The Academic Professions and American Society

This chapter presents a portrait of the dominant system for organizing and pursuing knowledge and the contributions of that system to American life. It aims to convey some of the hidden strengths of the current system while revealing several of the vulnerabilities that have made it a target for those who would like to use it for more exclusively utilitarian purposes. While it is true that much academic research is intended for other academics, it is easy to miss the many unheralded ways that academic research informs public discourse, public policy, and organizational processes. The chapter...

This chapter presents a portrait of the dominant system for organizing and pursuing knowledge and the contributions of that system to American life. It aims to convey some of the hidden strengths of the current system while revealing several of the vulnerabilities that have made it a target for those who would like to use it for more exclusively utilitarian purposes. While it is true that much academic research is intended for other academics, it is easy to miss the many unheralded ways that academic research informs public discourse, public policy, and organizational processes. The chapter then attempts to offer a more rounded picture of the contributions made by university researchers and educators than can be found in the critical literature.