Autonomy

[owl_of_minerva]

The academics_anon discussion of the Middlebury decision re. Wikipedia reminded me of the time I looked up "autonomy" on Wikipedia, just out of curiosity (since it's my research area).

Yikes. Oh dear.

Actually to be more careful, here is the link to the latest edit, in the history page, in case someone updates it. Excerpts below.

Comments

[owl_of_minerva]

Thanks! I keep being intrigued by Raaflaub whenever you mention it, and our library has it, so I am putting it on my to-read (or at least, to-thoroughly-skim) list.

By the way, I just ordered something on amazon which, once it arrives, I will copy and send on to you for sheer awesomeness. Expect a quasi-mysterious package to your office address.

[max_ambiguity]

The "film theory" entry is very, very sad. It's far too short, for one. But it also says things like this: "Cahiers was more concerned with film criticism than with film theory, but it was the birthplace of the auteur theory. This "theory" is not accurately named as it is more a method of film criticism, which evaluates films based on their directors, than it is a 'theory'."

There is indeed a distinction between film theory and film criticism, however the term "auteur theory" is in fact a theory. It is a theory about how films create meaning. That it can be used to do film criticism does not make the "theory" half of the term a misnomer. But why should I waste my time correcting wikipedia entries? I have found so many that need work, and although it is fun to imagine a world where information is free and professors are freedom fighters who volunteer their hard earned expertise to anyone who wants it, the fact of the matter is that I am hard up for money, and I want paying for any extra work I do.