Illiterate Intellectual

In response to this op-ed in the New York Times, CUNY Hunter College professor Jessie Daniels, Ph.D., writes:

While some might argue that having a prominent writer for the New York Times such as Bill Kristol address racism and sexism at all is a sign of progress (a point I can sometimes be persuaded by), the fact that he frames his analysis in the language of “either/or” shapes the larger debate and influences the way people think about these issues. And, in so doing, his limited, and limiting, way of framing these issues diminishes the possibilities for a wider audience to understand them in a way that’s both complex and useful.

That’s just the last graph of a piece that goes on for several thousand words lambasting the boss over his failure to comprehend the complexities of race in a manner acceptable to Jesse Daniels, Ph.D. The only problem, the op-ed in question was written by Nicholas Kristof. According to her bio, Daniels, who has a Ph.D., “has taught a variety of courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.” These include Sex and Gender Roles, Black Feminist Thought, and the Politics of Queer Sexuality. Of course, one fears the real tragedy here is that the sloppiness displayed by Jessie Daniels, Ph.D., may lead people to question the intellectual rigor that characterizes these otherwise serious fields of study. Or maybe I’m being too harsh, Kristof does sound a bit like Kristol.

Illiterate Intellectual

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