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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (5716)	8/23/2003 1:53:00 AM
From: D. Long	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 793639

The thing is Bill, the Ivies don't do practical scientists. They do theorists. As a doctor friend of mine once said, a guy who graduates from Harvard Medical School doesn't do stitches. He writes books. Derek

To: LindyBill who wrote (5716)	8/24/2003 12:08:25 PM
From: JohnM	Respond to of 793639

To the extent that the Government underwrites students, they should put the subsidy on the technical side. I'm afraid that's already happening to an alarming extent so far as faculty are concerned. The grant getting process, which is so critical both to faculty careers and to funding for higher ed, has, for a very long time, been tipped way over to what you are calling the technical side. It's been a struggle in fields like economics, political science, sociology, and psychology to keep a humanistic approach around. One has to run very hard; have very sympathetic deans and provosts to keep up. It's yet one more way in which Traub misunderstands what's happening in higher education for him to picture the issue that way. Summers, for all his contrarian smarts, is simply going with the flow on that issue. It's where the money is. Also, back to Traub's article. I can't find it easily right now but I recall he note the rational actor theory debate in political science at Harvard. As I recall, they don't have a "political science" department. It's a "government" department. And, also, if I recall correctly, that name is very important to the faculty members. If it hasn't been changed in recent years, then Traub either betrays his ignorance or his position in the curricular/ideological struggle in higher ed.