Revolution Science

What I Saw At The Revolution

Michael Kazin | Dissent | 1st November 2023

Diary of a half-hearted American revolutionary. As a Harvard undergraduate in 1968-1970 Kazin joined SDS and Weather Underground. He smashed windows, occupied buildings, dodged the draft and stumped for Castro. All of which makes here for an atmospheric and highly readable memoir. But I do wish that Kazin had troubled to explain his actions instead of simply recounting them (8,500 words)

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Of What Is Linguistics The Science?

Ermanno Bencivenga | Epoché | 28th October 2023

Of language, obviously. But what is language? Some linguists insist that language is what gets said; the job of linguistics is to aggregate and analyse usage. Others insist that language is a mental model to which usage merely conforms; it cannot be studied it directly. "Each party’s conception of the subject-matter of linguistics would have us conclude that the other party’s is no science at all" (4,700 words)