Trashing Tribble - With Grace and Subtlety

Bravo to Henry Farrell! 

In an eloquent Chronicle Article this week, Farrell trashes the snarky arguments of "Ivan Tribble" without even mentioning the pseudonymn of that obnoxious anti-blogger.

Farrell, an assistant prof at George Washington U, and one of the main menches behind the academic group blog Crooked Timber, has done a wonderful job of justifying the many useful, scholarly purposes of blogging.  His exact words are so compelling that I'll quote  quite a bit here.

"(T)o dismiss blogging as a bad idea altogether is to make an enormous mistake....(P)erhaps the majority see blogging as an extension of their academic personas. Their blogs allow them not only to express personal views but also to debate ideas, swap views about their disciplines, and connect to a wider public. For these academics, blogging isn't a hobby; it's an integral part of their scholarly identity. They may very well be the wave of the future."

Yeah! We're the wave of the future!

"Why are so many academics beginning to blog? Academic blogs offer the kind of intellectual excitement and engagement that attracted many scholars to the academic life in the first place, but which often get lost in the hustle to secure positions, grants, and disciplinary recognition.... As in the blogosphere more generally, there is a lot of dross. However, academic blogs also provide a carnival of ideas, a lively and exciting interchange of argument and debate that makes many scholarly conversations seem drab and desiccated in comparison. "

"What advantages does blogging offer over the more traditional forms of academic communication? Blogging sacrifices some depth of thought -- it's difficult to state a complex thesis in the average blogpost -- but provides in return a freedom and flexibility that normal academic publishing can't match. Consider the length of time it takes to publish an article in a peer-reviewed journal. In many disciplines, a period of years between first draft and final publication is normal. More years may elapse before other academics begin to publish articles or books responding to the initial article. In contrast, a blog post is published immediately after the blogger hits the "publish" button. Responses can be expected in hours, both from those who comment on the blog (if the blog allows them) and from other bloggers, who may take up an idea and respond to it, extend it, or criticize it. Others may respond to those bloggers in turn, leading to a snowballing conversation distributed across many blogs. In the conventional time frame of academe, such a conversation would take place over several years, if at all."

And who should be especially interested in the blogosphere?

"Academic blogs should be especially attractive to younger scholars, to whom they give an unparalleled opportunity to make their voices heard. Cross-blog conversations can turn the traditional hierarchies of the academy topsy-turvy. An interesting viewpoint expressed by an adjunct professor (or, even more shocking, an "independent scholar") will almost certainly receive more attention than ponderous stodge regurgitated by the holder of an endowed chair at an Ivy League university. Prominent academics who start blogging do have an initial advantage; they're more likely to attract early attention than people without established reputations. But if they want to keep readers and attract other bloggers' links over the medium term, they need to provide provocative and interesting content. Otherwise, they're likely to fall by the wayside."

"By the same token, less-well-known academics, and nonacademics with interesting things to say, have a real opportunity to speak to a wider public and to establish a reputation over time.... This openness can be discomfiting to those who are attached to established rankings and rituals -- but it also means that blogospheric conversations, when they're good, have a vigor and a liveliness that most academic discussion lacks."

And how does this allow us to impact a larger community?

"Most important, the scholarly blogosphere offers academics a place where they can reconnect with the public. The links between academic argument and wider public debates are increasingly tenuous and frayed. It's far harder than it used to be for academics to become public intellectuals (not that it was ever very easy, or very common). This has malign consequences, not only for the quality of debate on both sides of the divide, but also for public perceptions of the academy. It's also a source of considerable frustration to many academics, who either believe that their academic expertise could be valuable to a wider audience, or resent the distorted public perception of what they do. Blogging democratizes the function of public intellectual...."

"Some academics view them as an unbecoming occupation for junior (and senior) scholars... (they are) not exactly dignified; a little undisciplined; carnivalesque. Sometimes signal, sometimes noise. But exactly because of this, they provide a kind of space for the exuberant debate of ideas, for connecting scholarship to the outside world, which we haven't had for a long while. We should embrace them wholeheartedly."

When I emailed Henry Farrell to thank him for his eloquent contribution and to exult in his excellent put-down of Tribble tripe, he replied as follows:

          

"Glad you liked the piece - as you obviously guessed it was intended as an implicit rebuke to the Tribbles of this world."

Go Farrell!

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P.S.

I want to thanks my colleague and friend Gina Hiatt, Ph.D., another academic coach, for alerting me to this article.  Let me plug her services: she not only provides individual coaching to grad students and faculty, but has telephone coaching groups as well.  I highly recommend her services.

As I expected, the academogosphere is checking in...

Comments about Farrel's pro-blogging piece seen at Professional Lurker, 11 D, David Adesnik at Oxblog, Ross Scaife at the Stoa Consortium, Instapundit, Why Not Blog, Steven D. Krause, The Elfin Ethicist, John Holbo at The Valve, Cosmic Variance

(Do let me know about others, please. I'm sure there will be many.)

Comments

[Yvette]

This is great--Thanks! I had that CoH piece bookmarked for days meaning to write about it, but now I'll just link here. BTW, try again to link to it--I think it is now coming up as non-subscription.

[Lilian]

Hi Mary, I got this link from 11D: http://chronicle.com/free/v52/i07/07b01401.htm
and it works. Thanks for writing about this!

[Academic Coach]

Thanks Yvette and Lilian. I've now got a live link - perhaps the Chronicle wanted to wait until 10-7 since that's the date of the article.

[bright star]

somehow I read it... I don't know how... the other day, and I don't pay to subscribe. Weird. Anyhow, I did thing the article geared more toward "serious" bloggers rather than some of the more personal bloggers, although it did nod to the importance of finding one's voice and making connections. Thanks for sharing some of it with people. I am glad a more positive voice about the blogging community / communities made it into the Chronicle.

[terminaldegree]

I enjoyed reading this article, as it really did put blogging in a more positive light than Tribble did.

I have to admit that this cracked me up: "Academic blogs offer the kind of intellectual excitement and engagement that attracted many scholars to the academic life in the first place. . ."

I find my blog listed as "academic" on blogrolls, which is flattering, but I write more about my social life and my work struggles than about academia.

For me, the most important part of blogging is having a connection with others who understand the particular challenges of my job.

[binky]

Bloodless Coup too. :)