Classism: the big invisible ism
One
of the university’s aims—if increasingly crowded out by others—is the
discovery and dissemination of knowledge. If this alone were the goal,
admissions might be based solely on academic promise, which grades and
test scores reflect in a limited and imperfect way. But this is not the
only mission. To many, universities today are “supposed to be the
engines of social mobility and the gateways to dreams,” as New York
Times columnist Frank Bruni colorfully puts it. This suggests
universities should consider who would benefit most from admission. More
prosaically, many universities manage several semiprofessional sports
teams, for which they must recruit, necessitating a preference for
athletes. And prestigious universities, in particular, have historically
been finishing schools for the hereditary elite, a role that introduces
criteria that favor the wealthy and powerful. This last role is
distasteful to many, but it is hard to deny that it figures in elite
admissions decision-making.
These roles can be complementary, but
they are often in tension. The elite status that powers the “engine” of
social mobility for the select few is in part a consequence of academic
excellence. But it is also, in larger part, the result of networking
with privileged young people who already enjoy the benefits of wealth
and family connections. The effect of this preprofessional social
networking—the chance to rub shoulders with and learn the habits,
customs, and social mores of people whose success is guaranteed by their
inheritance and their parentage—is powerful.
think
absolute power depends on absolute control over knowledge, which in turn necessitates absolute corruption
Popular posts from this blog
Elles Houwelingon, January 21, 2019, New Historian Everyone has heard shocking stories about the transatlantic slave trade, but this was hardly the only type of slavery in which Europeans were engaged. The Pacific slave trade involved the forceful enslavement of Pacific islanders from the mid 19thcentury to the 20thcentury. This particular type of slavery is often referred to as “blackbirding”. The primary focus of “blackbirding” was to supply cheap labor to sugar-cane plantations on Pacific plantations, particularly in Queensland, Fiji, New Caledonia, and the Samoan Islands. This was mainly achieved through trickery and kidnapping. They were frequently deceived about the length of time for which they were “contracted” and the nature of their “contract”. If all this failed, the islanders were simply loaded onto slave ships at gunpoint. The captured islanders were collectively known as Kanakas, which means Person or Man in Hawaiian. These workers were essentially t
The truth about Jackson’s savagery was just as disturbing as the fake news. After a particularly bloody battle in 1814, Andrew Jackson’s men counted the dead Indians by cutting off their noses. They collected 557 noses. and... (this comment) Jackson ran an ad in the Nashville Gazette, in October, 1804, for the capture of a runaway slave, which stated that in addition to the reward, he would pay an extra $10 per 100 lashes (up to 300), to anyone who willing to inflict them upon his miscreant property. He was known to hold a vengeful lifetime grudge against anyone whom he felt had slighted him, regardless of how minor the supposed offense. His betrayal the Choctow tribe, whom he persuaded to become American allies over the British during the war of 1812, culminated in the “Indian Removal Act” (Trail of Tears), of which he took personal responsiblity to see implemented, resulted in the death of thousands of men, women and children. It’s no surprise that the current occupant of the Wh
Daniel H. Wilson, PhD (Cherokee), is the author of several books, including the New York Times bestseller Robopocalypse and the forthcoming The Andromeda Evolution The Truth Is Out There Writing truthfully is an act of bravery. It takes courage to put words into the world, knowing they will be judged and you along with them. The more truth there is to a story, the more powerful it is, and the more vulnerable the one who wrote it. I am proud that every piece collected here represents a facet of truth, contributed by a group of writers who each are unique, talented, and courageous. Some of the stories in this issue of TCJ Student paint pictures of fleeting moments of melancholy or happiness, while others capture the span of years that it takes trees to root. Some turn outward into the world to thrill with whip-crack snaps of violence, and others fold inward to ponder the patterns of thinking that can define a people. These stories are fascinating and touching, and the
Comments