"Nut" Ward Churchill, tenure, and accountability . . .
Jeff at Quid Nomen Illius comments incisively about the Ward Churchill controversy:
Bloggers love to go after politicians and the "mainstream media," but as John points out, tenured professors comprise an elite corps that's even less accountable than either. Ward Churchill is a lousy poster-boy for academic freedom, especially if it turns out to be true that he's not really an Indian but nothing more than a plagiarist and a poseur who makes up evidence to support his foregone conclusions. Still, I'm glad that this controversy has arisen. I don't think it's too much to ask that tenured professors occasionally demonstrate that as a class, their behavior shows some understanding of the responsibility commensurate with the astonishing privilege of lifetime job security. We shouldn't be expected to accept that tenure promotes humility in the service of truth when so much suggests otherwise. Prove it to us.
Now, I know some tenured professors who are outstanding scholars and humble servants of truth (how ya doin', Madman?), but on the whole, I agree with Jeff. American politicians don't have lifetime job security (except, perhaps, the Sage of Chappaquiddick, the Duke of Dipsomania), yet many of those who most stridently seek to "hold them accountable" are precisely those who are, for all practical purposes, accountable to little more than their own well-insulated sensibilities.
(Anyway, be sure to read Jeff's comments and check out the links he provides.)
Bloggers love to go after politicians and the "mainstream media," but as John points out, tenured professors comprise an elite corps that's even less accountable than either. Ward Churchill is a lousy poster-boy for academic freedom, especially if it turns out to be true that he's not really an Indian but nothing more than a plagiarist and a poseur who makes up evidence to support his foregone conclusions. Still, I'm glad that this controversy has arisen. I don't think it's too much to ask that tenured professors occasionally demonstrate that as a class, their behavior shows some understanding of the responsibility commensurate with the astonishing privilege of lifetime job security. We shouldn't be expected to accept that tenure promotes humility in the service of truth when so much suggests otherwise. Prove it to us.
Now, I know some tenured professors who are outstanding scholars and humble servants of truth (how ya doin', Madman?), but on the whole, I agree with Jeff. American politicians don't have lifetime job security (except, perhaps, the Sage of Chappaquiddick, the Duke of Dipsomania), yet many of those who most stridently seek to "hold them accountable" are precisely those who are, for all practical purposes, accountable to little more than their own well-insulated sensibilities.
(Anyway, be sure to read Jeff's comments and check out the links he provides.)
posted by Kate Marie | 2:19 PM | Permalink
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2 comments
2 Comments:
Y'all might enjoy reading Ann Coulter's column, SITTING BULL-S***.
Oh, here's another good academia article, though it isn't about Ward: Anti-intellectualism among the academic elite by Walter E. Williams. This is about the Summers flap and you get to play "guess whether Professor Hopkins would barf."
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