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Has anyone heard of this? I have to write a short (3-5 pg) essay on this for school and I had heard of it peripherally before but as I got to researching it my eyes started to bug out. The professor assigned an article analyzing Islam form the world-theory perspective which peaked my interest. This “theory” is nothing short of political activism disguised as historiography, and pretty much represents why I so despise politics in history. There are several websites out ther about it but the one that casued me to bug out is this one: World-Systems Archive , this page in particular, The World Party. They even have a journal called the Journal of World-Systems Research that is entirely online. I have not gotten very deep yet but wht I have seen is pretty amazing. I was just curious if anybody else has had to look into this before and what your impressions are.Here is a nice quote from the editorial policy of their flagship Journal:
And finally we also want to publish discussions of future trajectories and options for the modern world-system and considerations of what can be done to create a more humane, peaceful and just world society.
Very scholarly if you ask me.Needless to say, I am going to have exercise the greatest of tact when writing this paper because I think my professor buys into it.
The World Party in A Short History is formed in the 2030s by students and workers in many countries who have determined that capitalist globalization is destroying people and the environment and that modern civilization is on a path of collapse. The point is to form a political party that can help build a democratic and socialist global commonwealth.
😮Is your teacher a communist? I didn't think AMU had any.All this stuff sounds more like International Relations than history.
I do not know about the Prof. So far he seems ok. Some of the assigned readings make me wonder though. The required books are generally pretty good and fairly balanced. One of them is actually excellent, it is A Short History of the World by J.M. Roberts and one of the better world history surveys I have read. I do not expect to agree with everything a professor teaches and I do not think this guy is particularly pushing anything by assigning this stuff. I mean it is out there in the world and regarded as legitimate by a lot of folks so I do need to at least be aware of it much like post-modernism. I do not get the impression that I have to agree with him or even look like I do but then I have not got my first grade back yet. That is making me tread lightly until I get a better read on him. I have a perfect 4.0 so far and do not want to start an ideological war with my prof and put that at risk.
I won't say I told you guys so. If you plan on teaching at a university or college, be prepared to have to do this to get hired. It's just the way it is.
I won't say I told you guys so. If you plan on teaching at a university or college, be prepared to have to do this to get hired. It's just the way it is.
Then I probably won't teach at a university and will have to get an honest job. I refuse to compromise my principals or integrity in pursuit of money or prestige. That is one reason why I despise academia and politicians in the first place. I think everybody on this board knows I am not a go along to get along type of person.
I won't say I told you guys so. If you plan on teaching at a university or college, be prepared to have to do this to get hired. It's just the way it is.
Then I probably won't teach at a university and will have to get an honest job. I refuse to compromise my principals or integrity in pursuit of money or prestige. That is one reason why I despise academia and politicians in the first place. I think everybody on this board knows I am not a go along to get along type of person.
Now you know why I have not pushed myself to get into that mess at this time. I was told by my professor that if I wanted to get hired, I would have to fake a little liberalism to sway the interviewing committee. I'm not good at faking beliefs, in fact, I rather suck at it.
Depending on the line of questioning by a future employer, I don't think you have to sacrifice your principles…merely emphasize things that you believe in that you think they might want to hear and hold other ideas to yourself which may sound “controversial” to them. I would say that the average conservative agrees with the average liberal on a number of issues, at least in terms of "ends", rather than "means". For example, both would agree that we should be able to live in safe cities, that education should be improved, and that it is right to help the poor. Focusing on the ends rather than the means, then, can help a conservative connect with others across the ideological aisle.
Depending on the line of questioning by a future employer, I don't think you have to sacrifice your principles...merely emphasize things that you believe in that you think they might want to hear and hold other ideas to yourself which may sound "controversial" to them. I would say that the average conservative agrees with the average liberal on a number of issues, at least in terms of "ends", rather than "means". For example, both would agree that we should be able to live in safe cities, that education should be improved, and that it is right to help the poor. Focusing on the ends rather than the means, then, can help a conservative connect with others across the ideological aisle.
I wish it were that simple, but the committee will do the asking, and if you appear to be dodging or disingenuous, they will know, and that could be the thing that costs you most.
Well, I don't think that throwing in a crappy answer is the way to deal with the situation. Have you ever helped serve food to the poor? Volunteered working in a homeless shelter? Something similar to this? I think that bringing these kinds of things up can illustrate your good-will to disenfranchised groups without making you go against your core principles. I spent about a year and a half volunteering in South America after I graduated from college. I know that if I come across some P.C. line of questioning, I can refer to this experience and be honest about it. Maybe it's easier said than done...but I suppose it is like other things in that preparing for an interview is crucial to making a good impression.This all said, I don't think I would want to work in a rabidly liberal environment to begin with, so not passing muster with the liberal crowd wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, IMO...
I realize why you might think that. So far my experience is that that is not the case, at least for the period I study. I'm not saying that they'd be ready to jump on the Tea Party express, but I haven't felt a decidedly liberal vibe that I might otherwise expect. I think I know why this is the case.I know a psychology professor who has told me about how the faculty would have meetings in which they would frequently and openly ridicule people who hold (Christian) religious faith. This is on top of other really liberal beliefs that are common to people in that field. So that is one extreme.Anyway, at this point I would be content teaching at a college with a really small faculty in my field. That way I think there would be less "politics" at play, and I would also get to focus on a broad spectrum (> 1500 years) of history. ;D
I will just have to play it by ear when I start applying for jobs. Luckily my chosen field, military history, tends to be more conservative than most. Most of the military historians I have met or talked with are ex-military or come from military families and so tend be at most moderates rather than outright kool-aid drinking, statist, liberals.
I will just have to play it by ear when I start applying for jobs. Luckily my chosen field, military history, tends to be more conservative than most. Most of the military historians I have met or talked with are ex-military or come from military families and so tend be at most moderates rather than outright kool-aid drinking, statist, liberals.
As I understand the hiring process, you will be interrogated LOL by members of the History Department and that will likely include a majority of liberals from unrelated concentrations like Women's Studies, European Colonialism, African Studies, Russian History etc.... where many Leftists hang out. Bwhahahahahahahaha!!!!!!
We will see when I start applying for jobs. If that turns out to be the case I may just reconsider my choice of a career in academia. I repeat, I will not compromise or even disguise my principles to get a job. I can always apply to be an official historian for the army and research and publish on my real interests on the side.
Although I think it is generally true that academia is liberal, I don't think it should prevent you from getting a job somewhere. It may mean you'll have to look harder, but you can still get a good job.Besides, if worse comes to worse, you can always ride this approach:U. of Colorado at Boulder Wants to Hire 'Professor of Conservative Thought'
