Hi Art. My name is Mike Adams. I write a weekly column - mostly on issues in higher education. I am seeking verification that you sent the following email: Hello Colleagues, Please consider re-joining the section, we are only eight members short of our goal!!! For those of you who do not know me, my name is Art Jipson and I am the secretary-treasurer of the Marxist Sociology section of the American Sociological Association. I am writing to encourage you to re-join our section. The need for critical scholarship has never been more urgent! The rise of ever increasing irrational Neo-Conservatism, the rise of racist two-seed theories as well as troubling levels of acceptance of Neo-Liberal apologies for oligopolies, screaming right-wing attack squads sabotaging the health care debate and the increasing dominance of increasingly ugly sexist, racist, and classist theological worldviews demonstrate the increasing importance of critical social thought and activism! …At present we have 392 members of the Marxist Sociology Section. We need to have 400 by the end of the day on September 30th to qualify for another session at the annual ASA meeting. Please consider encouraging students and colleagues to join the section! I have continued to contact several previous members of the section (that could be you!) with information from the association in the hopes of encouraging more critical scholars to join with us in advancing needed analysis and activism at the association. If there are any questions, please let me know. To join the section quickly, folks can go here. If you have recruited some new members who have used the website and had any difficulties, please let me know. If you are sponsoring graduate students or others or for those who are not yet members of the section or are sponsoring others, please follow this link. …We recognize that the bureaucracy of the ASA is not always supportive of critical scholarship and activism, all the more reason to work to advance critical work! Those of us in the section continue to encourage the participation of all critical sociologists who believe that it is possible to remake the world with the interests of the many rather than the few. Join us and continue that fight. Thank you for your consideration. Best, Art Hello Mike, Yes, that was me. The Marxist Sociology Section of the American Sociological Association needed to recruit new members. The drive was successful. Can I be of any assistance? I would love to see you [sic] column. Best, Art  Thanks Art. I guess I'm confused by a few things. I'm getting the impression there is a conservative uprising in America. But I'm not sure there is a neo-conservative uprising as your letter suggests. What do you have in mind when you use the phrase "ever increasing irrational Neo-Conservatism”? For the record, I am not defending neo-conservatism. I'm just not sure there is much consensus on the meaning of the term. Mike Hi Mike, I was referring to the configuration of theological, political, and irrational conservatism as exemplified by the "Birthers" movement, Sarah Palin, and the antics of Glenn Beck. I use Sara Diamond's research as a starting off point for that kind of labeling. Best, Art Art, that doesn't come close to answering my question. But let's move on. In your missive you refer to the "increasing dominance of increasingly ugly sexist, racist, and classist theological worldviews." This confuses me, too. Which theological worldviews are you referencing? Mike Art, I see you are not going to answer my polite inquiry concerning “sexist, racist, and classist theological worldviews.” But the question is important so I will make my inquiry more specific. Does the Marxist Sociology section of the ASA concern itself more with conservative Christianity or with radical Islam? Right now there is an effort to impose Sharia law in portions of Michigan. As you may know, Sharia law allows Muslim men to freely beat their wives. It also calls for the public execution of homosexuals. Will the Marxists in your group take on these Muslim extremists? Continued... |