At a conference in Europe on the future of the social sciences and the humanities, the idea is being floated that that, "'Academic narcissism' and a focus on self-promotion over scholarly substance are ... bringing the humanities and the social sciences to the brink.... Those who get to the top tend to be 'highly competitive, image-oriented, substance-avoiding, ultra-innovative, quotation-obsessed individualists,' said [Sasa Bozic, associate professor of sociology at the University of Zadar, Croatia]. He added that a lack of kudos for research that performed the valuable role of confirming existing work had resulted in a constant search for novelty, which made it hard for the social sciences to build up a solid body of knowledge."
The full report on the conference by Times Higher Education can be read here: http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=408839&c=2 Chris -- Christopher D. Green Department of Psychology York University Toronto, ON M3J 1P3 Canada 416-736-2100 ex. 66164 [email protected] http://www.yorku.ca/christo/ ========================== --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
