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| Chair in Social Science |
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| Chair in Humanities |
Two
academic chairs have differing approaches to writing the opening and closing
sentences to a conference proposal…
Salt: We start out with…"Mass
media simplify the message, social media allow for a more nuanced discussion."
Pepper: Nope. Too simple. How
about… "Mass media and social media both shape public perceptions, and in turn,
the unfolding news flow is shaped by an evolving public awareness."
Salt: OK, I’ll go along with
that. Now, how about the conclusion? "Print media are losing money, they go
online and give away big stories free and charge for the niche articles."
Pepper: Too obvious. Need
something overarching. “While the parameters of this evolving dialogic model of
news flow yet remains to be defined, it portends a new paradigm for shaping our
understanding of human behavior and sociopolitical events.”
____________
Voice-over
Salt is straight social
science, bordering on pure science, Pepper comes from a lit-crit tradition. The McLuhanesque message is the same, but the minimalist soc-sci language is like a plywood
chair, whereas the lit-crit couching may be comfier for some....
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