Our physics colour commentator wrote recently to advise us of the deprofessionalization of academy
From Rob Sheldon, noting an article at Quillette:
Over twelve years, I have watched with increasing dismay and incredulity as academic integrity, fairness, and intellectual rigor have been eroded, with the implicit endorsement of administration and faculty alike. I have witnessed the de-professionalization of the professoriate—hiring policies based on tokenized identity politics and cronyism, the increasing intellectual and ideological conformity expected from faculty and students, and the subsequent curtailment of academic freedom.
Just to be clear, most of my faculty colleagues are well-educated, bright, and dedicated teachers. Some are also worthy scholars or creative authors. Yet, in addition to cronyism, the program’s hiring practices have been significantly compromised, especially as a result of the premium that the university has recently placed on “diversity.” More.
Sheldon thinks this is a very serious academic issue. Of course it is, if you think academics is about ideas rather than about forcing working stiffs to pay taxes to listen to you holler.
But the real discussion the one that is only now getting started, is: How do we get past the university? How do we arrive at a system that rewards actual achievement rather than filling in blanks?
See also: The war on intellectual freedom How political correctness morphed into a monster.
The war on freedom is rotting our intellectual life In a world governed by naturalism, power is its own justification. That is the single hardest thing for opponents of rampant political correctness to grasp.
When professors stifle freedom of thought These protest movements are not 1960s retro; they are a flat-out war on reality, conducted by seasoned veterans with a lot at stake.
and
Don’t expect a quick end to the war on free speech The momentum of the campaign will be hard to stop
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