Moral ambiguity, disciplinary power, and academic freedom

Abstract

In reading Bruce Cumings's narrative about the two phases in the development of U.S. area studies—the early Cold War years and the post-Cold War period—I couldn't help but recall the old adage: “first time as tragedy, second time as farce.” The pervasive elite networks that bound prestigious centers of learning, the inner recesses of the national security state, and the high-rolling foundations had, whatever their political and intellectual shortcomings, a grandeur of conception and execution. In contrast, the brouhaha over the National Security Education Act (NSEA)—including its evisceration by the Gingrich budget ax—smacks of a bungled play.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

John Lie

Thanks to Megan Greene and Mark Selden for their helpful comments.