Academic Blog Wiki
I sympathize with Henry Farrell. We here at Savage Minds haven’t been doing a particularly good job updating our blogroll of the very small number of anthropology blogs out there, and Crooked Timber wants to be up to-date on the entire academic blogsphere. Help them out (and us too) but heading over to the Anthropology page of their new academic blog wiki, academicblogs.org, and add in your favorite anthropology blogs.
(Note: The site seems overwhelmed right now, so give it some time …) UPDATE: It is working now…
P. Kerim Friedman is an assistant professor in the Department of Ethnic Relations and Cultures at National Dong Hwa University, in Taiwan, where he teaches linguistic and visual anthropology. He is co-director of the film Please Don't Beat Me, Sir!, winner of the 2011 Jean Rouch Award from the Society of Visual Anthropology. Follow Kerim on Twitter.
The project has already come under criticism from two fronts in the blogosphere:
http://goingsomewhere.blogsome.com/2006/10/06/129/
http://www.long-sunday.net/long_sunday/2006/10/academic_distin.html
Three fronts if you count this visceral reaction:
http://recordingsurface.blogsome.com/2006/10/05/excuse-me/
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A tempest is brewing. Another critique by the same author from Long Sunday:
http://archive.blogsome.com/2006/10/07/universities/
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Yeah, I can totally see how Farrell has set himself up as the arbiter of academic blogginess by making the site a wiki. I mean, who other than someone attempting to exercise dictatorial control over what is and is not considered an “academic” site would even think of using an open, publicly-editable format? Everyone knows only fascists use wikis!
A more charitable reading of the site might be to note that *anyone* can add or remove sites, which means that every readers and potential contributor will be taking part in a debate over the boundaries of the academic world. JUST LIKE HITLER IN ’33!
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Just a quick update of that link to my blog, which will get you to the actual post instead of a non-existent page.
It’s not fascism, but I do think it’s ironic. The fact that it’s a Wiki makes things worse, not better, IMO. It adds a sheen of democratic, community endeavour that simple isn’t borne out by the talk of ‘summary deletion’ in the FAQ, and the patronising tone of the message to non-academics.
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Ah, and ‘simply’, not ‘simple’. Sorry.
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“Everyone knows only fascists use wikis!”
You do know that at that time (in Italy) there were neither wikis nor the www accessible? [*scnr]
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