language

Do you think it is possible, even preferable to stay away from gratuitous f-bombs in an article about a job posting? Language of the sort has a place when describing pop culture phenomena by is there really a reason to dumb down intellectual discourse in such a way in THIS kind of article?

John Foubert, Assistant Professor at William and Mary, at 8:30 am EST on November 26, 2007

Eff Bombs

People: stop taking yourselves so seriously. Mature readers should be able to read an “f-bomb” in context and not get their proverbial pant*@# in a w-d.

In response to the issue raised by this article, what is wrong with a university trying to elevate the baseline credentials of its new hires? Like it or not, Phi Beta Kappa membership is a sign of intellectual capacity and past achievement. It may not be a good predictor, or even a predictor, of success at teaching any particular subject, but that does not mean that the achievement has no place as a hiring criterion.

I would be willing to venture that most people who cry foul at this form of job posting are not themselves members of Phi Beta Kappa.

So life’s not fair...

Poster, at 9:55 am EST on November 26, 2007

The main problem with this is...

What if you attended institutions that did not have a PBK chapter? My undergrad did, and I’m a member, but my parents for example both graduated from a good school that to this day does not have a PBK chapter.

Also, what if you were just a dope as an undergrad but straightened up your academic record in graduate school?

Allison, at 9:55 am EST on November 26, 2007

F-bombs

I am perfectly capable of reading f-bombs in the proper context. I have included quotes with them in my own scholarly work on sexual assault and pornography to describe the experience of others when it has scholarly merit. My point is that using the f-bomb to describe one’s reaction to an article in a forum such as Inside Higher Education to describe ones reaction to a job posting reduces academe to the lowest common denominator. Then to suggest that those like me are just getting our “panties in a wad” (my translation) serves to equate my critique to something that is associated with women. In so doing, the person who posted is equating my objection to something female, equating “female” with weakness, thus perpetuating a culture of patriarchy that said individual would do well to read up on in the literature. I recommend Jackson Katz’s “The Macho Paradox” for a start.

John Foubert, Assistant Professor at William and Mary, at 10:25 am EST on November 26, 2007

So Miss. State is not interested in providing an education for its students, but in providing a PBK chapter for its PR department?

Judith, at 10:35 am EST on November 26, 2007

In the STEM world, being a PBK is on par with joining Mensa, a badge of being a pompous buffoon.

Raoul, at 4:05 pm EST on November 26, 2007

An MSU degree not good enough to teach there

I guess this means that since they do not have a chapter, anyone who received their degree from Mississippi State is not properly educated to teach philosophy there, regardless of their credentials or record of achievement. It seems like a slap in the face of MSU alumni.

Tom, at 5:35 pm EST on November 26, 2007

Quiet, kids!

Good grief! What’s all this infantile cant about “f-bombs"? Is this a website about higher education or the blog of some earnest Presbyterian Youth Camp Counselor? I got into academia precisely in order to escape from this kind of prudery, which is far, far more offensive to any thoughtful person than the judicious use of a few Anglo-Saxon verb forms.

Mark Silcox, University of Central Olahoma, at 4:35 pm EST on December 2, 2007