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Post by chonies on Aug 11, 2013 18:20:29 GMT -4
Wait, is anyone actually trying to discredit him on the basis of his doctorate in Sociology? Seriously? The author of this piece is aware that there are sub-specialties within the discipline, right? I mean, there's a sociology of religion scholar within my own department. Given Aslan's focus, I'd almost expect a Sociology degree more than I would a Religious Studies degree anyway! I haven't seen any real-life attempts to discredit him beyond what I saw on the replays of the interview on Fox, but this article from the Nation sums it up nicely: link. FWIW, I read the Nation on a regular basis, but this was the first article that popped up. For me, a lot of the "debate" reminds me of the awkward and tiresome dick measuring between academic disciplines: which is more rigorous? important? interesting? whose dissertations are heavier? who should get paid more? etc., but in this case, both articles address real-world consequences of that sort of thing, with a dash of pointing out uncomfortable parallels. I think the WaPo article was suggesting that Aslan wasn't technically wrong, but he didn't do himself any favors. That aside, the original interview that started this was still far more embarrassing for the host. |
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Post by Mutagen on Aug 11, 2013 21:24:18 GMT -4
High five on the nerd stanning! And ITA. There's just something kind of...not quite crazy-eye, but I'm not sure what it is. Maybe trying too hard? By way of clumsy metaphor, I was honestly shocked to read that he had married a woman because when he was doing media ca. the No God But God era, I thought he was gay. Not that there's anything wrong with that, obviously, but what I'm trying to say is that one impression I have of him is that he is not who he seems to be. And the WaPo article focused on that theme, but in a completely more academic way. Trying too hard is exactly it, chonies. I think the flap about Aslan's specific academic degree is a lot of nothing, but the WaPo's characterization of him as overeager to be seen as an academic heavyweight rings true to me. Now that I'm thinking about it more, I actually do remember what turned me off. I was stannishly archive trawling (high five!) and listened to a clip from a radio show where Aslan was a guest, and they took listener phone calls. A guy called in and said to Aslan, basically, "I'm a Muslim and I think you're full of crap." Now, the caller was a jerk and I don't blame Aslan for being caught off guard. But even as a stan who was willing to give him 100% benefit of the doubt, I was still startled when Aslan responded by very huffily listing off his degrees and awards. Instead of attempting to play it off or challenging the guy to name specific things he had a problem with, Aslan went straight into "how DARE you challenge someone with a Masters in this and an award for that, you serf" mode. I don't judge him solely on that moment alone, but it was revealing. He's not on the level of most of the outright hoaxsters in this thread, at least as far as I know, but I think your comment about him not doing himself any favors is spot-on. My take is that when No God but God first gained popularity, Aslan saw an opportunity to advocate for Muslims in American media in an intellectual way, counter to stereotypes. Which I respect him for. But I think he's now invested in his "public intellectual" status to a degree that he overcompensates, in a way that probably causes him to give off the disingenuous, trying-too-hard impression you picked up on. The Nation article you linked to points out that he could've avoided all this by characterizing himself more realistically, but I get the impression he's too insecure to do that. |
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Post by chonies on Sept 20, 2013 21:10:20 GMT -4
This is kind of irrelevant, more WTF? James Frey is a featured talking head on the show Premiere League Download, which presumably explains English soccer culture to an American audience. I'm dying to know how that choice was made.
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Post by Auroranorth on Oct 18, 2013 14:44:15 GMT -4
That is bizarre. Couldn't they get David Beckham?
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Post by chonies on Oct 18, 2013 15:04:11 GMT -4
God, I wish. The show is actually kind of awesome in theory, because it translates the flavor of international soccer (soccer culture, soccer reporting, why some things are iconic, team loyalty, etc--basically anthropology of sport) but at its core it's a baffling, improbably sausage fest: James Frey, Judah Friedlander among them. I mean, there are actual players on screen--Jack Wilshere and Stewart Whatshisface--and some other reputable folks, but there's literally *one* female commentator I've seen, and she's an English sports-reporter. It really drives me bonkers.
Otherwise, it's actually a good show, but when they put James Frey on, I kind of lose it.
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Post by Carolinian on Nov 5, 2013 12:40:50 GMT -4
Rand Paul has been busted for plagiarism. I'll bet some intern/assistant will be blamed/fall on a sword over it. |
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Post by kateln on Nov 5, 2013 22:41:41 GMT -4
Rand Paul has been busted for plagiarism. I'll bet some intern/assistant will be blamed/fall on a sword over it. Currently he seems to be trying to blame Buzzfeed and Rachael Maddow. |
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Post by kostgard on Nov 6, 2013 3:17:27 GMT -4
Rand Paul has been busted for plagiarism. I'll bet some intern/assistant will be blamed/fall on a sword over it. Currently he seems to be trying to blame Buzzfeed and Rachael Maddow. Maddow (or her staff) was the first one to notice it, then Buzzfeed found even more examples. I'm both amused and horrified that Paul's initial reaction was "Y'all are a bunch of haters" then "I wish dueling was legal, because I would total duel that hater Maddow to defend my honor." Seriously, dude? Pistols at dawn with Maddow? Now he's done denying it (after he lifted passages from a Forbes magazine article directly into an Op-Ed he wrote for the Washington Post without crediting the source), but his excuse was that he's just got so much on his plate what with writing an article once a week and he's just so darn busy and it just happened. And this dude wants to be President? Does he not realize that the President is a pretty darn busy person and he can't just go cutting and pasting other people's work and not credit them in order to save time? Does he at least remember how well it worked for McCain back in 2008 when he was all, "We should suspend our campaigns so we can go fix the economy" and Obama dragged him by being all, "Oh, I don't need to suspend anything because I can do both at the same time"? I really don't get plagiarism like this, because it is so easy to just throw some quotes around the stuff you are stealing them throw a credit in the foot notes. It only takes a few extra minutes and saves you worlds of grief. |
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Post by Carolinian on Nov 6, 2013 9:34:54 GMT -4
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Post by kateln on Nov 6, 2013 19:58:06 GMT -4
Rand Paul is a thief, a liar, and now a coward too. |
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