The graduate ethic and the spirit of poverty
Posted on September 23, 2003 @ 5:42 pm
One comprehensive exam down (international relations), one to go (comparative politics). I spent most of today reacquainting myself with the works of Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber–arguably the founding fathers of modern social theory. While pondering weak and weary, over a quaint and curious volume of forgotten Weberian lore, I stumbled across the following passage:
| In the United States, the academic career usually begins in quite a different manner, namely, by employment as an ‘assistant’…. For it is extremely hazardous for a young scholar without funds to expose himself to the conditions of the academic career. He must be able to endure this condition for at least a number of years without knowing whether he will have the opportunity to move into a position which pays well enough for maintenance.
In the United States, where the bureaucratic system exits, the young academic man is paid from the very beginning. To be sure, his salary is modest; usually it is hardly as much as the wages of a semi-skilled laborer. Yet he begins with a seemingly secure position, for he draws a fixed salary. |
That’s an excerpt from a speech Weber delivered in 1918. You can say what you will about the guy, but one thing is certain: he was a keen observer of the graduate student condition.
Posted by Jess | Filed Under Life in a Nutshell |
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