More verbose, but no more helpful.
John
----- Original Message -----
From: "m99m" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, May 13, 2004 9:10 PM
Subject: Re: Fw: In need of advice [or: Can "Dis. Stud." survive?]
> [Can "Disability Studies" Survive?]
>
> Well, John Homan takes the trouble to be fairly polite when he disagrees,
> so I won't pretend I thought the original "three questions" post was some
> kind of spoof. Claire W correctly notes that the smart-alecky stuff sarked
> the apparent disfunctionality either of the DS course, or of the student's
> relation to the course or to her tutor, or whatever.
>
> The blossoming of "Disability Studies" cannot be taken for granted, as a
> set of formal courses taught and studied at western universities.
> Continuation even of the present modest number of DS courses depends on
> various factors, prominent among which are:
>
> (1) a continuing (and if possible, rising) demand for the courses, from
> fee-paying or funded customers with sufficient proximity;
>
> (2) the development and maintenance of a credible academic image for DS,
> measurable perhaps in terms of serious research output in quality refereed
> journals, with progress in quantity of worthwhile citation (i.e. citation
> not only by mutual stroking, nor for purposes of refutation or ridicule,
> but by authors in adjacent or distant fields, writing also in quality
> journals, who are citing what they consider to be authoritative research);
>
> (3) some evidence that people with postgraduate degrees in DS have career
> possibilities, i.e. the qualifications command respect from a range of
> potential employers (apart from just going on to teach more DS), or open
up
> viable routes to self-employment.
>
> (4) [?] patronage by enough Grand Old Boys who still pull the hidden
> strings, play golf with Vice Chancellors, endow chairs, etc.
>
> (5) [further important factors, which will occur to me a few seconds
after
> I hit "Send"]
>
> During the past 30 years, people leaving traditional universities with
> higher degrees in (say) Chemistry, History, or Philosophy, could expect
> their qualification to be taken by many employers as an indication of good
> intellectual ability, a fair level of personal organisation and diligence,
> and some capacity to bang out a reasoned and coherent 15,000 word review
> and study on a topic if given a couple of months and access to libraries.
> Job applicants with a Masters in [Mickey Mouse] Studies might be
> considered less attractive to employers -- especially if they advertised
> their wobbly feelings when confronted with a demand for 3500 words on
> topics they had (presumably) spent the past eight months studying.
>
> In the UK, departments of Chemistry, History, Philosophy, and
> other 'respectable' fields of study are in fact being closed left and
> right, as well as 'Cultural Studies', East Asian Studies, etc, under
> various pretexts, even though tertiary education is expanding. Meanwhile,
> participants in this list may be aware of the recent cries of anguish on
> the DS-Hum list, suggesting some political difficulties with the flagship
> Disability Studies at UIC (Illinois at Chicago) and an (unconfirmed)
> attempted take-over bid by insurgents from the Rehabista Front.
>
> When it's sexy, people try to climb aboard. When it starts greying, and
> airing its views on life, or becomes merely a 'virtual' experience down a
> wire, the managerial strategists and beancounters move in; the punters
look
> for something younger and prettier. That's yer academic whorehouse. Come
up
> some time for coffee.
>
> m99m
>
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