Regarding Beckmann, while frank egotism may be preferable to false modesty, it's still overkill. Even the egotism of Picasso, a historically more important artist, was excessive, considering how much his work eventually declined. It's not only more elegant but far safer to keep a lid on self-satisfaction.
I see little point in criticizing Claudine Gay per se, who's simply a particularly graphic illustration of DEI at work. When someone is enabled, empowered and encouraged to do whatever he or she pleases, said person will typically take that ball and run with it, especially if there's a definite agenda involved. In other words, it's not Gay, it's Harvard, which represents academia in general.
And by the way, as a Harvard dean, Claudine Gay reportedly presided over the expulsion of 27 undergrads for--wait for it--plagiarism. Maybe they should sue the school for, uh, inequity.
Reportedly, Gay even plagiarized the acknowledgements section of her doctoral dissertation from the acknowledgements section of someone else. It appears we are looking at a pattern of behavior. She may still skate, but she's not looking too good, and neither is Harvard. Whatever the outcome, the Harvard brand is damaged, since it is clearly not about top quality but peak wokeness. I'm not even Jewish, but I'd never send a kid of mine there now.
That Greenwald still life looks Japanese-inspired, in a good way. I especially like the celadon dish.
Good comments re intersectionals.
There's no need to read Cahill's book to learn how inept bureaucracy can be. Working for the government is perfectly sufficient.
Regarding Beckmann, while frank egotism may be preferable to false modesty, it's still overkill. Even the egotism of Picasso, a historically more important artist, was excessive, considering how much his work eventually declined. It's not only more elegant but far safer to keep a lid on self-satisfaction.
I see little point in criticizing Claudine Gay per se, who's simply a particularly graphic illustration of DEI at work. When someone is enabled, empowered and encouraged to do whatever he or she pleases, said person will typically take that ball and run with it, especially if there's a definite agenda involved. In other words, it's not Gay, it's Harvard, which represents academia in general.
And by the way, as a Harvard dean, Claudine Gay reportedly presided over the expulsion of 27 undergrads for--wait for it--plagiarism. Maybe they should sue the school for, uh, inequity.
Someone is working on exactly that. In the meantime, the even more plagiarism allegations against Gay have rolled in.
Reportedly, Gay even plagiarized the acknowledgements section of her doctoral dissertation from the acknowledgements section of someone else. It appears we are looking at a pattern of behavior. She may still skate, but she's not looking too good, and neither is Harvard. Whatever the outcome, the Harvard brand is damaged, since it is clearly not about top quality but peak wokeness. I'm not even Jewish, but I'd never send a kid of mine there now.