Meet libertarian sociologist J. Scott Lewis, who writes about his career challenges in this column.
Despite a generally more tolerant attitude at my current post at Penn State-Harrisburg, my views have still variously been referred to as misguided and even delusional by some of my closest colleagues. But when I argue with them, the strength of the evidence for my position does not matter. The absence of evidence for their view is irrelevant. That the views of the other faculty were in the majority, and were assumed to be correct were all that mattered in such assessments.
Of course, the mind-guards do not limit their assault to graduate students or other faculty. The indoctrination begins much earlier. One undergraduate, who was clearly very intelligent, had not said a single word in a class I was teaching. When I approached him after class about his conspicuous silence, he confessed that in a previous sociology class, he had been belittled by the professor for his conservative views. Keeping silent kept him out of trouble.
The assault on students is, I believe, the more egregious problem.
Despite a general increase in the number of sociology undergraduate majors nationwide, many smaller departments are struggling to compete with more robust majors. What is odd is that given the dominant value of inclusiveness, faculty members who are best equipped to attract students in the major often alienate them instead. The brightest students seek knowledge and wisdom, and shy away from being preached at by a priesthood of liberal sociologists.
