Korean Job Discussion Forums

Gopher · Joined: 04 Jun 2005

Yes, it is true. And today they began dropping Naomi Klein's name and book.

Without getting into too much detail, my/our state is dealing with budgetary issues, and people at my level are getting excited, and predicting the end of our department in staff meetings, in seminars, and the classroom. I kid you not; I am not with them; but they truly seem to believe this. They are linking this with the national economy and are now predicting the end of our little corner of the world. And at times it is impossible to tell if they are discussing this state's particular issues, or whether they are using this state's issues and their impact on the university system as a device to show their cleverness and push their politics re: the W. Bush Administration, or what. It has become beyond confused via excessive hyperbole and I have simply withdrawn from the discussion. I am not alone in doing so.

You are probably not experiencing this because you are, I believe in a new-style, post-Cold War, area-studies dept. "The Pacific," no? Others include "the Med" and "the Indian Ocean World." Note the are transnational and water-centric. In any case, these programs are not on the chopping block. But the older social sciences -- save the critically-relevant Near-Eastern Studies area-studies depts. -- are.

bucheon bum · Joined: 16 Jan 2003

Yup, certainly the case. I imagine if I had any interaction with my university's lit. dept (apparently very Marxist) I would encounter some of the behavior you described.

Naomi Klein. Laughing

Gopher · Joined: 04 Jun 2005

They ought to relax. History has been with us since Herodotus and Thucydides. We are not going anywhere. But I must admit I would not shed a single tear if the administration axed Psychology and Sociology -- or merged Geography into History, either.

mises · Joined: 05 Nov 2007 Location: retired

Gopher · Joined: 04 Jun 2005

You disagree with her, Mises?

mises · Joined: 05 Nov 2007 Location: retired

Dude, she's nuts. I've posted 3 threads about her recently (2 months or so). Her latest book is the worst I've read this year and I'm a book worm. It was taken down and torn apart by the Swedish economist Johan Norberg in a way I've never seen a mainstream book before. No Logo was a rant without a purpose, center or argument. She can be useful in short investigative pieces, such as a recent one on the surveillance society China is building.

We Canadians have been dealing with her nutty participation on every uni seminar and the like for a long, long time.

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=123194&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=norberg&start=0