John Donne growing in popularity - USM Forum -- Message Board

Date: Jun 11, 2005

RE: John Donne growing in popularity

Date: Jun 11, 2005

Richard Dawson wrote:
this "mental midget" spent almost no time today baiting you into getting angry and calling names.

And you're awfully proud of yourself for achieving this?!! And WHO is giving professors bad names here? Go and do something useful. Write an article. Prepare a class. Work in a soup kitchen. Life is too short to be obnoxious on purpose.

Date: Jun 11, 2005

Okay Richard Dawson so what is your point? I don't believe one word of your post but I hope that I never have the occasion to go near any University that you have sat foot on because you are the biggest bore of anyone posting on this board yet. I have continued to read the post only because I am an admirer of USM S but I am exhausted with your rantings. They do not have even a basic ring of truth or intelligence to them. I am glad to hear that you are not from Mississippi because that is an indication to me that perhaps there is another state with people a lot more ignorant.

Date: Jun 11, 2005

disgusted student wrote:

Okay Richard Dawson so what is your point? I don't believe one word of your post but I hope that I never have the occasion to go near any University that you have sat foot on because you are the biggest bore of anyone posting on this board yet. I have continued to read the post only because I am an admirer of USM S but I am exhausted with your rantings. They do not have even a basic ring of truth or intelligence to them. I am glad to hear that you are not from Mississippi because that is an indication to me that perhaps there is another state with people a lot more ignorant.

I guess they DO have a major in Name-Calling over there in Hattiesburg. You must be an honors student in that field. Shoo fly, you bother me.

Date: Jun 11, 2005

Richard Dawson wrote:

Ah, yes. You can't think of any graceful way out of this, so you'll just continue to call names and belittle me. OK, but this "mental midget" spent almost no time today baiting you into getting angry and calling names. You're an easy mark, USMS. I'm sure I can get you again. BTW, I never attended USM and am not a fan of Shelby Thames. I've just added you to my list of educated fools. Want to know who I am? Here's a few clues. If you're smart, you can find me. Then you'll know just who you're dealing with. 1. I am a full professor of English Literature at a major state school in a state that is contiguous to Mississippi. 2. I teach John Donne in my courses and have published over 25 articles, book chapters, and other "academic" outlets. 3. I'm a member of AARP, though I'm not retired. 4. I didn't have to Google the word "Invictus" to know the meaning behind that nom. Happy hunting, youngling! If you find me, just email me!

Wow! 25 whole articles and book chapters in a whole career?! Man, am I impressed!

As I say, Dick, normally I try to respond very graciously to almost all posters, but with you I thought I would make an exception.

Why would I have any interest (1) in knowing who you are and (2) in e-mailing you? Your ideas (or lack thereof) are all that interest me on this board, and you haven't shown me any that impress me. In fact, I find it embarrassing that anyone who gets paid to teach English has such little knowledge of, or respect for, one of the seminal poets in the language. Why don't you just do your students a favor and drop Donne from your syllabus? Your heart obviously isn't in it.

(Oh, wait: dropping Donne from your syllabus would be irresponsible because he is a major poet and if he weren't in your syllabus your colleagues would s****, so you include him even though you think he's not as good as Frost.)

'Night, Dick!

Date: Jun 11, 2005

By the way, activeboard apparently changed one of my words to s*****. The word I used was not the four-letter s-word, but this one: s-n-i-g-g-e-r.

Hope it gets through this time.

Date: Jun 11, 2005

By the way, Dick, I just went back through this thread to try to figure out why I have indeed responded to harshly to you (since normally I try not to respond harshly to most people). I think this is the statement of yours that struck me as especially idiotic, particularly now that I know you actually teach English somewhere:

"If we played "Family Feud" and asked 100 people to name their favorite poet, Donne wouldn't even make the top 10. The only reason USM people are fixated on that no-talent hack is because of Stringer."

Re-reading that statement, I do not regret my harshness.

Date: Jun 11, 2005

USM Sympathizer wrote:

By the way, activeboard apparently changed one of my words to s*****. The word I used was not the four-letter s-word, but this one: s-n-i-g-g-e-r.
Hope it gets through this time.

That's the way all good intellectuals act, USMS. They call names and run away. Couldn't you find me? I guess that's why you dismiss me so rudely. Or maybe it's because you have no manners to begin with. There I go, acting like you...I apologize. And you're right, I am an uneducated lout. Maybe you can sleep well tonight.

