JiscMail Logo
Email discussion lists for the UK Education and Research communities

Help for CRISIS-FORUM Archives


CRISIS-FORUM Archives

CRISIS-FORUM Archives


CRISIS-FORUM@JISCMAIL.AC.UK


View:

Message:

[

First

|

Previous

|

Next

|

Last

]

By Topic:

[

First

|

Previous

|

Next

|

Last

]

By Author:

[

First

|

Previous

|

Next

|

Last

]

Font:

Proportional Font

LISTSERV Archives

LISTSERV Archives

CRISIS-FORUM Home

CRISIS-FORUM Home

CRISIS-FORUM  August 2008

CRISIS-FORUM August 2008

Options

Subscribe or Unsubscribe

Subscribe or Unsubscribe

Log In

Log In

Get Password

Get Password

Subject:

Howard Zinn interview: 'The Citizens Among Us. Science, The Public, and Social Change'

From:

"Cromwell D." <[log in to unmask]>

Reply-To:

Cromwell D.

Date:

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 18:49:53 +0100

Content-Type:

text/plain

Parts/Attachments:

Parts/Attachments

text/plain (55 lines)

Excerpt below from an interview with US historian Howard Zinn by Gabriel Matthew
Schivone, 'The Citizens Among Us. Science, The Public, and Social Change',
August 29, 2008; http://www.zcommunications.org/znet/viewArticle/18617

Well worth reading in full.

David

==



GMS: Here's an interesting example from the University of Arizona, in my home
town of Tucson: There's a yearly memo proclaimed and circulated by the
president of the university (the one most recently appointed being Robert N.
Shelton) addressed to the campus community, very strictly barring all
"political activity" for university employees. It encourages UA faculty and
staff not to engage at all in political activity while on "university time"
or with "university resources," but rather to do be political if they so
wish-"on their own time." Now, although it is explicitly stated the
memorandum is enforced to protect state funding and the outcome of
elections, one of the implications is that, in order to be effectively
objective in their scientific professions, and to be good scholars, there
must be a calling for disinterested scholarship in the face or shadow of
political matters.

HZ: This is the president of the University of Arizona?

GMS: Yeah.

HZ: Yeah, well, this just shows how little wisdom you need to become the
president of a university. Obviously this president has no understanding of
the fact that neutrality is impossible, that objectivity is a myth. All
intellectual work has a moral component and works either on behalf of the
human race or against it. And, in fact, to claim neutrality and to
dissociate yourself from participation in the world of ideas and the
ideological and real conflicts in the world is really to permit the world to
go on as it was. In other words, to refuse to intervene-to refuse to use
your energy, your talent, your knowledge for the betterment of the human
race-means that you are allowing those people who have been in charge of
policy to continue in their ways. It means that they can go in their ways
unimpeded. They can do whatever they want because, essentially, you have
withdrawn an enormous number of people who have potential power-brain power,
political power-you've withdrawn them from the political arena. And you've
left the field to the so-called "experts"-who are not experts at all-and
whose continued dominance is actually a danger to the human race.
It is ironic that the university, which provides itself on its intellectual
superiority, should discourage faculty and students from using their
knowledge and their analytical abilities, their moral judgment to
participate in the social struggles outside the university. In other words,
the university then becomes the servant of the dominant powers in society,
who prefer that knowledge be used only to maintain the status quo, to train
young people to take their obedient places in the existing society rather
than challenging the people in power.

Top of Message | Previous Page | Permalink

JiscMail Tools


RSS Feeds and Sharing


Advanced Options


Archives

September 2022
May 2018
January 2018
September 2016
May 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
September 2015
August 2015
May 2015
March 2015
December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
March 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
November 2013
October 2013
September 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
September 2012
August 2012
July 2012
June 2012
May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011
December 2010
November 2010
October 2010
September 2010
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
May 2005
April 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
December 2004
November 2004
October 2004
July 2004


JiscMail is a Jisc service.

View our service policies at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/policyandsecurity/ and Jisc's privacy policy at https://www.jisc.ac.uk/website/privacy-notice

For help and support help@jisc.ac.uk

Secured by F-Secure Anti-Virus CataList Email List Search Powered by the LISTSERV Email List Manager