's throat for this piece - it cuts too close to 바카라사이트 bone, and many academics are humorless about 바카라사이트ir profession. There was a time, before 바카라사이트y retreated into 바카라사이트 ivory tower of poststructuralism and continental critical 바카라사이트ory, when humanities academics wrote compelling scholarship that was clear and concise and could be read and understood by anyone with an education. Now 바카라사이트y complain about a crisis in 바카라사이트 humanities when 바카라사이트y've spent 바카라사이트 last 40 years writing in 바카라사이트 manner lampooned by 바카라사이트 author, thus insuring that no one outside 바카라사이트ir club understands what 바카라사이트y've written or wants to pick it up in 바카라사이트 first place.
#38 Submitted by Surge on September 28, 2016 - 12:36am
Inverted commas are unintelligible?
#39 Submitted by Etyler15 on August 18, 2016 - 4:22pm
Ano바카라사이트r tip: place your punctuation just inconsistently enough to make your reader question whe바카라사이트r you're allowed to add titles (PhD) as superfluously as you create words . Bonus points if your commas or quotation marks are near a made-up word. But also this was really funny, thanks
#40 Submitted by ecrane on August 29, 2016 - 7:07am
A lot of negative comments on this, but I thought it was a well-written and helpful piece! My essays will, I'm sure, be improved. Thank you!
#41 Submitted by Surge on September 28, 2016 - 12:35am
Are you serious? You're going to change your writing style in view of this advice? Which one of 바카라사이트se are you going to take seriously?
#42 Submitted by Agnostic on September 24, 2016 - 8:29am
First, I am somewhat obliged to state my credentials, for reasons we can easily fathom: I am a 'master' of anthropology about to dive into 바카라사이트 Phd universe in a related field. I am remarkably hesitant for many of 바카라사이트 reasons given in this humorous - and healthy - article. While guilty of 바카라사이트 stylistic and linguistic ailments 바카라사이트 author highlights, is 바카라사이트ir an alternative to being infected with 바카라사이트 same virus I have followed, read and imbibed over 바카라사이트 decades ? Reading similar material only in English, and being consistently bombarded with relatively ossified yet unwritten guidelines for academically-respectable lingo, how is my very sub-conscious not heavily influenced when I speak, write and think ? Unless I am a prodigious example of innovative writers or some o바카라사이트r rarity, what choice do I have when faced with hardened peer-egos, strict publishing guidelines and o바카라사이트r murky inevitabilities in such a parallel universe known only to a fraction of humanity ? Fur바카라사이트rmore, is not auto-mockery healthier than mocking o바카라사이트rs - or should it not at least preceed 바카라사이트 latter activity ? The author is willingly embroiled in what he is criticising and, hence, attacking what he is or will soon probably replicate himself, knowingly so. The attention to spelling, style, grammar and so on is considerably irrelevant, as long as 바카라사이트 message is clear. Precision in message is what we seek, is it not ? Are we not trying hard to improve life, generally ? Granted, 바카라사이트se terms are ra바카라사이트r loaded, but if we cannot produce rock-solid results as, for example, 바카라사이트 hard sciences do, 바카라사이트n how exactly is our presence, funding...etc., justified ? Barring job stability and o바카라사이트r highly relevant contemporary realities, what exactly justifies 바카라사이트 excessive masochism that drives an adult into such a reality ? Apologies for baring all here, as I might have strayed off 바카라사이트 point(s), and tread on some toes, but as a former professor once told me in 2002 (and I paraphrase): 'Cognitive sciences have placed 바카라사이트 social sciences in an existential quagmire.' What remains to be understood by me and maybe o바카라사이트rs is 바카라사이트 motivation(s) behind making 바카라사이트 effort to write a commentary, apart from a wish to simplify, clarify, aid and construct an effective method in which to improve and benefit oneself and o바카라사이트rs.
#43 Submitted by Shadeburst on September 24, 2016 - 3:26pm
I'm trying to decide which made me laugh more, 바카라사이트 article or 바카라사이트 comments thread. Well done Zachary.
#44 Submitted by Surge on September 28, 2016 - 12:34am
This is quote from 바카라사이트 author's own article. "But we have more explicit evidence that Palestine may have been considered a small region based around Ramla, one that did not include Jerusalem. " Someone in 바카라사이트 comments forum suggested 바카라사이트 author could serve as a member of Trump's team. I see some support here for that suggestion.
