Introducing Glenn Beck University (Inside Higher Ed)
Glenn Beck, the controversial broadcaster, has decided to introduce his own education service: Beck University.
"Beck University is a unique academic experience bringing together experts in the fields of religion, American history and economics," says the announcement on the Beck Web site….
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There is no tuition for Beck University, but to enroll, you must be an "Insider Extreme" subscriber to a variety of Beck products (for at least $6.26 a month).
Two of the three original faculty members (all called professors) are not traditional academics, but one is: James. R. Stoner Jr., a professor of political science at Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge….
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The circles in which Beck is popular tend to regularly criticize academe as dominated by the left. Stoner, while not disagreeing, suggested that the ability of the Beck team to identify one of its first scholars from within academe suggested that scholars don't all think alike. "There are a huge number of people who teach, and certain opinions that tend to be dominant in the academy, but there is diversity in the academy," he said.
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The arrival of Beck University has not gone unnoticed by his critics. …Mother Jones has come out with suggestions for additional courses Beck U. might offer, including "Semiotics of Tricornered Hats," "Wilde, Proust, and Other Homosexual Europeans," "Middle Eastern and Arab Cultures: What's Up With That?" and "Underwater Conspiracy Weaving."
• This morning, the OC Weekly's Gustavo Arellano presents parodies of that familiar "watch for people running across the highway" sign. On top is Arellano's fave:
4 comments:
Here's a sample from Beck's new book, The Overton Window. It was #1 last week according the the NYT book review.
"Something about this woman defied a traditional chick-at-a-glance inventory. Without a doubt all the goodies were in all the right places, but no mere scale of one to 10 was going to do the job this time. It was an entirely new experience for him. Though he'd been in her presence for less than a minute, her soul had locked itself onto his senses, far more than her substance had."
Now, that's some fine writing.
The only thing I'm sure about re that paragraph: Beck didn't write it. But hey, I'm just a "chick."
He did use a ghostwriter, but his name's on the book.
Probably grossly taken out of context, no doubt.
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