Great advice for junior and not-so-junior faculty of any political stripes of how to be effective, successful, and true to yourself. And enjoy your academic job while at it.
Excellent comments. The moment I got my engineering degree from McGill in 1988 I ran away from university as fast as I could (even though I loved my time there, it held no future for me). I got into the engineering industry and never looked back.
And the academy has only gotten worse FFS.
All your five points for survival are solid, and especially the last one. Always be networking, this provides options for a whole variety of potential futures.
Thank you. This strikes me as good advice for anyone with somewhat heterodox views on various issues in academia, not just folks who identify as conservative.
It's funny. I used to think of myself as a flaming liberal until my colleagues rebranded me as a climate and holocaust denier, racist, transphobe, Islamophobe, and more recently facist. I know who I am so the name calling does not bother me, but they do ensure that I am not invited to the "good parties," and that my true friends have to defend themselves for still being my friend.
This advice is great as far as it goes. The reality, however, is that such actions still only work in departments and institutions that have some degree of academic integrity. That sadly is not the case in much of academia. You can waste your time doing all these things for years and still be denied the opportunity to succeed. Sadly, even fair minded colleagues will not step up and help you if it puts them at risk, as doing so likely would. So...based on my own experience following this approach...it is not a solution the underlying problem. Indeed, doing all these things actually incentivizes them to sabotage your ability to go elsewhere as they see you as a dangerous virus needing to be exterminated. Unless those on the Left engaging in such conduct pay a price for their behavior, they will NOT change and let you succeed. If they are going to destroy your career you should repay the favor and do as much damage to the reputation of the department, program and university as possible so that they think twice about doing the same thing to the next person.
Excellent advice, although I found it to be a lot more fun to let people assume I was as liberal as they are but still put forward arguments based on conservative principles. Once they agreed with me (usually the case, since conservatism has common sense in greater abundance), I would, on occasion, reveal that they were conservatives after all! Watching them try to backtrack was highly entertaining.
Great advice. I'd enjoy seeing a true face off of conservative vs progressive ideals in a historical context. History favors regressive movements so I think conservatives win!
Hi Craig, I am currently in a civics institute at FSU. However, most of the experiences I discuss in the piece were during my time in a college of education where I was tenured and served as department chair.
Here at ASU a College Fix survey showed that the number of conservatives is more like 3%. My college just vote to make land acknowledgments official and permanent in every faculty meeting. They been “decolonizing” our curriculum for the last six years. One thing about picking your battles is that if you say nothing pretty soon you are so underwater that saying something doesn’t really help. So that addition Id make is: go public. You don’t even have to critique (but you can). Just show the public what is going on. The general public does not like its state universities being used for partisan politics.
This is fairly good advice, for academia. However, if one wants to do big things, then this is not near enough.
Jordan Peterson has made an attempt to create competition in academia. If he manages to recover and live, it might have an impact. But it is also possible that this effort will fail.
I am considering something bigger, somewhat like James Simons.
The system is badly broken. And sometimes, to make an omelette, one has to break a few eggs. I might very well fail of course, but with enough leverage, a lot of things become possible.
Consider Elon Musk for example. What if he set about reforming the system instead of reaching for Mars?
Simons saw some of the ugliness in the current system, but did not get caught in the gears. He was old enough that the system was still semi-functional when he was in it. Musk did not go far enough in the current system to understand what is wrong. His early mentor and collaborator Thiel has had discussions with people in the system, and knows some of its failings, but not anywhere close to all of them. Wolfram saw some of the problems but got out too soon to really deeply understand the flaws.
I have interacted with some of these characters. I also have been "fortunate" enough to observe some truly horrific features of the current systems. I have examined it from many different perspectives, over the course of decades. I have watched previously illustrious productive institutions collapse and become nonfunctional, mere shadows of their former selves; several of them.
I am disgusted with what I have discovered. So, perhaps this is my calling. We will see.
Peterson has amazing contempt for academia which I think serves well the whole aspect of current conservative thinking on an ill informed electorate. That's the obvious path forward to victory!
If you do not have contempt for academia, then you have not been paying attention. Or you are in favor of the present state of affairs. So, you have revealed yourself. Nice.
As someone who has had faculty and non-faculty roles in academia, I would add (leaning into the non-faculty part of things) "be a problem solver" to "do good work." Be valuable, even indispensable, while doing good and supportive work without drama, toxicity, or adding your opinions to every topic of the day. Respond quickly, demonstrate your willingness to help with a positive attitude, and be approachable and available.
And do this with everyone, as much as possible. Be willing to set aside personal politics to work with Trump-like people--those who might offer support, skills, or other valuable assets even if you find it hard to stomach their politics, personality, or even general behavior. Outsiders need allies.
And don't get sucked into working too closely with vipers like Hillary--those who have surface-level credentials, popular views, and the like. They watch you like a hawk, never forget or forgive, and will destroy you the first chance they get.
All of this might not get rewarded (and certainly not with the vipers), but--at the very least--it makes you less of a target for retribution or even dismissal. And you may even find you get rewarded.
Great advice for junior and not-so-junior faculty of any political stripes of how to be effective, successful, and true to yourself. And enjoy your academic job while at it.
Excellent comments. The moment I got my engineering degree from McGill in 1988 I ran away from university as fast as I could (even though I loved my time there, it held no future for me). I got into the engineering industry and never looked back.
And the academy has only gotten worse FFS.
