The Politics of Rumour: Mobilizing An Urban Legend To Spread Fear and Xenophobia in the UK
on Nov 18, 2009 in Current Affairs Politics Popular Culture Racism Security immigration UK politics urban legends Rumors and urban legends are powerful social phenomena. In part, this is because once rumors are unleashed, their circulation brings about new believers even as old ones become aware of their lack of veracity. Similarly, for anyone negatively represe...

Weekend Reading Roundup v. 27
on Nov 15, 2009 in assassination Food and Drink Geopolitics Politics Reading Roundup Security Sports Terrorism Visual Politics baseball berlin wall drugs food culture journalism mostar new orelans north korea terrorism In this edition of the weekend reading roundup: 'Saving New Orleans Culture, One Sandwich at a Time' by John T. Edge from the United Tastes series at the New York Times 'Kim Jong Il's Assassination Fears' by Lee Jong-Heon at UPI.com 'Anniversaries of...

The Atlas of Risk
on Nov 12, 2009 in Philosophy Politics Science death health care politics The National Health Service in the UK has developed The Atlas of Risk a publicly accessible internet tool to help people 'better understand risk.' Based on national death statistics compiled on a yearly basis, the Atlas allows one to make adjustments...

Copyright and Higher Education
on Nov 10, 2009 in Current Affairs Economy Research Universities Web 2.0 copyfight education research Lawrence Lessig, Professor of Law at Stanford University, recently gave a presentation at the EDUCAUSE conference called ' It is About Time: Getting Our Values Around Copyright.' The presentation explores how copyright has transformed from a relative...

Weekend Reading Roundup v. 26
on Nov 8, 2009 in assassination Current Affairs Geopolitics Politics Popular Culture Reading Roundup Security Visual Politics canadian politics homicide photography war on terror This weekend in the reading roundup: 'Rap Sheet: Why is American History So Murderous?' by Jill Lepore at The New Yorker 'US Needs Hit Squads, "Manhunting Agency": Special Ops Report' by Noah Shactman at Wired's Danger Room 'Redacting Viole...

RIP Claude Lévi-Strauss (1908-2009)
on Nov 4, 2009 in Philosophy Research Universities anthropology claude levi-strauss philosophy It is often remarked that academia has been designed to produce generations of savants, scholars who know a great deal about very little. The consequences of savantism have extended beyond the tendency for various disciplines or fields of knowledge t...

RIP Claude Lévi-Strauss (1908-2009)
on Nov 4, 2009 in Philosophy Research Universities anthropology claude levi-strauss philosophy It is often remarked that academia has been designed to produce generations of savants, scholars who know a great deal about very little. The consequences of savantism have extended beyond the tendency for various disciplines or fields of knowledge t...

Drugs, Politics, and UK Research Culture: Some Broader Implications Of The Nutt Sacking
on Nov 2, 2009 in Politics Research Science Security Universities War on Drugs alan johnson david nutt uk drug law uk politics On Friday, I twittered about a recent report written by Prof. David Nutt, both an academic and Chairperson of the UK government's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. In the report--published by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies at King's...

Drugs, Politics, and UK Research Culture: Some Broader Implications Of The Nutt Sacking
on Nov 2, 2009 in Politics Research Science Security Universities War on Drugs alan johnson david nutt uk drug law uk politics On Friday, I twittered about a recent report written by Prof. David Nutt, both an academic and Chairperson of the UK government's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. In the report--published by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies at King's...

Weekend Reading Roundup v. 25
on Nov 1, 2009 in Militarization Philosophy Popular Culture Reading Roundup Security Sports Visual Politics Web 2.0 art journalism multimedia philosophy professional sport world war two This weekend in the reading roundup: 'The Frightening Beauty of Bunkers' by Paul Virilio from The Morning News 'Why Did Andre Agassi Hate Tennis?' by Stuart Jeffries at The Guardian 'Multimedia Storytelling: When Is It Worth It?' by Laura Ruel and No...