Scientia imperii decus et tutamen est First, let's interrogate the truth apparently proposed or implied in the titular question. Would it not be more accurate to state: it is believed that academics read lots of books. Is this true? For many undergraduates the notion that their Professor has read more than fifty books secures her a place in the same league as Wittgenstein or Dr Johnson. Far out! Strange! A living geek-book. So, the revered state of being widely read is a relative judgment. But let's grant that academics do 'read' rather a lot; perhaps more than average, perhaps excessively . For teachers in the arts, and in the social sciences, academic books are their primary tools and resources. Text is a living laboratory. Surely they spend every moment of their lives reading . That is to say, they might entertaining the possibility of reading in those great vistas of time the yawn like chasms between teaching, assessing, writing, and generally administerin
The Communication Initiative is a partnership and networking space where people using media and communication strategies for action on poverty and other major issues share, learn and converse. See www.comminit.com and register. The Communication Initiative Network also has a useful page on Facebook that lists new projects. Here are some features on gender and equality that appeared in their recent newsletter. 1. Mucho Corazón (A Lot of Heart) The purpose of this Mexican television drama series is to help spread the word about the MDGs and the importance of sustainable development, gender equity, and respect for Indigenous Peoples. The 35-episode drama tells the story of Maruch, a young woman from a rural community in Chiapas. It is complemented by: a weekly TV talk show, ongoing promotion through the State of Chiapas radio and television networks, and community action campaigns to encourage viewers to adopt behaviours modelled in the drama. MUCHO CORAZÓN
Saul Alinsky's 1971 book, Rules for Radicals has been cited recently as an influential source for David Cameron's campaign for a Big Society. The main themes are the importance of citizens as participants and opportunities for re-engagement and re-empowerment. If you're already questioning why the Conservative manifesto employed a guiding quotation from that book, you're not alone. One alarmed commentators was Gerald Warner, writing in the Daily Telegraph on April Fools' day 2010: "David Cameron's Big Society is a grotesque fantasy inspired by leftist subversive Saul Alinsky" "Yet the Conservative Party blurts out this admission in the launch document of Big Society. There is a pedantic debate over whether Alinsky was technically a Marxist, or by-passed Marx as old-hat. What is beyond question is his project to overthrow capitalist society and to do so through infiltration of political parties, institutions and, above all, by the use of “com
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