RE: [MLUG - DISCUSSION] Fox News vs. NPR (was "MoveOn.org")

[Jonathan King <EMAIL:PROTECTED>]

On Tue, 6 Jan 2004, Spurling, Shannon wrote:

> Academia has gone far out of its way to exclude any one who is not
> left leaning. I've seen this mostly in the subjective areas like
> English and political sciences, where the teacher can give you a
> bad grade for expressing opinions that they disagree with. 

I think you have this partly right.  There are fields in academia
where there are very few conservative voices.  Literature has become
one of those, although it wasn't always that way.  My favorite
professor in college was my Old English prof who was the head of an
organization that was called (and I'm *not* kidding) "Academics for
Reagan".  Sociology and history, btw, are among the departments that
have been suggested as showing the largest global left biases; poli 
sci I suspect probably has leanings that vary from school to school.

> The sciences have their own little members only areas. Express
> logical well researched evidence that contradicts a long held
> assumption and you are out on your can, so you better keep in
> line.

Bull.  Actually, let me state that more elegantly: the trailblazers
in most sciences only got where they were by doing exactly what you
suggest nobody does.  That said, there is a *very* strong "show me"  
belief among scientists, and a tendency not to believe everything
you see the first time you see it.  Are there petty and stupid
political games played in the sciences?  Oh yeah; in spades.  As far
as external politics goes, I'd say hard scientists as a group are
well to the right of literature profs, but they do have their "hot
button" issues.  The Republican party has managed to chase more than
a few biologists away with their recent warm embrace of the
"evolution is just a theory" position.

jking


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