I meant to say earlier, the stamp which somehow stops them from misusing the work ‘portray’ is the one I want more than any other. Except possibly the one that sends them straight to hell if they ever say anything ever about what it’s like ‘in today’s society.’

I am pretty confident anthropological reality depicted in this program exceeds anything available on any university campus in this country. Though this standard is not exactly raising the bar.

Mind you, Im talking about peer review of journal articles now.

I doubt it, Mark. I think it goes back to a long forgotten legal case. I gave up on personal cheques when Westpac took over my beloved “Bank of Melbourne” and made it too expensive. And here we go again as they slay St George.

Not since the 19th-century concert of nations, when reactionary conservatives like Metternich, Talleyrand and Wellington stamped hard on liberal and proto-labor politics that challenged kings and emperors, has Europe seen so many right-wing politicians ruling the roost.

And of course these EuroTories achieved such a wonderful success for the Old Ways of Europe!

Reactionary conservatism soon waddled off the European stage into extinction.

Now the natural majorities of Europe are liberal and labourite. The old hierarchies, as represented by Metternich, Talleyrand, Wellington, et al., no longer exist.

The C21 European Right would be utterly mysterious to M, T, and W. In other words, the entire European political spectrum has shifted far, far to the Left.

If that spectrum pulses a little rightward every now and then, so what?

A pulse indicates life.

Jeez, that stamp would get a lot of use!

I’m thinking of getting a set of rubber stamps made up for next time. “Don’t italicise quotations” “what is your evidence for this?” “?” and “??”, “poets don’t STATE”, “can you give an illustration from the text?”

Yes, this solution also occurred to me, back in the days when the marking never dried up. I never got as far as asking someone whether the cost would be tax-deductible. But while you’re about it you should get a few more:

‘A lot’ is not one word’
‘The word NOVEL refers to a book of fiction only.’
‘You can’t “portray” something that isn’t already there — use “represent” or “construct”‘
‘The it’s with the apostrophe means IT IS’
‘Google the phrase “comma splice”‘
‘Google the phrase “dangling modifier”‘
‘The word “Heathcliff” does not have an E on the end of it. If you have another look at Wuthering Heights, the novel that 35 of you have just chosen out of a list of ten to write an essay on, you will see that his name appears, correctly spelled, on almost every page. See also “Virginia Woolf”.’
‘Yes, it does matter.’

I’m co-convening a subject next semester (giving half a semester’s lectures for the first time!) and I’d repressed all memory of the marking experience until reading this thread, so I think there’s merit in this idea. I find myself hoping now, and probably against my own interests, that the enrolments are low. At least with childbirth you get a baby out of it…

Laura, those stamps would be very useful for me also. Especially the ‘??’ one. Any assessment task where they’re allowed to write about Donna Haraway - ‘A Cyborg Manifesto’ in particular - usually requires a few of those.

Pav, thanks for the childbirth analogy. Because of you, I now have to write “quotation” everywhere instead of “quote”…four extra letters x six times per essay, x 100….is 2400 extra letters

I’m thinking of getting a set of rubber stamps made up for next time. “Don’t italicise quotations” “what is your evidence for this?” “?” and “??”, “poets don’t STATE”, “can you give an illustration from the text?”

Yes, Paul, you can almost smell the Tories’ impotent panic as the Emporer’s nude arse is catwalked.

I love the smell of Lefty crowing in the morning. Smells like…hubris. A quick glance at the USE political scene shows how drasticly the cup can be dashed from Left-liberal lips.

Has anyone yet noticed that the European parliamentary Left seems to be in political decline, if not free fall? I have been predicting this rightwing turn of the worm for the better part of the decade, mainly focusing on the US/AUS.

I tried to make this point over at suz’s post but have been condemned to moderator purgatory for making an unkind remark about Ken Livingstone. Apparently that red flower is too delicate to be exposed to the elements.

The facts seemed to have overtaken my prediction as I had little idea of the strength of the USEs right wing reaction until I started compiling the shopping list of right-wing horror govts. It turns out that pretty much every USE govt is now controlled or dominated by Centre-Right parties:

Belgium: Czech Republic: Denmark: Estonia: France: Germany: Greece Italy: Latvia: Luxembourg: Malta: Netherlands: Poland: Romania: Slovenia:

I will wager $100 that the Tories will win the next UK election. Any takers? (I will also wager $100 that the Dems will win the next US election. Different story.)

I see that Newseek has now bothered to glance at the 800lb gorilla that has been squatting in the corner of Europes living room since the early noughties, although with maximal sourness and ill-grace:

Not since the 19th-century concert of nations, when reactionary conservatives like Metternich, Talleyrand and Wellington stamped hard on liberal and proto-labor politics that challenged kings and emperors, has Europe seen so many right-wing politicians ruling the roost.

I especially liked Newsweeks wistful but jaded evaluation of USE Left-liberal propensity to confuse symbolism with substance:

A decade ago it seemed very different. A majority of Europe’s countries had center-left parties in power…But these left-liberal talkfests produced no enduring political program or vision.

Sound familiar?

*shudders in remembrance*