Trawling for Ideas That Merit Further Discourse

{link » Public Intellectual 2.0}

“For academics aspiring to be public intellectuals, blogs allow networks to develop that cross the disciplinary and hierarchical strictures of academe. Provided one can write jargon-free prose, a blog can attract readers from all walks of life — including, most importantly, people beyond the ivory tower. (The distribution of traffic and links in the blogosphere is highly skewed, and academics and magazine writers make up a fair number of the most popular bloggers.) Indeed, because of the informal and accessible nature of the blog format, citizens will tend to view academic bloggers that they encounter online as more accessible than would be the case in a face-to-face interaction, increasing the likelihood of a fruitful exchange of views about culture, criticism, and politics with individuals whom academics might not otherwise meet. Furthermore, as a longtime blogger, I can attest that such interactions permit one to play with ideas in a way that is ill suited for more-academic publishing venues. A blog functions like an intellectual fishing net, catching and preserving the embryonic ideas that merit further time and effort.” [emphasis added]

— Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. The paperback edition of his book, All Politics Is Global (Princeton University Press), was published in September.

If (like me) you have abandoned printed newspapers and magazines in favor of their modern counterparts on the Internet, you have the added advantage of a vast blogosphere at your fingertips. This is a good thing because, among many other considerations, blogging:

• operates on a level playing field;
• operates as a meritocracy;
• is open to everyone who has an interest and access to a computer;
• is free.

Moreover, there is something for everyone:

• Americans as well as un-Americans;
• those with common sense as well as liberal fascists;
• those who think for themselves as well as those who prefer to be spoon–fed bullshit.

I recommend it.

h/t Theo