As noted in the previous post, some academics, particularly in the social sciences and humanities are spivs. Henceforth, I shall call spiv academics spivademics. The distortature here is an unflattering manipulation of the visage of Professor Henry Reynolds. Professor Reynolds is an exemplar of a particular type of spivademic. He is a celebrity "intellectual" and media-junky spivademic. The original from which this distortature was constructed is a screenshot from one of his frequent television appearances. A google search on "Professor Henry Reynolds" will generate a great many hits... but the hits are overwhelmingly within dumb-ass print and electronic media sites. This profile of hits is typical of a media-junky spivademic. He may have done some useful work once, but is unlikely to do so again, now that he has become addicted to relentless self-aggrandizing and public posturing.Another media-junky spivademic is Professor Robert Manne - I have already dismissed him and all his works elsewhere, so I will not do so again here.
The other type of spivademic works within institutions and small academic networks, rather than seeking a high profile outside academe. Such spivademics are unquestioning corporate animals and have never met a boss they didn't like... a whole lot... So much so that they can't help expressing public admiration for any persons in authority who might advance their careers. This type of spivademic tries to "power-dress" and aspires to the general appearance and demeanour of a successful pyramid-scheme salesperson. However they just don't quite look the part - they fall short of their aspirations because their taste in business wear was formed and fixed for all time during their heady days as a goody-twoshoes school prefect. Henceforth, I shall call this type of spivademic a head-prefect spivademic.
5 comments:
can I retract that comment?(where are those garbage can thingys when I need one?)
Of course you'd never become like one of those dispicable characters.
I don't know why that word "self-aggrandizing" struck me funny. must of been the five glasses of wine. opps.
never mind.
L>T, you would only have to see me in person to realise that I could never be a spivademic. Even when I dress formally I still wear socks with sandals. (Odd socks... sometimes with odd sandals.) When I dress informally I wear socks with thongs (i.e."flip flops"). Sometimes I wear a sock on one foot and a thong on the other - but when I do this I am really just drawing attention to myself.
Jef, Ha ha! thank goodness you have a sense of humor
I don't suppose a spivademic has much of a sense of humor.
I bet i could piss one of those guys off quick.
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