[csaa-forum] The australian

[Paul Magee]

I think everyone¹s got the right idea on how to respond to this one. Softly,
softly and politely.

With regard to her arguments, it strikes me that actually, the phrases Emma
singles out for critique are everyday ones. We use them every day in our
teaching, our research, our debates. Sometimes they even seem banal. Don¹t
we have the right to experience everydayness? If you reply, no, there¹s a
common language and we can subscribe to it, I¹d say, beyond I don¹t believe
you, why us in particular? After all, there¹s not that many people in
Australia who can understand the language of medical science, nor get
anything of their conferences. Don¹t I have the right to understand it? I¹ve
got a body, after all. It¹s interesting to probe why people don¹t mind
doctors having technical language, nor motor mechanics, nor beauticians
(Œidentify remedial camouflage requirements¹). Where¹s the letters against
them and all their elite ways?

Obviously all the points about public engagement still stand and are
important. But it¹s also worth keeping in mind Graeme¹s point about the
inevitability of such attacks, given the sort of critical and independent
work we actually do. Another way to look at this stuff is as free
advertising. 

The best thing is just to keep doing what we do well and refuse to budge on
quality. 


Dr. Paul Magee

President, Cultural Studies Association of Australasia
Lecturer in Creative Reading
School of Creative Communication
University of Canberra
ACT 2601
02 6201 2402

Australian Government Higher Education (CRICOS)
Registered Provider number: #00212K


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://bronzewing.cdu.edu.au/pipermail/csaa-forum/attachments/20060728/c72b83c9/attachment.html