tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7907752.post109708324410648286..comments2024-03-27T07:18:39.229-05:00Comments on In Medias Res: What Class is Academia?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7907752.post-1097149307222243062004-10-07T06:41:00.000-05:002004-10-07T06:41:00.000-05:00Laura, what a great anecdote. Yes, it is good to b...Laura, what a great anecdote. Yes, it is good to be middle-class, and academia was (and still is, for many (but fewer all the time)) a great way to achieve that lifestyle, not the least reason for which being all the other upper-class perks (psychological, social, and otherwise) which came along with it. Were academics "poorly paid" with "few opportunities" before the boom in the 1960s? Maybe, relatively speaking--but then, as Berman's point implies, before the 1960s somebody who wasn't <I>already</I> a member of some sort of elite--whether in terms of family or finances or both--probably would never have <I>tried</I> to give academia a whirl. The guild sensibility was still in place then.<br /><br />Jonathan, I'm glad you found the post. If we could find the time to argue about it some, I suspect we'd actually agree on even more than you suggest. Like being a "parasite." Of course the exploitation primarily runs the other way in today's academy; that's part of my point. I'm just referring to how the lived reality rarely matches up with the detachted, intellectual, internally-policied (faculty evaluations, publications, etc.), unsullied-by-raw-market-forces ideal which most of us (or me, at least) had inculcated into us, and by which most non-academics continue to judge the profession (and those trying to get into it). <br /><br /><A></A><A></A>Posted by<A><B> </B></A><A HREF="http://www.blogger.com/r?http%3A%2F%2Finmedias.blogspot.com" TITLE="rfox at astate dot edu">Russell Arben Fox</A>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7907752.post-1097116417831842872004-10-06T21:33:00.000-05:002004-10-06T21:33:00.000-05:00Russell, you responded to my post! I'm touched.
Yo...Russell, you responded to my post! I'm touched.<br />You called me venomous! I'm also touched, I think. I was aiming for 'fervent' rather than 'venomous,' but I won't quibble.<br /><br />I think we end up agreeing on the practical application (we're poor! sign up for WIC!), and on many of the points along the way, but I disagree on some others. Responding adquately will take too long for this evening, and maybe for this semester as well, so here are a few random thoughts for now.<br /><br />I don't feel like a parasite. Since I'm a full-time adjunct with a semester to semester contract and no benefits, I feel like the exploitation works the other way in my employment relationship. <br /><br />I never noticed the animosity you mentioned in grad school. Maybe I was just naive. It was difficult enough getting by on a combination of fellowship and assistantship money that I figured whatever anyone else could reel in to pay for grad school was probably justified.<br /><br />You already know what happened to the medieval guilds, right? They kept raising the requirements for junior members to become independent craftsmen in order to minimize competition with the sernior members.<br /><br />That's it for now; it's past my bedtime. <br /><br /><A></A><A></A>Posted by<A><B> </B></A><A HREF="http://www.blogger.com/r?http%3A%2F%2Finmedias.blogspot.com%2F2004%2F10%2Fwhat-class-is-academia.html" TITLE="greenj at cofc dot edu">Jonathan Green</A>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7907752.post-1097113145358993172004-10-06T20:39:00.000-05:002004-10-06T20:39:00.000-05:00A few years ago, I was talking with Marshall Berma...A few years ago, I was talking with Marshall Berman about what a bad spot Steve and I were in. At that time, we were on WIC, struggling with the dissertations, and living in a crappy apartment in the city. We had no hope of finding jobs in the city. We had just sailed two Mercedes Benzs off a cliff. <br /><br />He sighed and said, "Laura, your dad and I got in at the good time in the '60s. Before that, academia was poorly paid and had few opportunities. The 60s was the one time in history when a guy from a working class backround, like your dad and myself, could become middle class by being an academic. That window has closed."<br /><br />yes, maybe it's ironic that an old Marxist would understand how good it is to be middle class, but Marshall got it.  <br /><br /><A></A><A></A>Posted by<A><B> </B></A><A HREF="http://www.blogger.com/r?11d.typepad.com" TITLE="Lauram1111 at aol dot com">Laura</A>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com