Complex and Contradictory
December 15th, 2009 § 2 Comments
I am tired of reading that x is “complex and contradictory.” This is not an argument worth reading. It is barely an argument. It is a tic. It should be eliminated from all academic writing.
But I still have to wade through that 1980s and 1990s stuff that states x is “complex and contradictory.”
Ack!
It does sort of illustrate how reliant so much critical thinking still (implicitly) is on a distinction between simple mass culture and complex high art, a distinction people keep pointing out is ridiculous because so many people still imply it without even mounting a defense of the claim.
You are a far more generous and insightful reader than I can be right now. My critical generosity has expired for the year. It’s a good thing the semester is done, as is most of my grading.