Here I am liveblogging again. I was finally able to connect to the New School wireless network (the instructions for doing so were well hidden on their website, locatable only via a Google search), and thus am hoping to be able ot post this in real time as well.

I did not think I was going to be able to make it today, as I have not been feeling very well today (too much work this week while suffering from Thanksgiving overload with the eating that accompanied it). Nevertheless, I am now beginning to feel a bit better, so decided to go for a walk in the beautiful and sunny but chilly day today. I recalled the symposium is today, so thought it might be nice to listen here, so here I am. 

Waiting for the event to begin. The welcome and introduction was supposed to begin 18 minutes ago, not that I am counting. But as of yet, nothing.

Technorati Tags: New School for Social Research, New School University, philosophy

Tomorrow is the Hannah Arendt / Reiner Schurmann Symposium in Political Philosophy at the New  School for Social Research. The theme for this year’s symposium is Critical Theory Today, and speakers include Axel Honneth, Dipesh Chakrabarty, Luc Boltanski, Judith Butler, and Etienne Balibar.

In the words of Jay Bernstein, the chairperson of the Philosophy Department, the symposium promises to expose its listeners to ideas that will challenge their perceptions and make them uncomfortable. That is one of the very reasons to do philosophy–to  bump into ideas that make us uncomfortable and thereby force us to think through our lives in different and more critical ways.

Technorati Tags: Hannah Arendt, New School for Social Research, New School University, philosophy, Reiner Schurmann, critical theory

Reading more about the recent UNESCO World Philosophy Day, I came across an interesting report they just released–Philosophy: A School of Freedom. I am not sure how many people have found this recent 303 page guide about Teaching philosophy and learning to philosophize: Status and prospects. I have just added this to my stack of future reading.

Technorati Tags: philosophy, UNESCO

I just learned that November 15, 2007, was UNESCO World Philosophy Day, thanks to the Talking Philosophy Blog. What an interesting idea, where, according to the UNESCO website, the purpose of this day is:

Aiming to promote and popularize philosophical reflection, World Philosophy Day in 2007 continues to work towards the fostering of independent thought and dialogue.

Reflection, thought, and dialogue–what can make for a better world? Then again, Analytic folks do not speak with Continental ones, the canon depends upon the school of thought from which you hail, and philosophers are known among the humanities professionals for being more exclusive rather than in-. Perhaps UNESCO means this day as a way to heal the discipline itself?

Technorati Tags: philosophy, UNESCO

Thanks to Beth Kanter, I was able to perform a Blog Readability Test on my blog, with the following results: I suppose this is good, as my work in adult literacy demonstrates that the lower the reading level, the larger a potential audience there is. I have heard critics state that having a low readability level “dumbs down” the text, but literacy experts have pointed out that nobody ever asks people to write with bigger and more complicated words. For this blogging service, I just wish there would be some explanation as to what literacy indication test was used (e.g., Fry or SMOG),  who is behind the site (for credibility), and why there was a cash advance link at teh bottom of this image (which I removed, as well as the link to it).  Perhaps this is just a link-baiting scam? I like to think of this as an invitation for a programmer to develop a readability test according to more accurate and evidence-based research. This will then help offer real assistance to making the Web more accessible.

Technorati Tags: Beth Kanter, Readability

The newest Faculty-Productivity Index in the November 16 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education ranks the Philosophy Department at the New School for Social Research #9. This is a major leap forward, especially for a Continental program with a focus on the European tradition of social research. Congratulations!

Technorati Tags: Chronicle of Higher Education, New School for Social Research, New School University, Faculty-Productivity Index

So, here goes another conference proposal.

I am working on a research paper on post-modernism and HRD (Human Resource Development) for this conference in Lille, France, in May, 2008. The last paper I presented in the world of HRD was an overview of the literature which I presented in Halifax, Nova Scotia, last year. The theme of the conference this year is Developing Leaders and Managers, where an exploration into HRD and how it has been influenced by post-modern concerns and views cannot be underestimated. I just hope that the reviewers will agree with me!

I usually do not mention papers I am working on until (and if!) they get accepted, but December 14 is closer than it seems, and I can use all the encouragement I can get!

I wish I could have seen Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinajad at one of my Alma Maters last week, Columbia. President Bollinger introduced him, but in a way harsher than I thought fair for A. A world leader, B. An invited guest, and C. A controversial speaker who may have alienated himself from the audience but after such a straw-man set-up, looked pretty decent in comparison. Free speech is the very reason I blog here, and I think that the president’s confrontational introduction of the other president helped to reinforce the very self-righteousness that the Iranians commonly accuse Americans. Forget about some of the strange (and incorrect) claims that the Iranian president offered (can there really have not been a Jewish Holocaust in the 20th Century, or can there really not be a single homosexual in Iran right now?), I am just thinking here about the freedom of speech and the politeness that should be shown to an invited guest and (like him or not) a world leader who may have nuclear weapons.You be the judge:

We finished our presentation at the NYSNA, and the same responses we received from the original work were the same ones our presentation attendees appeared to have:

People learn best when they are engaged and work in groups

and

People are most distanced when they are lectured at and overwhelmed with PowerPoint slides

Strange  how that is a lesson so many educators are afraid to believe and try. I suppose lecturing is much safer, since everything goes as prepared; everything except learning, that is.