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positivity
Oct. 12th, 2009 10:53 amI think this column is worth reading. A good reminder to all of us:
http://www.seattlepi.com/hax/410740_hax1008.html
http://www.seattlepi.com/hax/410740_hax1008.html
There you go, the essence of research, is figuring out what questions a sponsor might ask about what you did, and making damned sure you could answer them during a presentation.
I have been reading and thinking about the place that academia holds in society recently. I haven't attached many articles in this forum, but i thought some of you might find the following discussion interesting:
http://fish.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/are-academics-different/#comment-60957
This article questions the existence and extent of Academic Freedom. Tied up in this discussion is the question of whether academics should be guaranteed some rights not guaranteed to, well, everyone else. It is an interesting thing to consider, and i probably also like this author's slant, as well.
Recently i have also read articles questioning how much commercialization is too much for our academic structure to bear? (Is it bad that so much funding comes from interested profit-seeking parties?) And how does the commercialization affect the relative emphases placed on engineering or the humanities? Is the decline in support for non-profitable humanities research a harbinger of the eventual decline of the academic system altogether? If it is, is that bad?
Another question i have seen posed recently is whether performing as an academic has merit in the broader society? Should one feel respected for their place in the collegiate elite? Or should one worry about their lack of contribution to the more pragmatic areas of society? One argument for academic freedom supposes that academics support the development of society in a broader sense, and should then be afforded a special amount of freedom to support their unique contributions. But a more egalitarian view recognizes that a variety of jobs are necessary in society, and that academics are no more or less important than any profession.
I have some opinions about this, as you may imagine. Suffice it to say that i think that academia is not magic, but it is respectable. I'd be interested in hearing what other folks think.
http://fish.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/are-academics-different/#comment-60957
This article questions the existence and extent of Academic Freedom. Tied up in this discussion is the question of whether academics should be guaranteed some rights not guaranteed to, well, everyone else. It is an interesting thing to consider, and i probably also like this author's slant, as well.
Recently i have also read articles questioning how much commercialization is too much for our academic structure to bear? (Is it bad that so much funding comes from interested profit-seeking parties?) And how does the commercialization affect the relative emphases placed on engineering or the humanities? Is the decline in support for non-profitable humanities research a harbinger of the eventual decline of the academic system altogether? If it is, is that bad?
Another question i have seen posed recently is whether performing as an academic has merit in the broader society? Should one feel respected for their place in the collegiate elite? Or should one worry about their lack of contribution to the more pragmatic areas of society? One argument for academic freedom supposes that academics support the development of society in a broader sense, and should then be afforded a special amount of freedom to support their unique contributions. But a more egalitarian view recognizes that a variety of jobs are necessary in society, and that academics are no more or less important than any profession.
I have some opinions about this, as you may imagine. Suffice it to say that i think that academia is not magic, but it is respectable. I'd be interested in hearing what other folks think.
