[Xmca-l] Re: Public Academics and its risks

Mon Mar 17 20:11:51 PDT 2014

Joe,
I first read the article in the january 2014 journal which I believe is
called [Theory of Psychology] I am on a public commuter so cannot confirm
the exact title.
I wrote John Shotter to see if it was possible to share this article on
line. He said that it was not possible but he did send this draft which he
said could be distributed.
The article is available for access for people with academic accounts

I do believe this article is *of a piece* with his other writings but in my
reading I also saw an extension in the theme of *ways of orienting* AS
multiple [the prosthetic-tool-text aspects OF agential realism] and very
rapidly shifting ways of orienting BETWEEN these multiple ways. We perceive
THROUGH tools when intentionally acting and the tools are opaque. In
John's conception, prosthetics become visible when they are not functioning
as expected and thus become *tools*. The third  aspect of ways of orienting
is expressed in the concept *text* which I read as implicating cultural
historical ways of orienting. What is *of a piece* is the way Shotter
questions notions of *representations* as prior to our ways of orienting.
He is drawing attention to the aspect of *felt tendencies* within our ways
of orienting AS intra-actions. This is in contrast to
*inter*-actions which presuppose things or entities that EXIST prior to
their coming into relation.
I read this current article as *extending* the dialogue with social
construction and going BEYOND these earlier *readings* which foreground
language
John is even questioning the assumptions of *foreground* and *background*
as pre-existing concepts. Foreground and backgeround *emerge* within
*agential realism*.

The terms *extension* and *beyond* indicate a coherent theme but also
adding further commentary [and depth??] to John's *project*
That is what I as a particular reader understand when reading this article
Larry

On Mon, Mar 17, 2014 at 9:03 AM, JAG <joe.glick@gmail.com> wrote:

> The Shotter article is labeled a "first draft" dated 2006. Has it been
> published to anyone's knowledge? If so, where?
>
> Although this seems of a piece with his other writings the latest
> bibliographic reference in this paper to Shotter's other writings is 1997 -
> and this is, indeed, the latest dated reference to anyone - except for a
> reference to Shotter (in press) in the notes - note 31 - but no
> bibliographic clue to its whereabouts.
>
> On his website an article which might be the one referenced is indicated as
> to appear in the "Journal of Collaborative Practices" - no date.*
>
> * (tracked it down - Issue 3 of that journal - 2012).
>
>
> On Mon, Mar 17, 2014 at 2:17 AM, Larry Purss <lpscholar2@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Greg
> > An idea that I share may be utopian [ it is an ideal] which  comes from
> > reading an article by John Shotter where he offers commentary on
> > Voloshinov's dialogical approach to academic advancement of knowledge
> > This approach sees academic practices as dialogically responding &
> >  informing each other as each perspective adds [aspects] to our ongoing
> > shared conversations.
> > Here is a link to the article
> >
> >
> >
> http://www.johnshotter.com/papers/voloshinov%20instead%20of%20theory%20final.pdf
> >
> > What I found intriguing is Volohinov proposes a *way* of reading and
> > engaging our differences in theories in a spirit of dialogical question
> and
> > answer.
> > If this model was more prevalent in our re-search then our differences
> > could be embraced as sharing common questions. Very utopian, but
> Vygotsky,
> > Gadamer, Bahktin, Voloshinov seemed to show this style of engagement it
> > fits into a particular TYPE or STYLE of scholarship that puts questions
> > into circulation for further elaboration.
> >
> > Is this approach to advancing knowledge money is probably scarce, so I'm
> > not sure how to sustain this way of orienting our practices?
> > Larry
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On Sun, Mar 16, 2014 at 7:58 PM, Greg Thompson <
> greg.a.thompson@gmail.com
> > >wrote:
> >
> > > and there is another story that runs somewhat parallel to this that
> > > involves academics at the front end of their careers:
> > >
> > >
> >
> http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2014/03/10/essay-about-inability-find-tenure-track-job-academe
> > >
> > > the author, Patrick Iber, doesn't explicitly mention a failure to bring
> > in
> > > big money, but one suspects that this might have been one of the big
> > knocks
> > > against him considering that he teaches courses like "Artists,
> > > Intellectuals, and Social Change in Latin America" (see his blog at:
> > > http://patrickiber.blogspot.com/). Not likely to bring in the big
> grants
> > > with that...
> > >
> > > It is a nasty world out there. Anyone have any ideas how to make it
> > better?
> > >
> > > -greg
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > On Sun, Mar 16, 2014 at 5:41 PM, Glassman, Michael <
> glassman.13@osu.edu
> > > >wrote:
> > >
> > > > How extraordinarily painful.  The fact that one of the richest
> > > > universities in the world fired the found of the National Coalition
> for
> > > the
> > > > Homeless because he couldn't bring in 80% of his salary from grants
> > > > suggests something has gone very wrong with our collective
> enterprise.
> > > >  There was a time when people used to say we must support cynicism in
> > > going
> > > > after money because it can support nobler endeavors.  Now.....
> > > >
> > > > Buy a writer a beer on a hot day and he or she will tell you the
> three
> > > > unalterable rules of the universe without much prodding.
> > > >
> > > > Never eat at a place called moms.
> > > >
> > > > Never play cards with a guy named Doc
> > > >
> > > > and Never get into a relationship with somebody who has more problems
> > > that
> > > > you.
> > > >
> > > > Perhaps we need to add a fourth.
> > > >
> > > > Never make a deal with the devil because in the end the devil always
> > > comes
> > > > out ahead.
> > > >
> > > > Michael
> > > > ________________________________________
> > > > From: xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu [
> xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu
> > ]
> > > > on behalf of mike cole [lchcmike@gmail.com]
> > > > Sent: Sunday, March 16, 2014 2:46 PM
> > > > To: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
> > > > Subject: [Xmca-l]  Public Academics and its risks
> > > >
> > > > This article seems relevant to prior discussion on the topic of
> public
> > > > engagement by academics. The issue is especially tricky when working
> on
> > > > soft money, but.......
> > > >
> > > > mike
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
> http://www.thenation.com/article/178821/columbia-university-fired-two-eminent-public-intellectuals-heres-why-it-matters#
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > Gregory A. Thompson, Ph.D.
> > > Assistant Professor
> > > Department of Anthropology
> > > 883 Spencer W. Kimball Tower
> > > Brigham Young University
> > > Provo, UT 84602
> > > http://byu.academia.edu/GregoryThompson
> > >
> >
>