October 5, 2007
Footnoted Q&A: Henry Farrell of Crooked Timber
This is the first in an occasional series we’ll be doing here on Footnoted in which we talk to academic bloggers about, of all things, academic blogging. Our first victim is Henry Farrell, of Crooked Timber.
So … why do you blog?
It’s a happy middle ground between academic and popular writing. I can write more clearly and directly than I would if I were writing for an academic audience, but without having to dumb things down as much as I do when I’m writing an op-ed or short policy piece. Also, I can write about what I’m interested in, some of which has to do with my academic research, a lot of which does not.
How much time do you spend blogging each day?
It varies dramatically, depending on work commitments, childcare, etc. One of the advantages of being in a group blog is that you can take the back seat when you have other stuff to do. I spend an hour or two each weekday reading blogs or stuff that blogs direct me to – I sometimes try, with indifferent success, to persuade myself that this constitutes ‘research.’
Do you have a recent favorite post (of your own)?
My favorite posts are the seminars I and others at CT organize on books every once in a while. This seminar on Sheri Berman’s book on European social democracy is a good example. We’ll be doing another one soon on Dani Rodrik’s forthcoming book on economics and globalization.
How does blogging affect your research/teaching? Or does it?
Lots. I do a fair amount of research on political blogs and their consequences – I wouldn’t have known where to start if I didn’t blog myself (participant observation how are ya). I try to keep my blogging and my teaching distinct though, so that I can express vigorous political opinions without my students feeling that they have to agree with them to do well in class.
What academic blogs do you read regularly?
Off the top of my head – Abu Aardvark, Dan Drezner, Lawyers, Guns and Money, Cosma Shalizi, Brad DeLong, Dani Rodrik, Mark Thoma, Cosmic Variance, Steve Bainbridge, The Valve, Politics Theory and Photography, P.Z. Myers, Orin Kerr and a couple of the other guys at the Volokh Conspiracy. I’m sure there are many more that I’m forgetting.
Tell us something we probably don’t know.
My first (sort of) publication was a cult-stud piece that I did with a friend in grad school on the links between the iconography of 1970s Nazi-themed soft-porn movies and the political rhetoric of Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich. Those who really want to read it can probably find it via Google.
Thomas Bartlett | Posted on Friday October 5, 2007 | PermalinkComments
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“I can write more clearly and directly than I would if I were writing for an academic audience….” Great quote!
— S. Britchky Oct 8, 01:24 AM #