Most of the great breakthroughs in
science, math, and philosophy haven’t been readily accepted by mainstream
society, even though the scholars that presented these iconic ideas are lauded
for their genius today. Academia, at many times in history, has been the refuge
of those who are willing to think outside the box and come to conclusions about
the world and our place in it that may be hard for people to stomach. Yet
increasingly, this radical element of academia is falling by the wayside,
leaving many wondering why academia just isn’t as edgy as it once was.
While there are
still some radical academics out there, they’re becoming increasingly few and
far between. Mainstream media, funding issues, controls on academic freedom,
and even the university structure
itself all have a role to play in the decline of radical academia. Read on to
learn more and why, for better or worse, academics of today are a much better-behaved
group than those in the past.
Even at times when
universities should be exposing controversial things happening on campus (a
recent incident at Penn State comes to mind), they push them under the rug for
fear of garnering bad PR. Think it’s uncommon? A study conducted in 2009 found that
many colleges were covering up the number of rapes on campus by pressuring
victims or failing to prosecute. If schools are willing to cover up a serious
issue like rape to save face, it’s no surprise that they have little tolerance
for radical academics who could potentially enrage parents, students, and
donors and hurt the school’s image (which they’ve spent millions carefully
creating).
Professors with edgy
or controversial ideas won’t find acceptance at every college out there. In
fact, many are afraid to share their ideas, despite supposed guarantees about
academic freedom, because they know it could lead to their termination. Even professors
who don’t end up fired could be put on lists like those compiled be the
American Council of Trustees and Alumni that found even fairly innocuous
statements by professors in the wake of 9/11 to be radical and unacceptable.
(One professor made the list for saying, "If Osama bin-Laden is confirmed
to be behind the attacks, the U.S. should bring him before an international
tribunal." Shocking!)
Can students still
learn a great deal in college if they want to? Sure. But the majority of
college education systems simply aren’t set up that way anymore. Most students
attend college with the goal of using their diploma to get a job after
graduation, not because they simply want to expand their minds. In fact, some
have suggested that less-marketable majors not even be funded by colleges or be
removed altogether in favor of programs in more high-demand fields. This has
created an environment that’s pretty hostile to radical ideas, something many
academics have noticed and are reacting against, from railing against
the Ph.D. system to breaking out of traditional classroom settings.
Radical has become a
dirty word in today’s society. You’re more likely to think of terrorists than
groundbreaking scientists when you hear the word. Yet radical comes from the
Latin meaning "of or having roots" or "going from the origin"
and essentially means changing something from the roots of where it came from.
This is an essential part of progressing intellectual thought, but these days,
most professors wouldn’t shout proudly that they were radicals or had radical
ideas.
Getting a job in
academia is hard, much harder, in fact, than many Ph.D. students realize.
Because of that, many professors are driven pretty hard to get tenure and give
their positions at a school some security. Sadly, radical ideas, however
brilliant they may be, aren’t often the best path to tenure. In a paper
published in 1998, Professor Paul Cantor stated that tenure is actually a very
effective way of controlling "radical" professors, stating
"…under current circumstances by far the most likely outcome of abolishing
tenure would be to increase radicalism of the academic community in the United
States." Simply put, if professors want to get tenure, they have to behave
and many are more than willing to do so rather than chance losing their jobs
and years of hard work and study.
The economic
downturn hasn’t left academia unscathed. Research funding is hard to come by,
and competition may be fierce for some of the larger awards. Unfortunately,
radical ideas, which may be sometimes uncomfortable for universities and
research partners to handle, though they may lead to breakthroughs in
understanding, are the least likely to see funding. In an age where
"publish or perish" is the modus operandi of academic faculty, this
lack of funding can be devastating.
Generally, Americans
like to think of their country as a place where people have the freedom to
speak their minds and that schools are places where a wide range of ideas can
be taught and explored. Generally that’s true, but not always. Many professors
have brought claims against universities for trampling on their academic
freedom after they were censured or fired for actions that should have been
well within their rights. At SCAD, two professors were let go for encouraging
students to demonstrate on campus. InTexas,
one reporter found that professors were being censored when they attempted to
talk about research that supported climate change. Others have been fired for
making comments or writing papers that offended powerful alumni or government
representatives.
Colleges these days
are very careful not to anger parents or students when it comes to what’s
taught in a classroom. Even when students sign up for courses on potentially
controversial topics like queer studies or human sexuality, they can come away
offended by the subject matter. A few calls by concerned parents later, and a
professor could see him or herself in pretty hot water and having to radically
change the curriculum or teaching methods in order to please parents and
students. It would be difficult to teach a radical course that didn’t offend someone,
so many professors just skip the hassle and toe the line when it comes to
pleasing the university.
Ever clicked on an
article about scientific research that promised something revolutionary but didn’t
deliver? The media plays a big role in deciding what’s news when it comes to
academia and can influence public opinion quite strongly in determining what’s
radical and what’s not in academia. People who know little about an experiment
may become outraged over it if it isn’t presented in the best light in the
media or if salacious elements are played up (and aren’t they always?), giving
news outlets incredible power over what research may get funding or which
professors may be censured by their universities.
While some would
have you believe that there are numerous crazy radical professors out there
swaying the minds of young students, the reality is that most aren’t that
radical at all. Why not? It simply doesn’t pay. Not when it comes to research,
career longevity, publishing, or tenure. In today’s academic climate, there
simply isn’t much to motivate professors and researchers to push too far
outside of mainstream thought. Of course, there never has been, and many a
radical thinker, like Galileo, faced much more than the loss of a job over
their ideas.
Contacts and sources:
Kaitlyn Cole
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