Date: Jun 11, 2005

Richard Dawson wrote:

Couldn't you find me?

Everytime I put my hand in my back pocket I find you.

Date: Jun 11, 2005

This "Dawson" person is somebody who has a beef with Gary Stringer. Otherwise, why has he spent his day with us? And he never did answer that question about his favorite poet. This is all about Stringer.

Btw, our professor Jameela Lares, who started this thread, is an internationally respected scholar of Milton, author of a recent well-reviewed book. Dawson started out by being rude and dismissive of somebody who writes circles around him. And she didn't even get her degree until her children were grown, as she has told us previously.

Here's a little-known fact. When Aubrey Lucas fired ST's booty as VP and sent him back to the lab, he gave him the courtesy of a face and dignity-saving public "out." He did not lock him out of his office, he did not put his things in a box in the hall, he did not let people go on TV and call him a criminal. He didn't even fire him, a fact which probably keeps him awake nights.

Date: Jun 11, 2005

Richard Dawson wrote:

Here's a few clues. If you're smart, you can find me. Then you'll know just who you're dealing with.

1. I am a full professor of English Literature at a major state school in a state that is contiguous to Mississippi.

2. I teach John Donne in my courses and have published over 25 articles, book chapters, and other "academic" outlets.

3. I'm a member of AARP, though I'm not retired.

4. I didn't have to Google the word "Invictus" to know the meaning behind that nom.

You want us to play 20 questions?

Date: Jun 11, 2005

Game Show Host wrote:

Richard Dawson wrote:

Here's a few clues. If you're smart, you can find me. Then you'll know just who you're dealing with.
1. I am a full professor of English Literature at a major state school in a state that is contiguous to Mississippi.
2. I teach John Donne in my courses and have published over 25 articles, book chapters, and other "academic" outlets.
3. I'm a member of AARP, though I'm not retired.
4. I didn't have to Google the word "Invictus" to know the meaning behind that nom.

You want us to play 20 questions?

Yes! Yes! Lord! I have seen the light! USM is a community of scholars! That's why they are at a 3rd tier university (I'll give you the benefit of the pre-Thames rankings)! Halleluiah! Praise the Lord!

What a joke. Last word: you've all been had by a master.

Date: Jun 11, 2005

and you must be terribly, terribly proud of yourself, "master" -- what a great accomplishment -- what wit, what skill! What do you have planned for tomorrow?

Oh, and - - - why did you bother?

Date: Jun 11, 2005

Richard Dawson wrote:

Yes! Yes! Lord! I have seen the light! USM is a community of scholars! That's why they are at a 3rd tier university (I'll give you the benefit of the pre-Thames rankings)! Halleluiah! Praise the Lord! What a joke. Last word: you've all been had by a master.

Dick, I've been out for most the evening and here come back to find that things are much out of hand. I'm afraid I must call a halt to all of this by asking that posters DO NOT FEED THE TROLLS. Ignore this Troll. He will go away. It has worked before. Let's do it again. Bye Bye, Dick.

Date: Jun 11, 2005

Richard Dawson wrote:

That's the way all good intellectuals act, USMS. They call names and run away. Couldn't you find me? I guess that's why you dismiss me so rudely. Or maybe it's because you have no manners to begin with. There I go, acting like you...I apologize. And you're right, I am an uneducated lout. Maybe you can sleep well tonight.

Actually, I went to watch a brief film about hummingbirds if you want to know the truth. (It wasn't all I'd hoped, so if anyone on the board is ever tempted to buy "The Joy of Hummingbirds," I'd recommend waiting for another.)

I repeat: I HAVE NO INTEREST IN FINIDING YOU! It would not be worth my time to do so. You have admitted (1) that you teach English but think John Donne is a no-talent hack; (2) that despite thinking this, you nonetheless include him on your syllabus; (3) that despite the fact that you teach English in a nearby state, you have never heard of the excellent reputation of the USM English faculty in a number of fields (which suggests that you don't do much research).

Go back and review this thread and see who was ungracious to begin with. I merely tried to give you a taste of your own medicine, Dick. I'll sleep very well tonight.

Maybe we can get this thread onto a substantive path: precisely why, Dick, do you consider John Donne a no-talent hack?

Date: Jun 11, 2005

Mr. Whipple wrote:

Richard Dawson wrote: Couldn't you find me? Everytime I put my hand in my back pocket I find you.

Good one, Mr. Whipple!

