CIRCLING THE WAGONS · Monday August 6, 2007
Literally one hour before starting my final dissertation (which is due in 4 weeks, yikeS!), I read this little gem in a Discorder interview with Ian Svenonius. He encapsulates my current feelings with regard to academia and academic writing in about 3 lines:
Do you read much in the way of contemporary cultural studies? You’re pretty well-versed in Marx. And you reference Dick Hebdige in your book.
No, not really. I just read about history. I don’t really read academia. It’s so self-referential and it’s so laden down with footnotes that it’s basically unreadable. And academics tend to write in a style where they’re circling the wagons. They’re writing for their own little community and they emboss what they write in a veneer of science. They’re purposefully impenetrable. I avoid it in my book. It’s not to be confused with academia in any way.
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geneviève writes:
Ian Svenonius is amazing at bringing smart ideas to the masses in a language that can actually be understood. Have you watched his TV show (Soft Focus)? It is Vice related, which is too bad, but the interviews are excellent.
posted Aug 6, 04:18 PM ~ #