Why are professors liberal and why do conservatives care? / Neil Gross.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gross, Neil, 1971-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

College teachers--Political activity--United States.

College teachers.

Liberalism--United States.

Liberalism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (416 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, 2013.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Some observers see American academia as a bastion of leftist groupthink that indoctrinates students and silences conservative voices. Others see a protected enclave that naturally produces free-thinking, progressive intellectuals. Both views are self-serving, says Neil Gross, but neither is correct. Why Are Professors Liberal and Why Do Conservatives Care? explains how academic liberalism became a self-reproducing phenomenon, and why Americans on both the left and right should take notice. Academia employs a higher percentage of liberals than nearly any other profession. But the usual explanations-hiring bias against conservatives, correlations of liberal ideology with high intelligence-do not hold up to scrutiny. Drawing on a range of original research, statistics, and interviews, Gross argues that "political typing" plays an overlooked role in shaping academic liberalism. For historical reasons, the professoriate developed a reputation for liberal politics early in the twentieth century. As this perception spread, it exerted a self-selecting influence on bright young liberals, while deterring equally promising conservatives. Most professors' political views formed well before they stepped behind the lectern for the first time. Why Are Professors Liberal and Why Do Conservatives Care? shows how studying the political sympathies of professors and their critics can shed light not only on academic life but on American politics, where the modern conservative movement was built in no small part around opposition to the "liberal elite" in higher education. This divide between academic liberals and nonacademic conservatives makes accord on issues as diverse as climate change, immigration, and foreign policy more difficult.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1. The Politics of American Professors

Chapter 2. Why Are They Liberal? The Standard Explanations

Chapter 3. Political Self-Selection and the Academic Profession

Chapter 4. Political Differences among Professors

Chapter 5. The Knowledge- Politics Problem

Chapter 6. The Campaign against "Liberal Bias"

Chapter 7. Why Conservatives Care

Conclusion

Notes

Acknowledgments

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780674074514

0674074513

9780674074484

0674074483

OCLC:

836206009