Academic elitism

Academic elitism is a charge sometimes levied at academic institutions and academics more broadly; use of the term "ivory tower" often carries with it an implicit critique of academic elitism. "Academic elitism" is also related to the concept of "intellectual elitism".

Description

"Academic elitism" suggests that in highly competitive academic environments only those individuals who have engaged in scholarship are deemed to have anything worthwhile to say, or do. It suggests that individuals who have not engaged in such scholarship are cranks.

"Academic elitism" is also an ideological belief that only those who attended the most elite or prestigious universities (such as Ivy League schools or Oxbridge) are capable of obtaining wealth and power. Proponents of "academic elitism" justify this belief by claim that this is just a by-product of capitalism.

Ideology of the academic elite

Among members of the academic elite in the United States, liberalism remains the most prominent ideology. The vast majority of professors, 72% identify themselves as liberals. At Ivy League Universities, an even larger majority of 87% of professors identified themselves as liberals.cite web|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8427-2005Mar28.html|title=Kurtz, H. (29 March, 2005). College Faculties A Most Liberal Lot, Study Finds. "The Washington Post".|access date=2007-07-02] Additionally those with some post graduate study were more likely to vote Democratic in the 1996,cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/elections/natl.exit.poll/index1.html|title=CNN. (1996). Exit Poll.|access date=2007-07-11] 2000,cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2000/results/index.epolls.html|title=CNN. (2000). Exit Poll.|access date=2007-07-11] 2004, cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/states/US/P/00/epolls.0.html|title=CNN. (2004). Exit Poll.|access date=2007-07-11] and 2006 elections.cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006/pages/results/states/US/H/00/epolls.0.html|title=CNN. (2006). Exit Poll.|accessdate=2007-07-11]

The charge of academic elitism suggests that the academic elite use their positions to further their personal ideologies both in curriculum and in hiring and firing decisions at institutions of learning.

ee also

;General:Elitism, Ivory Tower, model minority;Education:Ivy League, Little Ivies, Southern Ivies

External articles and references

;Published articles
* Adams, Mike S., "Welcome to the Ivory Tower of Babel: Confessions of a Conservative College Professor". Harbor House, 2004, ISBN 1-891799-17-7
* Bair, Jeffrey H.,and Myron Boor, "The Academic Elite in Law: Linkages Among Top-Ranked Law Schools". Psychological Reports 68: 891-94, 1991.
* Bair, Jeffrey H., " [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0254/is_2_62/ai_100202314 The Hiring practices in finance education: linkages among top-ranked graduate programs - The University] ". American Journal of Economics and Sociology, April, 2003.
* Best, Gerard A., " [http://www.meppublishers.com/online/caribbean-beat/current_issue/article.php?id=cb76-2-36 Breaking down the Ivory tower] ". Caribbean Beat, Issue No. 76, November/December 2005.
* Bramble, Tom, " [http://www.anu.edu.au/polsci/courses/ape/uniclass.htm Class and power in the ivory tower] ". Australian Universities Review (unpublished), University of Queensland.
* Cornwell, Reid, " [http://tcfir.org/opinion/The_Invisible_University.doc The Invisible University or Academic Elitism] ". (.doc)
* Hylden, Jordan L., and John H. Jernigan, " [http://www.hpronline.org/news/2003/06/08/Cover/Leaning.Ivory.Tower-437662.shtml Leaning Ivory Tower] ; The most troubling bias among academics is not political but religious". Havard Political Review, 6/8/03.
* Keally, Charles T., " [http://www.t-net.ne.jp/~keally/Reports/SIR2006/sir2006.html Academic Elitists and Elite Academics: An Essay] ". Sophia International Review no. 28, 2006.
* Lewis, Lionel, " [http://www.aaup.org/publications/Academe/2005/05jf/05jflewi.htm The Academic Elite Goes to Washington, and to War] ; Critics of the academy have lambasted faculty doves. History shows that academia has roosted a flock of hawks". American Association of University Professors.
* Lin, Xi, " [http://archives.thedaily.washington.edu/1998/020298/elites.20298.html The academic elite] ; Cynicism and disillusionment are protocol for UW elites". The Daily of the University of Washington, 1998.
* Newitz, Annalee, " [http://www.salon.com/it/career/1998/11/06career.html Ivory Tower] | Out of academia". Salon.com, 2000.
* Schrecker, Ellen W., "No Ivory Tower: McCarthyism and the Universities". 1986. ISBN 0-19-503557-7
* Sprain, Leah, " [http://www.com.washington.edu/Program/publicscholarship/ps_sprain.pdf Sending Signals from the Ivory Tower] : Barriers to Connecting Academic Research to the Public". (PDF)

;Websites
* [http://www.the-ivory-tower.com The Authority On Ivory Towers and Elitism]
* [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8606135694351174596&q=mslaw+Elitism&total=3&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0 A video on Elitism in College Admissions produced by The Massachusetts School of Law]