Is the smartest response to the Jason Arday tragedy to eliminate academic research departments of sociology and education?
Prof. Dr. Jason Atta Kwei Arday, Ph.D. was a “sociology of education” scholar. His work, despite generating awe at Cambridge University, failed to impress ChatGPT. What would happen if both sociology and education were eliminated as academic research departments and, instead, the questions being asked were bounced into economics (and maybe a few to anthropology)? Would the world then suffer for lack of interesting or useful research results? ChatGPT estimated that Professor Arday was certainly a better researcher than at least 30% of the people in education/sociology and possibly better than 50% (i.e., as many as half of the people getting paid to do research in this area are even less competent).
Can anyone think of a PhD thesis or journal paper from sociology or education that has had significant impact and that wouldn’t have fit reasonably well within economics or, perhaps, anthropology?
(This is not to suggest that the “Doctor of Education” professional education programs, such as what Prof. Dr. Jill Biden, EdD went through, should be eliminated. I don’t know enough to say whether these EdD programs make better school principals and other education bureaucrats.)
How much less would future generations earn if degrees in education were no longer offered because the faculty had all been cut loose? The chart below says that young people earn $18,000 less over a 10-year horizon if they get a degree in education vs. simply do the work that a median high-school graduate would do:
(“Social Sciences” that aren’t economics get a boost in earnings, so perhaps a sociology degree actually does have cash value? Wikipedia lists a huge number of majors that could fall under this umbrella, including degrees that prepare young people for lucrative DEI management jobs. This 2015 study found that sociology graduates had among the lowest earnings of any social science majors. We also have to consider the selection bias of those who choose to attend college and those who have the stick-to-itiveness to finish a degree. That population would probably do quite well economically if they never attended college, but simply started working at 18. That same issue cuts through all of the studies, I think. An 18-year-old who had what it takes to get into college and complete a CS degree could probably also do great via self-study and practical experience as a programmer.)
Let’s check in with the world’s leading sociologists and see if we’d be sorry if they were cut loose. Here’s Joya Misra, professor at University of Maskachusetts and head of the prestigious American Sociological Association, which publishes the leading journal in the field (ASR), giving a presidential address:
She emphasizes how feminist and decolonial methods that bring sociological researchers into collaborative and participatory partnerships with broader communities can develop transformative solutions, building communities of hope, justice, and joy.
She appears to cite Hater-in-Chief Ron DeSantis!
at this time of rising authoritarianism, attacks on academic freedom, and loss of trust in science, sociology must recenter itself … DeSantis 2024
The implication that sociology is a form of “science” is interesting, but even more interesting is that the cited article is about Ron DeSantis, but isn’t by Ron DeSantis. It’s by Gary DeSantis, adjunct teacher at State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota in the tennis training capital of Bradenton, Florida. Here’s the abstract of “‘We believe in education, not indoctrination’: Governor Ron DeSantis, critical race theory, and anti-intellectualism in Florida” by the other Mr. DeSantis:
This article examines how Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ remarks contribute to anti-intellectualism and fuel the pushback against critical race theory (CRT) championed by like-minded conservative Republicans who view its instruction as an affront to society and authentic historical narratives. Dismissing educators and scholars who uphold the teaching of CRT as unpatriotic and denigrating to American society, DeSantis, who has presidential aspirations, has effectively used the issue (along with a number of other matters) to solidify his conservative base fearful of social and hegemonic change. Although CRT is not taught in Florida public schools, similar to other conservative-dominated states which have seized on the teaching of CRT as anathema to their civic principles, DeSantis’ thinly veiled attempt to appease right-wing voters is yet another example of Republicans stoking cultural wars designed to energize conservative constituents against what many of them perceive as liberal attacks on their beliefs and values.
Circling back to Joya Misra, in her address she mentions the problem of “overinclusion”, which does not mean hiring the incompetent/below-average because of personal characteristics:
In one article, we focus on the experiences of faculty of color, considering how faculty in the twenty-first century, in an era of DEI, still experience substantial exclusion and exploitation in their jobs (Misra, Kane-Lee, et al. 2024). We theorized three different processes. First, we conceptualized overinclusion: how faculty of color are asked to do more work, and work that is devalued in promotions, such as mentoring and service—leaving them less time for more valued activities, such as research, as well as less choice about what they would like to do
The second process we identified is active exclusion. Research on faculty of color has identified this issue for decades … Active exclusion explains why highly qualified people are not offered jobs, not offered good jobs, receive fewer resources for their work, or face greater challenges being promoted.
Prof. Misra’s personal work:
We have to do the work to identify inequalities before we can identify more equitable approaches. But I worry that we too often stop at identifying the disjunctures, the inequalities, and the brokenness of our world
The world is “broken” when someone like her can get a lifetime taxpayer-funded job?
As a feminist and as a methodologist, I suggest we build on participatory action and community-engaged methods to envision a different, more community-focused discipline … As such, I adopt an epistemological approach to knowledge production that builds on feminist and decolonial methodologies, even as it is at odds with some traditional approaches to empirical research. Feminists have long called for epistemological approaches that undo the divide between expert and participant
Building on this work allows us to link U.S. sociology to sociological traditions from other parts of the world, where the relationship between academia and activism looks different.
There’s a bit of hope in western Maskachusetts:
In the town of Amherst, where I live, we are working on a plan for reparations (Lord et al. 2023). How can we possibly make reparations for the centuries of enslavement, displacement, discrimination, death, and the constant grind of anti-Black racism? … So far, the town has pledged only two million dollars to the reparations fund and has yet to fully fund that two million … I am endlessly infuriated with the town for not doing more. And yet, what is the alternative? Not to work toward reparations?
Maybe there’s some social media output for Prof. Dr. Joya Misra, Ph.D.? A quick search revealed that she was far too virtuous to have an account on X. She posted on Facebook in support of what the Supreme Court found to be racism that violated the 14th amendment:
She was proud to have been injected with the Sacrament of Fauci:
What about on Blue Sky, the natural home for conventional-minded progressives? Joya Misra does have an account!
(When the candidate for whom the majority of people vote is elected, that’s the end of democracy.)
She re-skies (?) a blue (?) exhorting the righteous to #resist:
Considering all of the above, and remembering that this is perhaps the best sociologist in the United States (elected by peers to head their organization), would it be a net loss to the average citizen if all departments of sociology were shut down and the taxpayer funds redirected to economics, literature, engineering, and actual science?
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