Crispin Sartwell
Encyclopedia
Crispin Gallegher Sartwell (born 1958) is an American
philosophy
professor, self-professed individualist anarchist and journalist
. He received his B.A. from the University of Maryland, College Park
, his M.A. from Johns Hopkins University
and his Ph.D.
from the University of Virginia
- where his dissertation supervisor was Richard Rorty
- and is currently a member of the faculty of Dickinson College
in Carlisle, Pennsylvania
.
, he is the son of the late Franklin Gallagher Sartwell, a reporter, editor, and photographer with the Washington Star and several magazines. His grandfather, also Franklin Gallagher Sartwell, was a columnist and editorial page editor at the Washington Times-Herald
. His great-grandfather, Herman Bernstein
broke the story of a secret correspondence between Kaiser Wilhelm
and Czar Nicholas during World War I in The New York Times
. Sartwell himself worked as a copy boy at the Washington Star
and later as a freelance rock critic for many publications, including Record Magazine and Melody Maker
. He has taught philosophy, communication and political science at a number of schools, including Vanderbilt University
, The University of Alabama, Penn State, Millersville
, the Maryland Institute College of Art
, and Dickinson College
.
His mother, Joyce Abell, and stepfather, Richard Abell, were schoolteachers in Montgomery County, Maryland and organic vegetable farmers in Rappahannock County, Virginia. Richard Abell was a conscientious objector during World War 2. Sartwell's first wife was artist Rachael K. Pats, with whom he has two children, Emma and Samuel Sartwell. He lives in rural Pennsylvania.
, appeared in numerous newspaper
s through the 1990s and 2000s, including The Philadelphia Inquirer
and Los Angeles Times
. Among the most idiosyncratic newspaper columnists of the period, he is a self-described adherent of anarchism
. He is the author of such books as Obscenity, Anarchy, Reality and Six Names of Beauty. In 2008 SUNY Press published his book Against the State: An Introduction to Anarchist Political Theory, which is an "irreverent and incisive critique of liberal theories of the state."
Audio/video media
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
professor, self-professed individualist anarchist and journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
. He received his B.A. from the University of Maryland, College Park
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
, his M.A. from Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
and his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
- where his dissertation supervisor was Richard Rorty
Richard Rorty
Richard McKay Rorty was an American philosopher. He had a long and diverse academic career, including positions as Stuart Professor of Philosophy at Princeton, Kenan Professor of Humanities at the University of Virginia, and Professor of Comparative Literature at Stanford University...
- and is currently a member of the faculty of Dickinson College
Dickinson College
Dickinson College is a private, residential liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Originally established as a Grammar School in 1773, Dickinson was chartered September 9, 1783, five days after the signing of the Treaty of Paris, making it the first college to be founded in the newly...
in Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Carlisle is a borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The name is traditionally pronounced with emphasis on the second syllable. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2010 census, the borough...
.
Background
Born in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, he is the son of the late Franklin Gallagher Sartwell, a reporter, editor, and photographer with the Washington Star and several magazines. His grandfather, also Franklin Gallagher Sartwell, was a columnist and editorial page editor at the Washington Times-Herald
Washington Times-Herald
The Washington Times-Herald was an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C.. It was created by Cissy Patterson, when she bought the Herald and the Times from William Randolph Hearst, and merged them. The result was a '24 hour' newspaper, with 10 editions per day, from morning to...
. His great-grandfather, Herman Bernstein
Herman Bernstein
Herman Bernstein was an American journalist, writer, translator, and diplomat.Herman Bernstein was born on September 21, 1876, in Vladislavov at that time on the Russo-German border to David and Marie Bernstein...
broke the story of a secret correspondence between Kaiser Wilhelm
Kaiser Wilhelm
Kaiser Wilhelm is a common reference to two German emperors:* Wilhelm I, German Emperor , King of Prussia; became the first Kaiser of a united Germany...
and Czar Nicholas during World War I in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
. Sartwell himself worked as a copy boy at the Washington Star
Washington Star
The Washington Star, previously known as the Washington Star-News and the Washington Evening Star, was a daily afternoon newspaper published in Washington, D.C. between 1852 and 1981. For most of that time, it was the city's newspaper of record, and the longtime home to columnist Mary McGrory and...
and later as a freelance rock critic for many publications, including Record Magazine and Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
. He has taught philosophy, communication and political science at a number of schools, including Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
, The University of Alabama, Penn State, Millersville
Millersville University of Pennsylvania
Millersville University of Pennsylvania is a public university in Millersville, Pennsylvania, USA, 3 miles southwest of Lancaster. Millersville University is a member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education.-History:...
, the Maryland Institute College of Art
Maryland Institute College of Art
Maryland Institute College of Art is an art and design college in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. It was founded in 1826 as the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, making it one of the first and oldest art colleges in the United States. In 2008, MICA was ranked #2 in the nation...
, and Dickinson College
Dickinson College
Dickinson College is a private, residential liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Originally established as a Grammar School in 1773, Dickinson was chartered September 9, 1783, five days after the signing of the Treaty of Paris, making it the first college to be founded in the newly...
.
His mother, Joyce Abell, and stepfather, Richard Abell, were schoolteachers in Montgomery County, Maryland and organic vegetable farmers in Rappahannock County, Virginia. Richard Abell was a conscientious objector during World War 2. Sartwell's first wife was artist Rachael K. Pats, with whom he has two children, Emma and Samuel Sartwell. He lives in rural Pennsylvania.
Career
Sartwell's syndicated column, distributed by Creators SyndicateCreators Syndicate
Creators Syndicate is an independent distributor of comic strips and syndicated columns for daily newspapers. It was founded in 1987 by Richard S. Newcombe, and is based in Los Angeles. Creators was one of the first syndicates to allow its clients to maintain creative control of their material...
, appeared in numerous newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s through the 1990s and 2000s, including The Philadelphia Inquirer
The Philadelphia Inquirer
The Philadelphia Inquirer is a morning daily newspaper that serves the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area of the United States. The newspaper was founded by John R. Walker and John Norvell in June 1829 as The Pennsylvania Inquirer and is the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the...
and Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
. Among the most idiosyncratic newspaper columnists of the period, he is a self-described adherent of anarchism
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
. He is the author of such books as Obscenity, Anarchy, Reality and Six Names of Beauty. In 2008 SUNY Press published his book Against the State: An Introduction to Anarchist Political Theory, which is an "irreverent and incisive critique of liberal theories of the state."
See also
- Anarchism in the United StatesAnarchism in the United StatesAnarchism in the United States spans a wide range of anarchist philosophy, from individualist anarchism to anarchist communism and other less known forms. America has two main traditions, native and immigrant, with the native tradition being strongly individualist and the immigrant tradition being...
- American philosophyAmerican philosophyAmerican philosophy is the philosophical activity or output of Americans, both within the United States and abroad. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy notes that while American philosophy lacks a "core of defining features, American Philosophy can nevertheless be seen as both reflecting and...
- List of American philosophers
External links
- Crispinsartwell.com, column archives and other writings.
- Eye of the Storm, Crispin Startwell's blog, hosted on blogs.com.
Audio/video media
- "American Philosophy?", "American Philosopher", YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, June 27, 2007. - "Crispin Sartwell - Anarchist Philosopher", "ReasonTV", YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, January 13, 2009.