In queer and present danger.

[goblin_marketer]

NEWS: GOP lawmakers: Fire college professors for 'queer theory'

I found this rather ridiculous, but also a bit alarming. I doubt that the impulse is exclusive to Georgia. I'm a grad student and writing instructor at this point, so I'm using queer theory more than teaching it, so I can't really speak to any experiences with this, though I've

Comments

[ex_lost_kit]

I'm adverse to seeing academic structure become politicized, so my initial reaction to this movement is highly negative. This doesn't mean I support Angry Studies departments, just that if there's an argument against them, it damn well better be something better than simple homophobia.

As for whether the Angry Studies departments have been "accepted"... well, I imagine most of the support for that would come from members of those departments themselves, possibly some allies in the Sociology / Humanities departments, and then a smattering of left-leaning academics... which is to say, the majority, but it's also a politicized support and thus may not be "legitimate". I'm not inclined to try to draw up criteria whereby we could determine whether a given field is respectable or not, but I will say that I think it could be argued that there's a legitimate state interest in, if not supporting some departments at the expense of others, at least supporting students within some departments but not others.

Mod note

[owl_of_minerva]

Hi! This is a charming conversation.

It seems to me that it's entirely fair (and relevant to the post) to discuss the prioritization of fields in a scenario of massive budget cuts, and what criteria fields might have in order to be prioritized, etc. (E.g. your final statement, "I think it could be argued that there's a legitimate state interest in, if not supporting some departments at the expense of others, at least supporting students within some departments but not others", seems entirely fair.)

Referring to a set of interdisciplinary fields as "Angry Studies" is counterproductive: you're just going to raise hackles without generating real discussion.

Can you leave aside that particular moniker for the purposes of this forum?

Thanks.

Re: Mod note

[ex_lost_kit]

Right, well, I lack a better collective term for these departments. Maybe you could suggest one to me.

Re: Mod note

[owl_of_minerva]

Well, they all have different histories within the academy, and are actually separate fields, so there isn't a collective term. Why don't you just list them by their names?

Re: Mod note

[redplum]

"Interdisciplinary fields/studies" has the advantage of covering the whole range of fields that work this way (including area studies like, say, East Asian Studies) without bringing politicized assumptions about a subgroup of fields into the discussion.

Re: Mod note

[griffen]

How about "Inequality Studies?" Since they all study populations that have historically been on the short end of the equality stick.

Your choice of "Angry Studies" is pejorative and condescending.

Re: Mod note

[maritov]

In my research, which is on these disciplines, I use "identity studies".

Re: Mod note

[blackletter]

"Identity Studies" or "Interdisciplinary Studies" are both nice because they include Classics (sometimes called "Classical Studies" or "Greek and Roman Studies" when departments want to emphasize the interdisciplinariness). Classics is certainly not angry--just ticked off that we don't get the sort of respect we used to enjoy. And "Inequality Studies" definitely doesn't work. The Romans authors we study were *not* on the short end of the equality stick.

I've also sometimes refered to them collectively as "Marginalized Studies" as that seems to accurately describe their place in academia.

Re: Mod note

[ex_lost_kit]

I don't acknowledge women, blacks, or queers?

Re: Mod note

[ex_lost_kit]

Apparently you just like making shit up.

Re: Mod note

[ex_lost_kit]

Sadly, women and blacks were long excluded from markets, those explaining their relative impoverishment. :(

Re: Mod note

[ex_lost_kit]

Children.