All entries by this author

Pick up Another, More Challenging Book *

Jun 23rd, 2003 | Filed by

‘…the outlandish claims that were frequently made for Potter made you wonder whether some of these people had ever read anything else.’… Read the rest



Creationism Gaining Ground in the US *

Jun 22nd, 2003 | Filed by

The Dini case, a conspicuous ‘debate’ in Tucson, a new ‘Special Counsel for Religious Discrimination’ in Ashcroft’s Justice Department.… Read the rest



Words Do Matter *

Jun 22nd, 2003 | Filed by

Under God, one man one vote, Muslim child – language does shape our consciousness.… Read the rest



Whiteness Studies *

Jun 21st, 2003 | Filed by

Race is a fiction, therefore everyone must learn to be completely obsessed by it. Eh?… Read the rest



A Recipe not a Blueprint *

Jun 20th, 2003 | Filed by

Matt Ridley on the way genes and experience interact.… Read the rest



Say Anything and Say It Murkily *

Jun 20th, 2003 | Filed by

A mash note to Alan Sokal in the Guardian.… Read the rest



A Debate on ‘Diversity’ in the Arts *

Jun 19th, 2003 | Filed by

Whether the arts should be judged on aesthetic grounds, or on ethnic representation.… Read the rest



Who Took What When? *

Jun 19th, 2003 | Filed by

The reporter who investigated what happened at the Baghdad Museum says the waters are still being muddied.… Read the rest



Bristol Reaffirms Admissions Policy *

Jun 19th, 2003 | Filed by

Bristol University will continue to consider backgrounds as well as academic records.… Read the rest



A Psychologist’s Choice *

Jun 18th, 2003 | Filed by

Authoritarian cults that demand sensitivity or else, or hard-headed researchers who ask questions.… Read the rest



Atwood on Orwell *

Jun 18th, 2003 | Filed by

How quickly rebels can move to the other side.… Read the rest



Virginia Woolf Being Unpleasant *

Jun 18th, 2003 | Filed by

Woolf’s early notebook reveals – surprise! – she had her flaws.… Read the rest



How We Do Love Female Victims *

Jun 18th, 2003 | Filed by

Virginia Woolf told jokes, including obscene ones, Doris Lessing points out.… Read the rest



A Rich and Moving Elegy *

Jun 17th, 2003 | Filed by

Richard Wollheim on Bernard Williams in The Independent.… Read the rest



Not New but Timely *

Jun 17th, 2003 | Filed by

An interview with Bernard Williams in the Guardian last November.… Read the rest



Grayling on Williams *

Jun 16th, 2003 | Filed by

A.C. Grayling on Bernard Williams in The Financial Times.… Read the rest



Williams in The Times *

Jun 15th, 2003 | Filed by

Another good obituary essay on Williams’ work and why it mattered.… Read the rest



Who Would Mate With Rational Economic Man? *

Jun 15th, 2003 | Filed by

Is Feminist Economics less silly than it sounds?… Read the rest



Daniel Dennett Interview *

Jun 15th, 2003 | Filed by

The spectre of creeping exculpation, the discomfort of discontinuity, and more.… Read the rest



The Arts and Cultural Diversity

Jun 15th, 2003 | By Jatinder Verma

Immigrant, ethnic minority, asylum-seeker – slivers of insinuation separate
the meanings of each term in contemporary Britain. Ethnic minority, black and
Asian, cultural diversity – clouds of obfuscation have distinguished contemporary
arts in Britain over the past 30 years.

That I draw an analogy between socio-political and artistic terminology is
not incidental: socio-political concerns have determined arts-funding policy
for the past three decades. Ever since, in fact, the publication of Naseem Khan’s
seminal report for the Arts Council in 1976, ‘The Arts Britain Ignores’. This
year sees the launch of yet another arts initiative, designed to heap attention
on ‘culturally diverse’ arts, aptly titled ‘decibel’ (noise). Why do we need
a showcase of ethnic arts? And what noise is decibelRead the rest