[Smt-talk] Advocating for the humanities

[Jeffrey Perry]

If one task of scholarly discourse is to question foundational assumptions
and ³settled² truths, Dr. Whitcomb¹s thread certainly qualifies. Maybe
instead of a meta-discussion about whether or not we should have a
discussion about support for the NEH, the list might benefit from a
discussion about the value of public arts funding in principle, and about
the NEH as a (beleaguered, underfunded) model specifically. Surely there
are list members with experience in the NEH grant writing and reviewing
process who could provide useful details.

By the way, what threatens to drive people away from smt-talk, in my
opinion, is not necessarily politics, but (in no particular order)
‹Posts about the cadential 6/4
‹Schenker-bashing for its own sake
‹Lengthy polemics of any sort that substitute for, rather than supplement,
peer-reviewed work on a given subject. Bonus points for ad hominem vitriol.

With best wishes to all for a pleasant spring,
jp
Jeff Perry
Professor of Music Theory
277 Music and Dramatic Arts
School of Music, College of Music & Dramatic Arts
Louisiana State University
jperry at lsu.edu / (225) 578-3556 (voice) / (225) 578-2562 (fax)

 


On 4/8/14, 6:55 AM, "Whitcomb, Benjamin D" <whitcomb at uww.edu> wrote:

>Hello Dr. Berry,
>
>No, I am talking about NEH. It is not hard to find examples online of
>projects that they have funded that many people would consider wasteful,
>although many of the folks on this list might not consider any of them to
>be. But, no, I don't think that does affect the argument at hand.
>
>Do you think that it is desirable to have a discussion list dedicated
>only to the discussion of music theory?
>
>-or-
>
>If there is a benefit to having political discussions on this fourm, is
>it outweighed by the costs of driving away some of the members?
>
>
>-Benjamin
>
>Dr. Benjamin Whitcomb
>Professor of Cello and Music Theory
>University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
>www.benjaminwhitcomb.com
>