November 22, 2003

MONEY FOR NOTHING

Andrew Bolt lists the academic tax hogs:

Professor Marilyn Lake, the feminist who claims women are "worked to death" as "slaves to the nation" now gets $480,000 to attack the "history of White Australia through an investigation of the idea of the 'white man's country' as a defensive response to a changing world order".

Veteran Marxist Professor Bob Connell got $126,000 for research on "peace-making", and "how masculinities are mobilised in conflict situations".

Professor Diane Austin-Broos got $150,000 to compare "the welfare economy in Central Australia and the drug economy in downtown Kingston", in her native Caribbean.

Another $450,000 was bestowed on Dr Gerard Goggin for "a biography of the mobile phone", in which the phone will be studied as "a cultural object".

And Dr Robert Hattam will share in $150,000 to develop a "theory of pedagogies for reconciliation"; nice work for a "social justice" theorist out to explain "the politics of teachers' work in terms of a productive theory of power".

Goggin, the chucklehead who’s scammed nearly half a million bucks to write the life story of a Nokia (suggested title: Years and Years of Ears) has just commenced blogging. How much is this going to end up costing us?

Posted by Tim Blair at November 22, 2003 02:06 PM
Comments

Maybe his next grant will be for a balanced study of the sociology of the blogosphere!

Posted by: Joe Geoghegan at November 22, 2003 at 03:16 PM

In 1995 I submitted a 600-page PhD Thesis at the University of Western Australia (passed with distinction, incidentally, by international examiners) on the politics of refugee policies which incidentally said a good deal about the White Australia policy. I did not receive a $480,000 or any other grant, but did it part-time while working. It will be interesting to see if Marlyn Lake (A)uses my thesis and material; (B) acknowledges it (C) is aware of it at all.

Posted by: Hal Colebatch at November 22, 2003 at 07:04 PM

Hal, possibly (c) but not (a) or (b).

We're talking history. It's not about the past. It's about what you invent in the present.

Australians history academics hate the past. It's why they're historians. They have to hate something.

Posted by: ilibcc at November 22, 2003 at 08:49 PM

Death to whitey"
Australia-America-Israel = the real axis of evil!
Refugee policies are racist.
All men are rapists, (er except gang rapists who are part of an oppressed minority)
Go Osama!

Right can I now collect my $500 000 for my insightful examination of Australian culture.

Posted by: Ross at November 22, 2003 at 10:11 PM

"Right can I now collect my $500 000 for my insightful examination of Australian culture."

Sorry, but no. While your basic points may be sound, you still have to wrap them up using a few rolls of good ol' po-mo doublespeak.

Here's my suggestion for a title that might give you a somewhat better shot with the grant:

"Silent Genocide in our time - Deconstructing Anglo-Hewbrew patriarchial hegemony"

/Döbeln

Posted by: Döbeln at November 23, 2003 at 04:57 AM

you don't think it's worth studying peacemaking? oh, wait, I forgot you're a Rightie.

Posted by: Gianna at November 23, 2003 at 06:14 AM

It's only in Aussie dollars, nothing to see here...

Posted by: Roger Bournival at November 23, 2003 at 07:12 AM

Gianna,
The lefties aren't actually into studying peacemaking. They're just looking for an excuse to foment a civil war.

I almost said a good excuse, but they'll generally settle for a bad one. It's just as good for their purposes.

Posted by: Michael Lonie at November 23, 2003 at 10:35 AM

Who would've ever guessed bullshit would be such a profitable industry?

Posted by: PatrickM at November 23, 2003 at 11:55 AM

Mmmm, 750 million a year for the ABC, 250 million a year.

There's 1 billion that could be spent on getting the Murry flowing and healthy.

Lefties squandering more money whining about and writing about pet problems that could just be used to fix said problems.

Posted by: Gilly at November 23, 2003 at 02:12 PM

Oop's I meant 250 million in research grants.

Posted by: Gilly at November 23, 2003 at 02:21 PM

peace studies is not peace studies gianna

peace studies is institutionalised hatred of western advances, narrow and selective examinations of small sections of history and dodgy post-modern if not outright loopy theories about how societies should 'get on' with each other

and man, how those peace studies lecturers bitch about each other in the staff room

Posted by: ilibcc at November 23, 2003 at 06:45 PM