"Well argued and documented, Politics and Scholarship is a fascinating reading of a broader historical perspective of feminist concerns than just the three journals of focus: Feminist Studies, Frontiers, and Signs. The author's historical framework establishes an important overview that should have greater visibility." -- J'nana Morse Sellery, coauthor of Elizabeth Bowen: A Bibliography
Conservative and liberal commentators alike have long argued that social bias exists in American higher education. Yet those arguments have largely lacked much supporting evidence. In this first systematic attempt to substantiate social bias in higher education, George Yancey embarks on a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the social biases and attitudes of faculties in American universities--surveying professors in disciplines from political science to experimental biology and then examining the blogs of 42 sociology professors. In so doing, Yancey finds that politically--and, even more so, religiously--conservative academics are at a distinct disadvantage in our institutions of learning, threatening the free exchange of ideas to which our institutions aspire and leaving many scientific inquiries unexplored.
Between Scholarship and Church Politics describes the life and career of John Prideaux, rector of Exeter College, Oxford, 1612-1642, regius professor of divinity, 1615-1642, and bishop of Worcester, 1641-1646. Prideaux was the leading representative of the 'old guard' in the Church of England - Calvinist believers in the doctrines of grace and predestination, who set themselves against the growing power of the Arminian modernisers within the Church, largely the followers of Archbishop Laud. But Prideaux was also an outstandingly successful head of his Oxford college and made it a home for foreign scholars and students. Devoted to teaching, the writers of numerous books for undergraduates and theology students, and thoroughly involved in his College's everyday affairs, he was a model rector. In this study, John Maddicott addresses at length both with Prideaux's political and ecclesiastical career and his role in the College, while also paying particular attention to his personality, his family life (he was twice married and had nine children), and to his wide circle of relatives, colleagues, and allies. Born the son of a Devonshire yeoman and brought up on a farm on the edge of Dartmoor, he rose to occupy some of the highest offices in the university of Oxford and in the church: a result of his intellectual power, his ambition, his learning and scholarship, and his capacity for hard work. Between Scholarship and Church Politics is as much a study of character as a contribution to the political and church history of early Stuart England.
"This book is both a comprehensive review and a thoughtful critique of the development of political science as an academic discipline in this century. David Ricci eloquently describes the tragic dilemma of political science in America: when political scholars deal with politics in a scientific fashion, they reveal facts that contradict democratic expectations; when the same scholars seek to justify those expectations, their moral arguments carry little professional weight."--Jacket.
"This study concentrates on the politics of history-writing, offering a nuanced account of how historical thinking and the discipline of history began to assume importance in colonial and independent India. Along with discussions of the role of historians in the dispute over the now-destroyed Babri Masjid and the so-called 'saffronization' of history textbooks, the book also engages with Subaltern Studies, and provides insights into iconic debates over Shivaji, Aurangzeb, beef-eating, and the relationship between history and the nation state." "With a new Postscript that takes into account recent developments, this highly readable account of the rise of history will appeal to students and scholars of postcolonial and culture studies, historians, social scientists, and informed general readers interested in the role of history in the public domain."--BOOK JACKET.
Almost nowhere are politics and history so intimately bound up as in Ireland. Over the course of several hundred years rival political and religious camps have shaped their identities according to particular interpretations of their shared history. As such, any re-examination and revision of Irish history has the potential to have a very real impact upon wider society. Defining revisionism in historiography as a reaction to contemporary conflict in Ireland, this book looks at how intellectuals, scholars and those who were politically involved, have reacted to a crisis of violence. It explores how they believed that revisionism in historiography was necessary - that a deconstruction, re-evaluation, and revision of ideology and therefore history was crucial in such a crisis of violence. This at times provocative approach seeks to better understand, clarify and de-mystify the ongoing revisionist debate in Ireland, through a critique and exposition of the theory of change and the process and product of change. Perry argues that revisionism should not be seen as solely a neutral form of academic or intellectual discourse, but one that is fundamentally linked to politics at the widest possible level; that revisionist assumptions underpin the validity and legitimacy of partition and the Northern Ireland state; that revisionism is widely judged to be anti-nationalist and pro-unionist; and that it is myopic with regard to the shortcomings of loyalism and unionism and has therefore a related ideological effect, if not intended purpose.
Scholars in many fields increasingly find themselves caught between the academy, with its demands for rigor and objectivity, and direct engagement in social activism. Some advocate on behalf of the communities they study; others incorporate the knowledge and leadership of their informants directly into the process of knowledge production. What ethical, political, and practical tensions arise in the course of such work? In this wide-ranging and multidisciplinary volume, leading scholar-activists map the terrain on which political engagement and academic rigor meet. Contributors: Ruth Wilson Gilmore, Edmund T. Gordon, Davydd Greenwood, Joy James, Peter Nien-chu Kiang, George Lipsitz, Samuel Martínez, Jennifer Bickham Mendez, Dani Nabudere, Jessica Gordon Nembhard, Jemima Pierre, Laura Pulido, Shannon Speed, Shirley Suet-ling Tang, João Vargas
Although democracy is a widely held value, concrete measurement of it is elusive. Gerardo L. Munck’s constructive assessment of the methods used to measure democracies promises to bring order to the debate in academia and in practice. Drawing on his years of academic research on democracy and measurement and his practical experience evaluating democratic practices for the United Nations and the Organization of American States, Munck's discussion bridges the theories of academia with practical applications. In proposing a more open and collaborative relationship between theory and action, he makes the case for reassessing how democracy is measured and encourages fundamental changes in methodology. Munck’s field-tested framework for quantifying and qualifying democracy is built around two instruments he developed: the UN Development Programme’s Electoral Democracy Index and a case-by-case election monitoring tool used by the OAS. Measuring Democracy offers specific, real-world lessons that scholars and practitioners can use to improve the quality and utility of data about democracy.
The subject of the politics of knowledge production is as old as knowledge itself and remains hotly contested, especially among scholars. Among others, Mokoko Sebola, Tawanda Nyawasha and Molefi Asante have recently made controversial contributions on this subject in relation to Africa in general and South Africa in particular. In this book the author draws from an Afrocentric paradigm to present an alternative and refreshing perspective on the politics of higher education, scholarship and ethics in Africa. While the book draws heavily from the South African experience, it also offers lessons for Africa, the black world and the global south. It begins with an extended critique of Sebola's contribution on the subject and then synthesizes his views with the Nyawasha-Asante debate on the same subject. While the book's point of departure is to draw attention to the limitations of the works of the aforementioned scholars; it raises the discourse by switching from an individual to systems level of analysis. __________________________________________ Kgothatso B. Shai is an Associate Professor and Head of Cultural & Political Studies at the University of Limpopo in South Africa. He was educated at the Universities of Venda and Limpopo, South Africa, where he received a PhD in International Politics. He has published widely in many peer-reviewed national and international journals. His special research interest is on Afrocentric and protest scholarship.
In the first comprehensive scholarly treatment of dependency theory, Robert Packenham describes its origins, substantive claims, and methods. He analyzes the movement comparatively and sociologically as a significant episode in inter-American and North-South cultural relations. In his account, the positive intellectual contributions of dependency ideas, as well as their role in the costly politicization of U.S. scholarship, become evident and comprehensible.
