Jason Kerr
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jakerr35.bsky.social
Jason Kerr
@jakerr35.bsky.social
1.4K followers 550 following 260 posts
he/him Professor of 17th-century British literature, composer, occasional homilist. Author of Milton’s Theological Process (Oxford, 2023) https://global.oup.com/academic/product/miltons-theological-process-9780198875086
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jakerr35.bsky.social
"This is the masterpiece of a modern politician, how to qualify and mold the sufferance and subjection of the people to the length of the foot that is to tread upon their necks, how rapine may serve itself with the fair and honorable pretenses of public good, how the puny law may be brought under the wardship and control of lust and will." —John Milton, 1641
February 4, 2025 at 5:10 PM
jakerr35.bsky.social
Here is my syllabus policy for next semester (minus all the former conditions placed on permitted uses). I need to revise so that it says “assignments” instead of “papers.”
Artificial Intelligence Please do not use generative Al in any way while producing your papers for this class. Writing is hard work; it takes time because it involves slowly and painstakingly figuring out what you think about something. Without such work, humanities education loses its value (I do not mean economic value, but it loses that, too). Besides, the paper that Al generates for you will probably be garbage and will receive a grade commensurate with its quality. Even mediocre human-produced work will fare better. I speak from experience on this point. Generative Al raises significant ethical concerns. ChatGPT's textual corpus includes some 180,000 stolen books, downloaded from the internet without paying the authors or publishers. Generative Al also comes with significant environmental externalities, given the extraordinary energy demands of the powerful processors required to run it, even as much of the coding of the linguistic content itself depends on low-paying gig labor in Kenya and the Philippines. It mostly exists so that you can be replaced by something inferior and superficially less expensive in order to temporarily maximize profits for someone else. Do not concede your own obsolescence.
December 16, 2024 at 10:35 PM
jakerr35.bsky.social
My syllabus AI policies have grown more dyspeptic by the semester.
Artificial Intelligence Please do not use generative AI in any way while producing your papers for this class. Writing is hard work; it takes time because it involves slowly and painstakingly figuring out what you think about something. Without such work, humanities education loses its value (I do not mean economic value, but it loses that, too). Besides, the paper that AI generates for you will probably be garbage and will receive a grade commensurate with its quality. Even mediocre human-produced work will fare better. I speak from experience on this point. Generative AI raises significant ethical concerns. ChatGPT’s textual corpus includes some 180,000 stolen books, downloaded from the internet without paying the authors or publishers. Generative AI also comes with significant environmental externalities, given the extraordinary energy demands of the powerful processors required to run it, even as much of the coding of the linguistic content itself depends on low-paying gig labor in Kenya and the Philippines. It mostly exists so that you can be replaced by something inferior and superficially less expensive in order to temporarily maximize profits for someone else. Do not concede your own obsolescence.
December 13, 2024 at 12:57 AM
jakerr35.bsky.social
It’s so surreal and honestly amazing to hold a copy of my book in my hands! I’ve been working on this project in some form since 2009, and my sense of accomplishment is profound. The title is Milton’s Theological Process: Reading De Doctrina Christiana and Paradise Lost (Oxford, 2023).
Jason A. Kerr holding a copy of his new monograph, Milton’s Theological Process: Reading De Doctrina Christiana and Paradise Lost (Oxford, 2023).
October 17, 2023 at 1:13 AM
jakerr35.bsky.social
My book releases in the UK one week from today, and I've just learned that my author copies are on their way. I've been working on this project in one form or another since 2009, so it's a bit surreal to think that I'll soon have a physical book in my hands! global.oup.com/academic/pro...
Book cover for Jason A. Kerr, Milton's Theological Process: Reading De Doctrina Christiana and Paradise Lost (Oxford, 2023)
October 10, 2023 at 2:38 PM
jakerr35.bsky.social
My favorite meme is me searching for gifs that should exist but don’t.
A search for a gif of “messiaen” that returned no results.
September 6, 2023 at 3:22 PM