Just don't squeeze.

Date: Jun 11, 2005

Richard Dawson wrote:

Game Show Host wrote:

Richard Dawson wrote:

Here's a few clues. If you're smart, you can find me. Then you'll know just who you're dealing with.
1. I am a full professor of English Literature at a major state school in a state that is contiguous to Mississippi.
2. I teach John Donne in my courses and have published over 25 articles, book chapters, and other "academic" outlets.
3. I'm a member of AARP, though I'm not retired.
4. I didn't have to Google the word "Invictus" to know the meaning behind that nom.

You want us to play 20 questions?

Yes! Yes! Lord! I have seen the light! USM is a community of scholars! That's why they are at a 3rd tier university (I'll give you the benefit of the pre-Thames rankings)! Halleluiah! Praise the Lord!

What a joke. Last word: you've all been had by a master.

Well, to start with, I don't give a flyin' flip who you are., where you are, how old you are, or even how much you have published. As for being had by a master, well, yes, people fell into your trap for a while. If that gives you a sense of accomplishment, then you must have a strange life. You're supposed to be an English professor but you never once made any "English" argument for your position re: John Donne. You enjoyed beating up USM-Symp but you've yet to say anything remotely scholarly or substantive. We're so glad you've had your little fun. It baffles me as to what your purpose was.

Date: Jun 11, 2005

Richard Dawson wrote:

Last word: you've all been had by a master.

Now folks, this is kinda sad: an idiot with delusions of grandeur!

Date: Jun 11, 2005

Third Witch wrote:

This "Dawson" person is somebody who has a beef with Gary Stringer. Otherwise, why has he spent his day with us? . . . This is all about Stringer.

TW,

Bingo!

Date: Jun 11, 2005

Gary Stringer's work will truly be missed here. USM's loss is TAMU's gain. And to think, once he cracks John Donne's social security number, there's no telling what research nuggets he'll be able to ascertain.

Date: Jun 11, 2005

Mother Firefly wrote:

Gary Stringer's work will truly be missed here. USM's loss is TAMU's gain. And to think, once he cracks John Donne's social security number, there's no telling what research nuggets he'll be able to ascertain.

Still burns you that Angie (and Mark, and Jack, and . . . ) got dumped and that GS is at a far better place, doesn't it?

Date: Jun 11, 2005

Well, I dunno, Rubbin. If TAMU is in the practice of hiring common criminals onto their faculty, how can you say it's a better place?

Date: Jun 11, 2005

Mother Firefly wrote:

Well, I dunno, Rubbin. If TAMU is in the practice of hiring common criminals onto their faculty, how can you say it's a better place?

Mom,

Sit down, think for a while about the logic of what you just typed, and then get back to me. Thanks.

Date: Jun 11, 2005

An Epigram on R. D.

Mark but this troll, and then thou'lt see
How shrunken-small his brain must be.
Donne he attacked first, and then GS,
Proving thereby he is an a$$.
He claims he teaches college lit;
I think his claim is full of ____.
He never makes a solid point
But gets his nose bent out of joint.
He can't respond to simple facts
(I hear the grinding of an ax).
He can't explain his tastes; what's more
I think 'tis pity he's a bore.

Date: Jun 12, 2005

Mother Firefly wrote:

Gary Stringer's work will truly be missed here. USM's loss is TAMU's gain. And to think, once he cracks John Donne's social security number, there's no telling what research nuggets he'll be able to ascertain.

But he'll need Donne's mother's maiden name to get what he really needs

Date: Jun 12, 2005

Those who have ever read any of my posts are aware that I have zero expertise in the areas of literature and poetry. As I have read through the posts about John Donne and the tangential areas interjected by posters with even less expertise than me, I am struck that this discussion is about more than Donne, literature and poetry. I am often dismayed about how shallow the knowledge of any historical information displayed by the populous today. Not only is it apparent in the general population, it exists in most of the academic disciplines unless that discipline focuses on historical information. In my own discipline, I am constantly amused at the attitude, "if it was published before 1985, it is not relevant." Vast amounts of this institutionalized ignorance has been on display by the SFT team as they discovered anew old discredited ideas.

Perhaps the most troubling loss of historical knowledge is exhibited in the arena of raising and educating children. Over centuries, first tribes and then settled civilizations developed processes whereby the young were molded into men and women at the appropriate age and were held accountable. In all of the reading I have done of what I would term the master writers who lived and wrote before the 1950's, seldom have I found admiration for ignorance, lack of responsibility, sloth, or lack of respect. Today, what was not approved in the past has been commonplace and now there are experts who can be hired to make excuses for ones shortcomings.