All your five points for survival are solid, and especially the last one. Always be networking, this provides options for a whole variety of potential futures.
Thank you. This strikes me as good advice for anyone with somewhat heterodox views on various issues in academia, not just folks who identify as conservative.
Dear James,
It's funny. I used to think of myself as a flaming liberal until my colleagues rebranded me as a climate and holocaust denier, racist, transphobe, Islamophobe, and more recently facist. I know who I am so the name calling does not bother me, but they do ensure that I am not invited to the "good parties," and that my true friends have to defend themselves for still being my friend.
Thanks,
randy
You can come at my party
This advice is great as far as it goes. The reality, however, is that such actions still only work in departments and institutions that have some degree of academic integrity. That sadly is not the case in much of academia. You can waste your time doing all these things for years and still be denied the opportunity to succeed. Sadly, even fair minded colleagues will not step up and help you if it puts them at risk, as doing so likely would. So...based on my own experience following this approach...it is not a solution the underlying problem. Indeed, doing all these things actually incentivizes them to sabotage your ability to go elsewhere as they see you as a dangerous virus needing to be exterminated. Unless those on the Left engaging in such conduct pay a price for their behavior, they will NOT change and let you succeed. If they are going to destroy your career you should repay the favor and do as much damage to the reputation of the department, program and university as possible so that they think twice about doing the same thing to the next person.
Dear Dean,
What you wrote is so true.
thanks,
randy
The irony is I tried using that strategy in every position I have been in...and it NEVER worked because there was no good will from the "other" side.
I believe it knowing you and the "other" side.
I'm so down with the dismissal post makes sense to me
Excellent advice, although I found it to be a lot more fun to let people assume I was as liberal as they are but still put forward arguments based on conservative principles. Once they agreed with me (usually the case, since conservatism has common sense in greater abundance), I would, on occasion, reveal that they were conservatives after all! Watching them try to backtrack was highly entertaining.
Great advice. I'd enjoy seeing a true face off of conservative vs progressive ideals in a historical context. History favors regressive movements so I think conservatives win!
Much good advice here, but isn’t the author in a free market institute or center within the university?
Hi Craig, I am currently in a civics institute at FSU. However, most of the experiences I discuss in the piece were during my time in a college of education where I was tenured and served as department chair.
Ok, thanks. As I said, really good advice, especially play nice with others and publish!
Here at ASU a College Fix survey showed that the number of conservatives is more like 3%. My college just vote to make land acknowledgments official and permanent in every faculty meeting. They been “decolonizing” our curriculum for the last six years. One thing about picking your battles is that if you say nothing pretty soon you are so underwater that saying something doesn’t really help. So that addition Id make is: go public. You don’t even have to critique (but you can). Just show the public what is going on. The general public does not like its state universities being used for partisan politics.
This is fairly good advice, for academia. However, if one wants to do big things, then this is not near enough.
Jordan Peterson has made an attempt to create competition in academia. If he manages to recover and live, it might have an impact. But it is also possible that this effort will fail.
I am considering something bigger, somewhat like James Simons.
The system is badly broken. And sometimes, to make an omelette, one has to break a few eggs. I might very well fail of course, but with enough leverage, a lot of things become possible.
Consider Elon Musk for example. What if he set about reforming the system instead of reaching for Mars?
Simons saw some of the ugliness in the current system, but did not get caught in the gears. He was old enough that the system was still semi-functional when he was in it. Musk did not go far enough in the current system to understand what is wrong. His early mentor and collaborator Thiel has had discussions with people in the system, and knows some of its failings, but not anywhere close to all of them. Wolfram saw some of the problems but got out too soon to really deeply understand the flaws.
I have interacted with some of these characters. I also have been "fortunate" enough to observe some truly horrific features of the current systems. I have examined it from many different perspectives, over the course of decades. I have watched previously illustrious productive institutions collapse and become nonfunctional, mere shadows of their former selves; several of them.
I am disgusted with what I have discovered. So, perhaps this is my calling. We will see.
Peterson has amazing contempt for academia which I think serves well the whole aspect of current conservative thinking on an ill informed electorate. That's the obvious path forward to victory!
If you do not have contempt for academia, then you have not been paying attention. Or you are in favor of the present state of affairs. So, you have revealed yourself. Nice.
As someone who has had faculty and non-faculty roles in academia, I would add (leaning into the non-faculty part of things) "be a problem solver" to "do good work." Be valuable, even indispensable, while doing good and supportive work without drama, toxicity, or adding your opinions to every topic of the day. Respond quickly, demonstrate your willingness to help with a positive attitude, and be approachable and available.
And do this with everyone, as much as possible. Be willing to set aside personal politics to work with Trump-like people--those who might offer support, skills, or other valuable assets even if you find it hard to stomach their politics, personality, or even general behavior. Outsiders need allies.
And don't get sucked into working too closely with vipers like Hillary--those who have surface-level credentials, popular views, and the like. They watch you like a hawk, never forget or forgive, and will destroy you the first chance they get.
All of this might not get rewarded (and certainly not with the vipers), but--at the very least--it makes you less of a target for retribution or even dismissal. And you may even find you get rewarded.
I could not agree more. Less intentional understanding and more limbic reaction to popular media
This is good advice in solidly red states. I'm not sure it would work very well elsewhere.
Good advice.
I was a bit surprised that day to realize how relieved I was that HRC had lost.
I wonder how you deal with Twitter, now X? Or if you only lurk.