Jonathan Zimmerman: Obama 101 ... Politics on campus is suddenly boring
[Jonathan Zimmerman teaches history and education at New York University. He is author of Innocents Abroad: American Teachers in the American Century.]
A few weeks ago, I was asked to speak about the presidential elections at a student dormitory. I said yes, of course, but only on the condition that some John McCain supporters showed up.
They didn't.
The discussion was OK, so far as it went, but it didn't go far. Everyone expressed some degree of disdain for McCain and fealty to his opponent, Barack Obama.
Yawn.
Welcome to another day of campaign 2008 on campus. Out there in the real world, I'm told, the election is hotly contested. But here at the university, it's all Barack, all the time. And that's a recipe for boredom.
It's also a formula for a lousy education. Last time I checked, universities were supposed to challenge students' biases and preconceived opinions. Based on what I've seen, however, we're falling down on the job. At least here in New York, the students are gaga for Obama, and we're not doing anything to defy them.
Part of the problem stems from professors' own political biases, of course. Don't get me wrong: We're not the crazy-eyed Marxists whom you've read about in the papers. As a recent study by sociologists Neil Gross and Solon Simmons has confirmed, American university professors are mostly moderate-to-liberal rather than radical.
But that also means we tend to support Democratic office-seekers, in overwhelming numbers. Even in Texas, hardly a bastion of liberal politics, the Houston Chronicle reported in May that professors contributed three times more money to Democratic presidential candidates than to Republicans. And on some campuses, the skew was much greater than that. At Rice and Texas Christian, for example, a whopping 97% of campaign contributions went to the Democrats.
That wouldn't be a bad thing, necessarily, if we could put aside our biases when we enter the classroom. But it's much easier said than done, as any honest professor will acknowledge.
And that's because we have two different purposes, which often lie in tension with each other. As researchers and writers, we're supposed to establish a strong point of view. But as teachers, we're supposed to help other people develop their own.
How can you do both? There's no simple answer, of course. With the elections just a month away, however, I'd like to offer a few modest proposals for infusing our classes with the same political energy that we've witnessed outside of them:
Sympathize with the devil: If you can't stomach McCain, teach yourself as much as you can about him. Whenever one of your students makes a pro-Obama comment, you'll be prepared to take McCain's side. Trust me, it works.
Bring the outsiders in: Too many of us still operate like solo practitioners. If you can't argue cogently for McCain's positions, invite a speaker who will.
Vary the menu: Ask students to write a campaign brief for the other guy. Or require them to interview someone from the opposing party. Either they'll develop new perspectives, or they'll come up with better rationales for their old ones.
Don't campaign on campus: There's no reason to wear your opinions on your sleeve, or on your lapel. I wouldn't go as far as the University of Illinois, which briefly banned faculty from wearing campaign buttons this fall. But I'd urge all professors to go easy on the campaign paraphernalia, which will only make it harder for students to disagree with you.
And if you need a model for this type of instruction, look no further than the man you want in the White House. Barack Obama taught law for 12 years at the University of Chicago, where he developed a reputation for rigorous open-mindedness. He challenged everyone, especially the students who agreed with him. Too bad more of his supporters can't follow his example.
A few weeks ago, I was asked to speak about the presidential elections at a student dormitory. I said yes, of course, but only on the condition that some John McCain supporters showed up.
They didn't.
The discussion was OK, so far as it went, but it didn't go far. Everyone expressed some degree of disdain for McCain and fealty to his opponent, Barack Obama.
Yawn.
Welcome to another day of campaign 2008 on campus. Out there in the real world, I'm told, the election is hotly contested. But here at the university, it's all Barack, all the time. And that's a recipe for boredom.
It's also a formula for a lousy education. Last time I checked, universities were supposed to challenge students' biases and preconceived opinions. Based on what I've seen, however, we're falling down on the job. At least here in New York, the students are gaga for Obama, and we're not doing anything to defy them.
Part of the problem stems from professors' own political biases, of course. Don't get me wrong: We're not the crazy-eyed Marxists whom you've read about in the papers. As a recent study by sociologists Neil Gross and Solon Simmons has confirmed, American university professors are mostly moderate-to-liberal rather than radical.
But that also means we tend to support Democratic office-seekers, in overwhelming numbers. Even in Texas, hardly a bastion of liberal politics, the Houston Chronicle reported in May that professors contributed three times more money to Democratic presidential candidates than to Republicans. And on some campuses, the skew was much greater than that. At Rice and Texas Christian, for example, a whopping 97% of campaign contributions went to the Democrats.
That wouldn't be a bad thing, necessarily, if we could put aside our biases when we enter the classroom. But it's much easier said than done, as any honest professor will acknowledge.
And that's because we have two different purposes, which often lie in tension with each other. As researchers and writers, we're supposed to establish a strong point of view. But as teachers, we're supposed to help other people develop their own.
How can you do both? There's no simple answer, of course. With the elections just a month away, however, I'd like to offer a few modest proposals for infusing our classes with the same political energy that we've witnessed outside of them:
Sympathize with the devil: If you can't stomach McCain, teach yourself as much as you can about him. Whenever one of your students makes a pro-Obama comment, you'll be prepared to take McCain's side. Trust me, it works.
Bring the outsiders in: Too many of us still operate like solo practitioners. If you can't argue cogently for McCain's positions, invite a speaker who will.
Vary the menu: Ask students to write a campaign brief for the other guy. Or require them to interview someone from the opposing party. Either they'll develop new perspectives, or they'll come up with better rationales for their old ones.
Don't campaign on campus: There's no reason to wear your opinions on your sleeve, or on your lapel. I wouldn't go as far as the University of Illinois, which briefly banned faculty from wearing campaign buttons this fall. But I'd urge all professors to go easy on the campaign paraphernalia, which will only make it harder for students to disagree with you.
And if you need a model for this type of instruction, look no further than the man you want in the White House. Barack Obama taught law for 12 years at the University of Chicago, where he developed a reputation for rigorous open-mindedness. He challenged everyone, especially the students who agreed with him. Too bad more of his supporters can't follow his example.