Sunday 6 April 2014

Shhhhhhhh... Professionals (not) Thinking


"Perhaps academics hold the key"  suggest those pesky Heritage Action amateurs that insist on having a say on what is happening to our, your, their heritage. Perhaps they do, but whether they will get off their fat academic backsides and do anything is a moot point.  They find it easier to fob us all off with glib superficialities, like those of potsherd fondler Jervis March 1, 2014, who steadfastly refuses to discuss the perfectly civil comments sent by myself (March 13, 2014 at 9:16 am) and the even more civil ones from Nigel Swift (on which he has not even posted up).

THIS is the state of the academic debate on the portable heritage in Britain today. The professionals think they can offer some passive stop-gap measures, spin their results and if they persist in ignoring any voices questioning what they are doing, the problem will perhaps go away.


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I wasn't thinking of Mr Jervis as one of the academics who might hold the key. I think there ARE some who might though.

There are also many archaeologists who could but the pressures on them to avoid mentioning the state of undress of the Emperor are maybe greater than in academia. Or maybe not. Someone once said the greatest enemy of scholarship is the telephone!

:)

Paul Barford said...

No, I do not think Dr Jervis is much up to the task either.

He has time to dash off a few vague platitudes with which to win brownie points from the PAS and the metal detectorists who bring archaeologists goodies to look at. No time at all of course, or inclination, to discuss the issues in any detail or context.

It is on such superficiality that the whole pro-PAS edifice is built, its inhabitants have to be so careful not to allow the exposure or wetting of its mud-brick foundations.



 
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