More Groupthink Perils
More Groupthink Perils
by KC Johnson
In his seminal article analyzing the “groupthink” that pervades the modern academy, my colleague Mark Bauerlein described the effects of the Common Assumption “that all the strangers in the room at professional gatherings are liberals”, creating an academy in which “members may speak their minds without worrying about justifying basic beliefs or curbing emotions.” Alas, the Common Assumption has its “argumentative hazards”: “academics with too much confidence in their audience utter debatable propositions as received wisdom . . . a lone dissenter disrupts the process and, merely by posing a question, can show just how cheap such a pat consensus actually is.”
Two recent events involving Penn professor Tom Sugrue illustrate the perils of the Common Assumption; and, more broadly, the manner in which groupthink unintentionally limits the ability of “mainstream” academics to influence public discourse. Sugrue’s website lists multiple, prestigious fellowships. His first book, Origins of the Urban Crisis, justifiably won numerous awards; it’s one of the three or four best books currently in print on 20th century American political culture.
Sugrue, in short, is hardly an academic crank, or a caricature of a “tenured radical.” He’s a serious scholar, producing first-class work on important topics.
August 25th, 2010Topic: News and Press Coverage Tags: None
