Kevin, The Tattooed Professor from the Harvard University of East Des Moines posted a quick rebuttal to Professor Mark Bauerlein’s New York Times op-ed complaining about the skills of students. Bauerlein teaches at elite Emory University in Atlanta, and Kevin’s rebuttal is worth reading. Bauerlein’s article, which is written without much broader context beyond the hallowed halls of Emory is not nearly as original as what hte tattooed professor wrote—Bauerlien’s article is mainly a “whatever happened to today’s youth” diatribe. I.e. the sort of thing that should not go beyond a faculty bull session, much less appear in the New York Times.
Speaking of various Harvard Universities and undergraduate achievement in the hallowed halls of academia, I think the most original, and under-cited thing I’ve ever read is William Perry’s article “Examsmanship and the Liberal Arts” which was written about an undergraduate who managed to score an A- on a Harvard Exam without ever showing up to class. But that’s another story for another blog. In the meantime, I highly recommend Perry’s article to both Kevin and Bauerlein. Kevin who teaches four classes per semester and cranked out his response within 24 hours, will probably have time to read it, because he is accustomed to “time management.” The guy from the Big U, I’m not so sure—he’s probably too busy with his research commitments, New York Times op ed, and “conferencing” to read something about a truly creative undergraduate from the Harvard University of Cambridge.
Tony Waters is czar and editor of Ethnography.com. He came to us from the Sociology department at California State University at Chico where he has been a professor since 1996. In 2016 though he suddenly found himself with a new gig at Payap University in northern Thailand where he is on the faculty of the Peace Studies Department. He has also been a guest professor in Germany, and Tanzania. In the past, his main interests have been international development and refugees in Thailand, Tanzania, and California. This reflects a former career in the Peace Corps (Thailand), and refugee camps (Thailand and Tanzania). His books include: Crime and Immigrant Youth (1999), Bureaucratizing the Good Samaritan (2001), The Persistence of Subsistence Agriculture: Life Beneath of the Marketplace (2007), When Killing is a Crime (2007), and Schooling, Bureaucracy, and Childhood: Bureaucratizing the Child (2012). His hobby is trying to learn strange languages–and the mistakes that that implies. Tony is a prolific academic, you can read more of his work at academia.edu.or purchase one (or more!) of his books from Amazon.com.