Michael Sylvester wrote:
> On the other hand it might fly. Models like this are being used
> collaboratively in other cultures-where the intellectual is part of the
> community.
The intellectual is a part of the community HERE, Michael. But we live in a
society in which specialization is necessary--thus the intellectual fulfills
his/her obligation to the community by teaching and researching, not by
doing the work that can better be done by those who are trained for it.
> In some Latin American countries,there is the public defense of
> dissertations
For what purpose? Unless the dissertation is defended in front of a
community of _scholars_ with some familiarity with the specialty area, how
is it to be adequately judged as a legitimate contribution to scientific
knowledge?
> and the intellectual helps out in the barrio.
Here, s/he helps out by educating others and researching.
Bear in mind that in many of those Latin American nations you are speaking
of, it is virtually _impossible_ for someone in the barrio to rise above the
poverty in which s/he lives and obtain a college education. In such a case,
the academic provides little help for his/her community by teaching alone
(and in many Latin American colleges, the focus IS on teaching, versus
theoretical research). Here in the USA, on the other hand, it is _very_
possible for the resident of the barrio (or an inner city ghetto) to obtain
funding for a college education, and therefore the academic better serves
the community through his/her teaching (and theoretical research--which
furthers the state of knowledge), as s/he is then able to help the community
by radically improving the prospects for its youth.
> Some intellectuals must make things happen.
No, Michael, an intellectual "must" do nothing--this is not a dictatorship.
If an academic _chooses_ to volunteer his/her time to the community (I do so
myself--and give my students extra credit for doing so [in areas related to
the course they are taking]), that is his/her decision. But s/he is no more
under obligation to do so than is a bus driver, a serving person, or a
retail clerk. Volunteerism loses all meaning if it become compulsory, and
the acquisition of an above average education does not necessitate a loss of
one's freedom of choice.
We live in a capitalist society. You may not agree with many of its
principles, but you prosper from them in the same manner as those who DO
agree with them. And in a capitalist society, if you are obligated in any
way to devote your time, energy, or skills to a task, you have the right to
demand payment for that time. Volunteerism, by definition, does not include
payment for one's time, and thus it is totally unjust to demand it of an
academic when it is not demanded of every citizen of the nation.
Rick
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Rick Adams
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Department of Social Sciences
Jackson Community College
Jackson, Michigan