Perhaps a healthy dose of reading some of not only John Donne, but many other scholars of past eras would help all of us.

Date: Jun 12, 2005

Cossack wrote:

Those who have ever read any of my posts are aware that I have zero expertise in the areas of literature and poetry. As I have read through the posts about John Donne and the tangential areas interjected by posters with even less expertise than me, I am struck that this discussion is about more than Donne, literature and poetry. I am often dismayed about how shallow the knowledge of any historical information displayed by the populous today. Not only is it apparent in the general population, it exists in most of the academic disciplines unless that discipline focuses on historical information. In my own discipline, I am constantly amused at the attitude, "if it was published before 1985, it is not relevant." Vast amounts of this institutionalized ignorance has been on display by the SFT team as they discovered anew old discredited ideas.

Perhaps the most troubling loss of historical knowledge is exhibited in the arena of raising and educating children. Over centuries, first tribes and then settled civilizations developed processes whereby the young were molded into men and women at the appropriate age and were held accountable. In all of the reading I have done of what I would term the master writers who lived and wrote before the 1950's, seldom have I found admiration for ignorance, lack of responsibility, sloth, or lack of respect. Today, what was not approved in the past has been commonplace and now there are experts who can be hired to make excuses for ones shortcomings.

Perhaps a healthy dose of reading some of not only John Donne, but many other scholars of past eras would help all of us.

The problem is that SFT knows a lot about the pre-1985 history of USM. If you read Exit 13, you'll find that he is well-versed in McCain's leadership style. While I am no fan of SFT, he knows exactly what he's doing - turning USM's clock back 40 years or so. What he needed to learn was the post-1985 history. I am afraid that even that would not have been enough. I suspect that even if Lucas were still president, USM faculty would still be unsatisfied. USM faculty seem hell-bent on proving that they are the highest quality scholars and researchers in the state and having everyone acknowledge it. This point has not, is not, and never will be true on the whole.

As part of my training in psychology, I took a course on organizational dynamics. The structure of an organization must be maintained in order for the whole to continue functioning properly. UM and MSU were designed to be the "flagship" institutions, focusing on research. USM, MUW, JSU, MVSU, ASU, and DSU were designed as teaching schools. Now USM wants to be in the research tier, but Mississippi doesn't have room for any more research institutions. USM is #3 and will continue to be #3 as long as the people of this state have no real use for research.

Date: Jun 12, 2005

USM faculty seem hell-bent on proving that they are the highest quality scholars and researchers in the state and having everyone acknowledge it.

I question your use of the word "hell-bent" -- it seems more that because they get so little support from the administration, they must defend themselves more vigorously than they otherwise should. And we did have some of the "highest quality" scholars and reseachers not only in the state, but in the region.

Date: Jun 12, 2005

wandering uterus wrote:

USM faculty seem hell-bent on proving that they are the highest quality scholars and researchers in the state and having everyone acknowledge it. This point has not, is not, and never will be true on the whole. As part of my training in psychology, I took a course on organizational dynamics. The structure of an organization must be maintained in order for the whole to continue functioning properly. UM and MSU were designed to be the "flagship" institutions, focusing on research. USM, MUW, JSU, MVSU, ASU, and DSU were designed as teaching schools. Now USM wants to be in the research tier, but Mississippi doesn't have room for any more research institutions. USM is #3 and will continue to be #3 as long as the people of this state have no real use for research.

WU,

Pressure to do research is a general trend these days in academe. In general I think it's a good trend. It forces teachers to remember that they are always students first. It prevents them from resting on laurels they may have earned 10, 20, 30 years earlier. It subjects them to the judgment of their peers beyond their own campus. It helps them relate to (and guide) their own students, who are often expected to produce research papers. And, of course, it ideally adds to the sum total of human knowledge.

Don't forget that, according to a very fine post from last week or so on another thread, USM faculty routinely taught more students at a lower cost per capita than the faculty at other MS universities, even while often excelling in research. The English Department had a truly EXCELLENT reputation outside the state (and not just because of Gary Stringer). Thus, many USM faculty, like faculty at a lot of smaller universities, managed to be both excellent researchers and "productive" teachers.

Date: Jun 12, 2005

NARDO - LSU