Glen Blalock once told me there's no such thing as academic freedom. I didn't agree with him -- on that, or a lot of other things either. Which got me into a lot of hot water, literally. (Fired, I think, is the accurate description.)
But lately I've come to agree with him. If you want to find steady work in a college or university, you had better (a) quickly discover the guiding philosophy of those in charge and (b) adapt that philosophy as your own. Because if you don't, it's all over for you, baby blue.
Each department has its own agenda, designed to perpetuate a certain hegemony, as dictated and sustained by those at the top of the food chain. To keep your place in the pecking order, you must say, do, or write nothing that clashes with that agenda. In other words, you, as a person, are not allowed to question. You go with the flow; and if you don't, the flow leads out the door. Blalock provided that valuable education by setting an example -- of me. It was an effective lesson. And a disheartening one too.
But the experience, rather then instilling humility, can better illuminate the "writing on the wall" the next time it happens. And since I tend toward the provocative in the way I teach, what I write, and what I say, I'm certain there will be plenty of "next times." People never know whether I'm serious or kidding, and it makes them uncomfortable. No one likes to be put in the position of guessing.
In the preceding couple of years, I have finally amassed the confidence to accede falsely to no one, and have spoken my mind, risking disrespect and oblivion at every turn. But that's the price one pays for a less muddy conscience.
