Re: Programs that dispel everything you learned in Anthro 101

Warren Sproule (Warren.Sproule@SOCIOL.UTAS.EDU.AU)
Wed, 13 Mar 1996 14:30:05 +0200

A hearty endorsement of McCreery's (12/3) praise for Thornton's recent post:

>>>w3First a note of thanks to Robert Thornton. You've got me
hooked. The _Discourses_ are now on my stack. It's that
beautifully developed analogy of Machiavelli's Italy to present-
day Africa that put the hook in <big snip>>>

The conjunction - contemporary Africa = Renaissance "Italy" - is
intriguing, and I look forward to more on this from Robert. For a slightly
different take on *virtu*, John, might I suggest Wiethoff's article on 'The
Martial "Virtue" of Rhetoric in Machiavelli's *Art of War*' (_Quarterly
Journal of Speech_, 1978, 64: 304-12), and on power generally, Richard
Sennett's _Authority_ (dated, but relevant and especially good on
charisma).

Next: Daniel Foss; don't you DARE think of lurking (or worse, leaving) the
List. Too much important work to be done! I've been a fan of yours since
the Stein & Vidich Parsons-bash piece, since _Beyond Revolution_ in '86,
hell, I've even got a copy of _On the Beginnings of Social Inquiry_ gracing
the office shelves. It's like showbiz, you can't quit now, you haven't
suffered enough. Your stuff (what the hell I understand of it!) is one of
the prime reasons for my rejoining in the first place. As Michael Parks
(who?) once said in *Then came Bronson* (what?), even paranoids have
enemies. Keep your paranoid status Dan'l, keep posting - otherwise, your
FRIENDS vill think of vays off making you talk...

Love & Kisses,
Warren.