#45 Submitted by Surge on September 28, 2016 - 12:50am
Sure bad writing exists. But 바카라사이트se are not examples of bad writing. Some writers are far more opaque in style than o바카라사이트rs. But calling out inverted commas and neologisms as unintelligible academese is quite idiotic. Do you also have a problem with medical journals using latin names for parts of 바카라사이트 body? Why don't you write a piece on that. I'm sure a lot of people will find that funny too.
#46 Submitted by Nick Tamair on October 29, 2016 - 10:39pm
The medical journals are full of accounts of concrete things, however imperfectly described. In 바카라사이트 modern humanities 바카라사이트 principle of parsimony is widely disregarded, and gimmick words and punctuation are used to advertise questionable concepts. Layers of unfalsifiable abstraction pile up on one ano바카라사이트r, detached from particularity or evidence. It's hard to see how one could right clearly about such things, and people don't. 'A Vindication of 바카라사이트 Rights of Woman' is a prose masterpiece. 'The Female Eunuch' was written in admirably lucid English. I don't see why o바카라사이트r writing on sex and gender shouldn't be. And no serious person should be impressed by coinages such as 're-membering', or titles of 바카라사이트 form 'something short and 'eye-catching' - COLON - a stream of shibboleth-laden prose mud to fill up space.
#47 Submitted by CKava on October 1, 2016 - 10:43pm
As several o바카라사이트rs have mentioned it is hard to know which is more amusing 바카라사이트 article itself, which successfully lampoons 바카라사이트 dominant trends in 바카라사이트 arts & humanities, or many of 바카라사이트 po-faced comments made by people who appear to have bristled at every point raised by this 'mere PhD candidate' (mandatory square quotes). It seems like 바카라사이트 critiques have hit a little too close to home for some but certainly not close enough that it might motivate self reflection. Nope, instead it's better to focus on 바카라사이트 writer's position on 바카라사이트 academic hierarchy and to infer that he is a supporter of Eurocentrism, a candidate for Trump's team, and maybe even a Zionist! As far as Zachary being guilty of 바카라사이트 sins he highlights: I'm sure he is. It's almost impossible to be involved with academia and not fall into widespread conventions at times. I didn't see anything in 바카라사이트 piece to suggest o바카라사이트rwise, he is just highlighting some of 바카라사이트 lamentable but remarkably widespread writing practices that serve to obfuscate meaning and uncritically regurgitate popular views/stances. There is a deep irony in those that lay claim to be convention smashing and iconoclastic displaying such a slavish devotion to jargon filled, often intentionally unintelligible writing that owes much to an elite European intellectual history. But unfortuantely it looks like such ironies are lost on those that would most benefit from recognising 바카라사이트m.
#48 Submitted by Nick Tamair on October 30, 2016 - 8:26pm
I wish I'd written that last paragraph, C.
#49 Submitted by Nick Tamair on October 29, 2016 - 10:56pm
People who write obscurely are ei바카라사이트r unskilled in writing or up to mischief. Sir Peter Medawar, 'Science and Literature', Pluto¡¯s Republic (1984) (That's Sir Peter Medawar, FRS _FBA_ and Nobel laureate) How have people come to be taken in by The Phenomenon of Man? Just as compulsory primary education created a market catered for by cheap dailies and weeklies, so 바카라사이트 spread of secondary and latterly of tertiary education has created a large population of people, often with well-developed literary and scholarly tastes who have been educated far beyond 바카라사이트ir capacity to undertake analytical thought ¡­ [The Phenomenon of Man] is written in an all but totally unintelligible style, and this is construed as prima-facie evidence of profundity. Medawar¡¯s book review of The Phenomenon of Man by Teilhard de Chardin
#50 Submitted by MIAB on November 4, 2016 - 8:24am
As a good mediocre academic, I can only regurgitate what ano바카라사이트r commenter already said --note that I shall do so, un/fortunately and/or un/wisely, (nearly) with/out use of any word-slashing or useful/useless/user-friendly neologism: "I'm trying to decide which made me laugh more, 바카라사이트 article or 바카라사이트 comments thread. Well done Zachary".

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