That seems an astonishingly candid piece for the Times. Jonathan Haidt — a “longtime liberal turned centrist” — presents his findings at an academic conference on the lack of conservatives, and “non-liberals” more generally, in academia. His provocative (for academia, of course) conclusion? There “is a statistically impossible lack of diversity.”
And in case that’s not enough to whet your appetite, try this:
Dr. Haidt (pronounced height) told the audience that he had been corresponding with a couple of non-liberal graduate students in social psychology whose experiences reminded him of closeted gay students in the 1980s.
Read the article here.
Actually, there is a BIG difference between being a non-lib grad student in social psychology, and a closeted gay man of the 1980s.
Some gay men are rather good-looking, can dance well, and can easily get dates with chicks. Just listen to* the young women who want to enter the professional performing arts in a place like San Francisco, and hear them complain that the charming guys turn out to be gay. In any case, gay men generally don't dislike the company of women. If such a guy starts in the closet then later comes out, some gals will be disappointed.
Now consider a good-looking non-lib male grad student in social psychology. Would he want to date fem-lib chicks who are going to prattle on about the patriarchy, colonialism, equity, and all that for the whole evening? I should think not. But if he starts the evening with his mouth shut, then blurts out, "I read National Review!" he's likely to get insulted.
* I am not making that up. Heard it twice in SF.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI should think not either. But would that good-looking non-lib male grad student want to date con chicks who are going to prattle on about Obama's birth certificate, Sarah Palin's intellectual prowess, or the notion that we live in a "pure" meritocracy? I think not.
Unlike softer fields like women's studies or (often) sociology, social psychologists base their knowledge through the scientific method and experiments. Haidt argues that social psychologists have been looking for facts that support liberal positions, while suppressing potential academics who would look for facts that support conservative positions. I would add on and say this is a much more problematic issue for more applied areas of study (e.g., political psychology, diversity issues) than more basic areas (e.g., emotions, social cognition).
-- A non-lib male grad student in social psychology (and reads National Review)
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseNow what we need is for the same realization to hit education. Specifically, if you don't toe the line when it comes to not enforcing enforcing discipline (horrors!), you'll find yourself fired -- as I did.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWere there closeted gay students in the '80's? I'm sure there are always some, but there certainly were plenty more who were out 'n' proud. The culture bosses had already spoken. Maybe he means the '50's.
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