Harvard revokes admission of several students for posting “offensive” memes

The First Amendment of the constitution protects the incoming students’ right to say whatever they like, even if Harvard doesn’t like it. And, as a private institution that is not regulated by the First Amendment, Harvard has the right to kick out incoming students unwise enough to exercise their rights in this manner. (The government…

Shakespeare’s Genius Is Nonsense

Just as comedians generally don’t laugh at their own jokes, Shakespeare doesn’t call too much attention to his own linguistic cleverness, which is one reason his work rewards close scrutiny. It’s not that he was being deliberately obscure or flowery — though some of his obsequious characters definitely exhibit such speech patterns. One line of…

I had a singular time voicing Sherlock Holmes in The Mystery of Dr. Watson (WAOB Audio Theatre)

Similar:Professor teaches class of 300 students from his phone while trapped in elevator with 2 sm…https://twitter.com/jayvanbavel/status/1…AcademiaTake a look at the moon tonight!I wish I had the time or energy to get o…AestheticsThink Before You Tweet In the Wake of an AttackSobering analysis. Would I be able to fo…CultureThe focus on misinformation leads to a profound…

My theory: Trump was composing therapeutic poetry, and got stuck on the last line.

  Similar:My daughter who sometimes does things will be singing & swinging August 16 – 25 with @fron…My daughter who sometimes does things wi…CultureHitting the weekend with just 6 ungraded papers. #partylikeaprof Hitting the weekend with just 6 ungrad…PersonalHappy Sweet Sixteen, Carolyn!The girl spent her birthday weekend open…PersonalMy 10yo Sings "Hopelessly Devoted to You"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eq81GeqAY…PersonalThat’s water…

I should be writing my “Fake News” paper for this weekend’s “Computers and Writing.” Instead….

Could the absurd examples of bizarre public discourse please stop happening so I can investifart some of them? Similar:A Man, a Plan, a Pointless(?) ProgramI readily admit that my accomplishment h…AmusingMesmerizing Video of a Printer Terminal Running "Adventure" on a PDP-11/45After spending several days clicking but…AcademiaYou're Doing It for the Exposure!! The Oatmeal on working…

Liberals and conservatives dislike reading opposing views

Most research subjects, when offered the chance to win $10 and read essays that opposed their views, or $7 and read essays that confirmed their views, chose comfort over the higher potential prize. Liberals and conservatives reacted basically the same–with liberals slightly less willing to read conservative views. (I changed the click-baity headline, which sensationalized the issue…

Trump and JFK: Masters of New Media

I didn’t use Newsweek’s clickbaity headline: “Trump and JFK Are More Alike Than We Like To Think.” They are different in many ways, but JFK was remembered for mastering the new medium of television (people who listened to the Nixon/Kennedy debates on radio were more likely to believe Nixon won, but those who watched the…

Where There’s a Whip, There’s a Way

The girl was singing lyrics she learned from a friend. They were so bad I had to Google them. But the animation and tune were better than I expected. Wocka-chicka makes everything better, including this cheesy-but-catchy orc song from the 1980s animated Return of the King. Saving this for the next time I need motivation. Similar:Merry…

Computer scientist Leslie Lamport to [Brandeis] grads: If you can’t write, it won’t compute

I like introducing my English majors to coding. Here’s a computer scientist who’s returning the favor, advocating the importance of writing skills. “If you succeed in attaining a position that allows you to do something great, if you do something that really is great, and if you realize that it’s great, there’s still one more…

Today's workload included requesting a "less-depressing used chair" #lowexpectations #partylikeaprofessor

Similar:More #blender3d #steampunk #design. #blender3dart #aesthetics The officers’ conference roo…AestheticsI had a grand time recording this little story about a misunderstood genius who just wants… The Cask of Amotillado (read by Denn…CultureThe Hunted (ST: TNG Rewatch; Season Three, Episode 11) Honorable soldier exiled by the pea…(Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break…EthicsYou aren’t doing it wrong……

Dennis G. Jerz | Associate Professor of English -- New Media Journalism, Seton Hill University | jerz.setonhill.edu Logo

Digital Humanities: A Definition

Does the world need another working definition of digital humanities? Do you have one? Here’s mine. Digital Humanities is the deliberate, critical application of emerging technology to the study of traditional subjects such as literature, art, philosophy, and language, often (but not always) with a focus on how those traditional fields are now using emerging…