The Larger Issues
I'm well aware that many of you are sick of Kaavya Viswanathan, but for the latest BloggingHeads.tv I brought on board Ross Douthat, author of Privilege: Harvard and the Education of the Ruling Class and thus a expert in how to locate the "larger significance" in random bits of Harvardania to talk it over. If you're more inclined toward a serious policy discussion about public sector daycare, we've got that, too. Plus, diavlogging Star Trek which, on its own, is possibly the nerdiest thing ever but you can't fully appreciate exactly how uncool I am unless you realize that later the very same day I went to a They Might Be Giants concert.
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You're sitting further from the camera - which works better.
April 27, 2006 10:34 AM | Reply | Permalink
I never knew that Ross was a glowing white energy-being...
April 27, 2006 10:49 AM | Reply | Permalink
Ironically enough, on the classic Trek Ross admires so much, this would make him not a follower of Jesus, but an evil alien energy being whose vast powers allow him to merely impersonate Jesus.
April 27, 2006 11:19 AM | Reply | Permalink
Matt,
Can I come over and play D&D tonight? I'll bring the 12-sided die if you provide me with my Class 9 Wizard costume.
April 27, 2006 11:25 AM | Reply | Permalink
Gosh Matt, for a moment there I had almost forgotten you went to Harvard. Thanks for doing what it takes to remind us of where you went to undergrad.
April 27, 2006 12:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
That is hawesome.
April 27, 2006 12:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
Matt,
I find the Viswanathan case interesting. But I think you’re wrong to frame this as an issue of “Harvardania.”
That she is a student at Harvard is actually completely irrelevant to the story’s significance.
The implication of your short post is that somehow this case merits attention because Viswanathan studies at Harvard. But it would be equally significant if she studied at any college. Certainly, the Frey case didn’t assume any special importance because of where he did his undergraduate.
The Cranky Historian
PS I’m still convinced Viswanathan didn’t directly plagiarize anything but merely lent her name to a ghost written book. Who knows, maybe McCaffery didn’t write her book either. Put me down as someone who wants more investigation into the murky world of book packagers.
April 27, 2006 12:15 PM | Reply | Permalink