« The Tangled Bank | Main | Who Knew? »
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Evolution of Beliefs
I can't remember where I read this (leave a comment if you've read it too), but a professor was attacking the right's perceived liberal bias in academia by suggesting that liberalism is the inevitable outcome of an American education in the social sciences. I was struck by this for a number of reasons, most notably because I have come to realize the recent evolution of my own political beliefs and how much of that is the result of my four years at UNC-Wilmington. North Carolina is a state that is as red as they come and I have found that the UNCW student population is largely conservative, at least in a very general sense. There is only a small minority of vocal liberals and progressives on campus and they usually find themselves lost in a sea of military wives and girlfriends and rich white kids who have oval "W" stickers on the back window of their Jeep Cherokee (usually right next to a "Young Life" sticker). My point is that while I observe the student population to be largely conservative, the faculty and professorship embody the trend playing out across the United States. I could go into great detail here but many readers may already be aware that the vast majority of professors and faculty members at any major university in the United States are anything but politically conservative, especially in the social sciences.
In this context, I was ruminating on the implications of this and what it means to me and my educational history. For the past four years, I have taken mostly courses under the College of Arts and Sciences. Most of those were within the Anthropology and Philosophy & Religion departments. The social sciences in particular have mostly liberal professors (based on my personal observations) and the Philosophy & Religion department seems to be even more so. I do not want to give the impression that I feel my education has in any way been directly shaped by the personal political beliefs of these professors but rather that the curriculum and material in my anthropology and philosophy courses are typically in the context of what would be considered a liberal framework (the religion classes that I took were pretty straightforward surveys rather than interpretations of paradigms).
So, I am left to ponder how exactly my political beliefs are intertwined with my education. When I first came to UNCW as a timid freshman, I considered myself conservative but not Republican. I supported George W. Bush in his first run for office but four years later I was scared for the country should he be elected again (we're still alive, so far). I found myself progressing to a more liberal mindset and while I still agreed with Bush on some issues, they were little in number and growing fewer by the day. In learning about different cultures, worldviews, and religions, I came to know a different side of human existence that I hadn't realized was there. On the surface most of us lead a shallow, materialistic existence dominated by money, greed, and the effects of American pop culture. As I delved deeper into the important, philosophical questions I began to realize that my life didn't have to be one-dimensional any longer. Starting my junior year, the world began to take on new meaning and slowly but surely more and more dimensions became evident until they all blurred into one confusing view of reality. It's beautiful and scary at the same time but I wouldn't have it any other way. If you are one hundred percent comfortable with your existence, something is wrong. You aren't thinking hard enough. This is what I came to understand through my philosophy courses aided by my exposure to various topics in anthropology. It was a wonderful dynamic that was playing out before my eyes: my philosophy and religion courses were teaching me new ways to think while my anthropology courses gave me a frame of reference; something to which I could apply my newfound understanding of reality.
I have sort of strayed from the point I was trying to make, but I'll conclude by saying that I think there is anything but a liberal bias in academia. Instead, I feel that liberalism and progressivism is the result of the broadening of one's view of the world, which is what anthropology is all about. How can one travel outside of this country (in my case, to Belize, a third-world country) and still subscribe to the notion that the United States is in some way inherently better than or more privileged than another nation? This is a major tenent of the modern conservative movement and one that cannot be reconciled with an appreciation of the beauty and importance of things outside the realm of American politics and culture.
Posted by Will at June 16, 2005 12:13 AM in Academia