You try to keep the faith. You want to be fair. You certainly do not want to prejudge people based on where they are employed. The author/speaker is doing something with a title that seems maybe obliquely relevant to your interests, and just because they are based at a college you’ve never heard of–even though, by this point, you are a little surprised that there remain colleges you’ve never heard of–is no grounds just to presume it won’t be any good. And yet then, again and again: whoa! Holy bother is there some crazy botherbother going on in the hinterschools of social science! What the botherbotherbother is the impression of sociology that students get from these people?
I know, sounds bad. I will continue to keep the faith. And one does see good work, don’t get me wrong. Still, though. Holy botherbothering botherbother.
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Yeah, you really should have been there. And, how’s the sleeping?
Holy bothering bother.
Sorry to hear it! I hate disappointments of this sort.
My version: The school you’ve never heard of except for this one scholar who keeps “contributing” to a mailing list you’re on. You don’t like the contributions, but the scholar gets invited to your school so you think: hmm.. maybe there’s something there that I’ve missed through those emails. You go to the talk. And.. same result as above. (Perhaps I should note that this was not in social science, just to protect the innocent.)
So my question is this: how do people like that get invited for talks?
It’s posts like this why people think you are an ass-hatted wanker and a scurvy butt, you know.
Tina: I know! I know! I read the post myself and don’t feel good about it. And still!
Tina: Also, note the restraint I showed in not blogging about the “scurvy butt” incident.
At least your detractors find you worthy of cleverly crafted insults. That has to count for something.
scurvy butt?!
Someone unhappy with something I said on Scatterplot sent a long e-mail that included referring to me by the epithet ’scurvy butt.’ The person may well be right: to my knowledge, I’ve never had any vitamin C injected into my posterior.
That’s… awesome.