Penn to reduce graduate admissions, rescind acceptances amid research cuts

Re:Penn to reduce graduate admissions, rescind acceptances a... by juniperus on Sunday February 23, 2025 @04:16PM (#43153294)

The idea that you can have an economically sound career talking about historical colonialism is a bit far-fetched. There are a few authors who probably scrape by a living writing books on this topic, but that's about it (and they don't need a degree to do this). If you get one of the handful of academic jobs where you teach this topic to other students, it is something of a racket, where you are teaching students to get a degree in a field where the only job is teaching other students this topic. There is certainly inherent value in some fields that don't have a direct application, like philosophy, but can still inform other pursuits.

As for the politicization of the field of colonialism studies, generally, these sort of topics are viewed through a pseudo-religious lens today, the religion being utopianism, the idea that there can be survival and satisfaction for all. Under the utopianist worldview, practical concerns are ignored and the topic is judged under a lens of morality and dogma. That makes it an unserious field and marred by activism. Very true for many humanities and social graduate degrees. Might as well go to seminary and spend half a decade learning to be a theologian. The outcome is similar, dogmatic and removed from reality, makes it hard to transfer into a real world setting.

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Re:Penn to reduce graduate admissions, rescind acceptances a... by nielsbot on Sunday February 23, 2025 @09:36PM (#43155296)

A lot of discuss here--sorry if my thoughts are a bit jumbled, but:

> The idea that you can have an economically sound career talking about historical colonialism is a bit far-fetched

I don't believe all careers need to have economic soundness as their pursuit.

> the idea that there can be survival and satisfaction for all

I feel that it's wrong to dispossess people of their lands and resources just because you can. I think that perspective is underrepresented in our society. I think there is usefulness in teaching "the other side" of history. I also believe a wealthy society should invest in jobs that are not "economically sound".

> practical concerns are ignored and the topic is judged under a lens of morality and dogma

What do you mean "practical concerns"? What other lens is there than morality? I don't believe morality can be dogma, but interested to hear your view.

> dogmatic and removed from reality

Present reality? No room for moral correctness or the study of it?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems the thread of your comment is that everyone should have an "economically sustainable job". Why is that so important?

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