Posted by Juan Non-Volokh:
The Liberal Academy Again (Again):
The Rothman, Lichter, and Nevitte study purporting to show liberal
dominance among university faculty is now [1]available on-line. Here
is the abstract:
This article first examines the ideological composition of American
university faculty and then tests whether ideological homogeneity
has become self-reinforcing. A randomly based national survey of
1643 faculty members from 183 four-year colleges and universities
finds that liberals and Democrats outnumber conservatives and
Republicans by large margins, and the differences are not limited
to elite universities or to the social sciences and humanities. A
multivariate analysis finds that, even after taking into account
the effects of professional accomplishment, along with many other
individual characteristics, conservatives and Republicans teach at
lower quality schools than do liberals and Democrats. This suggests
that complaints of ideologically-based discrimination in academic
advancement deserve serious consideration and further study. The
analysis finds similar effects based on gender and religiosity,
i.e., women and practicing Christians teach at lower quality
schools than their professional accomplishments would predict.
As I've [2]noted before, I don't think that such disparities are
primarily the result of conscious bias. While I know of cases where
ideological bias torpedoed a candidate -- and I know of schools that
would not interview me because of my political views -- I believe this
is the exception, not the rule. In most cases, I believe other, more
subtle factors play the dominant role. As I wrote in 2003:
Most of the hostility faced by conservatives (and libertarians) is
not explicit, and often not conscious or deliberate. In many cases,
the subject matter and methodology of conservative scholarship is
simply of no interest to those on the left (and probably
vice-versa). At schools where there are no tenured conservatives,
job candidates and junior professors may be left without a
"champion" to help them navigate the process. The lack of
right-of-center views at some schools may also make even moderate
conservatives appear "kooky" or extreme. By the same token, it is
clear to me that many conservatives in academia cry "wolf," or seek
to blame political opposition on their failure to succeed in a
highly competitive environment. Contrary to what some believe, not
every conservative's failure to get tenure is the result of
politics. . . . [In sum,] the bias against conservatives is real
(if overstated) in many parts of the academy, particularly the
humanities. Nevertheless, careful and talented conservatives can
succeed in the academy . . .
For more thoughts on this question, I recommend[3] Professor
Bainbridge's post on the subject (along with the follow-ups and
[4]this TCS column).
References
1. http://www.bepress.com/forum/vol3/iss1/art2/
2. http://volokh.com/2003_09_21_volokh_archive.html#106467127498099644
3. http://www.professorbainbridge.com/2003/09/conservatives_i.html
4. http://www.techcentralstation.com/120804C.html
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