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Re: 'deconstruction' of C. Geertz
Maddog (Christopher.Morgan@JCU.EDU.AU)
Fri, 4 Aug 1995 09:55:30 +1000
Dear oh dear - here we go again....
>In response to Robert Johnson concerning the above -
>I thought most lists banned 'flame mail'...I don't
>find this contribution interesting or stimulating and I
>certainly did not subscribe to this list to read this
>sort of mail - anyone feel like me?
>Jenny Harris
>jenny@hipark.demon.co.uk
Perfectly correct, Jenny. Trouble is, RJ is succeeding yet again in his
quest for recognition on the Net (& I am, of course, party to this
enterprise by responding...)
>If you really want to
>deconstruct Geertz, Mr. Johnson, rather than simply mindlessly attack
>him--then stick to his ideas.
Good advice. Seems that RJ doesn't practise what he preaches - at least
textually. The violence of his attack on poor old CG seems to fly in the
face of his purported quest for 'truth, justice & the American way' [now,
who was the other guy with the same aims ;-)].
>RJ's complains about uncle cliff have some validity. Yes, Cliff has had
>influence far beyond anthropology, but I certainly wouldn't read him for
>ethnographic substance.
True enough, but note the difference in the way the critique is framed. You
see, Robert, that you miss the whole point of anthro as a discipline. The
corpus of anthro literature and theory can be regarded as an ongoing debate
- one which naturally reflects the paradigm shifts which occur in the
worlds in which it exists. While I'm on the topic, why single out anthro as
the object of your rather puerile invective? Hell, why not stick it into
philosophy, economics, history, theology and sociology as well? What about
physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology etc.? Hey - here's a thought - if
I was half as zealous as Rabid Robbo, I could easily implicate the entire
academic enterprise as a dastardly plot to enslave whatever minorities I
get off on championing..... but, then again, I couldn't be bothered - I
have better things to do.
Get a life, Rabid Robbo.
Chris Morgan,
JCU, Oz.
P.S. Apologies to anybody who might be offended by the tenor of this post
[except RR ;-)].
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