<p>So Hiroshima and the My Lai massacre are why there are less conservatives teaching history? Riiiiight. How about, as a whole, there tend to be more liberal teachers? Thus, as a WHOLE, there will be more liberal history teachers as well. Makes sense to me...</p>
<p>your post, unfortunately, failed miserably to present a rebuttal to my generalization (which is all i meant it to be). the logic simply wasn't there. you make the assumption that teachers tend to be liberal and use that to explain why history teachers are liberal. in other words, you used one assumption/opinion to explain another.</p>
<p>at least i bothered to support my generalization with some type of thought-provoking reasoning...</p>
<p>I hope you guys will be in some of my TO classes next fall, we'll have some interesting discussions....</p>
<p>Zelda, I think it's safe to assume that as a whole professors tend to be more liberal. There have been numerous studies, polls, etc. done on this.</p>
<p>For those of you keeping track at home:
Premise 1: Professors generally are more liberal than conservative.
Premise 2: History teachers are more liberal than conservative.</p>
<p>If as a GROUP, professors tend to be more liberal, wouldn't you expect there to be more liberals within SUBGROUPS of majors (history, poli sci, bio, engineering, etc.)?</p>
<p>It's a pretty safe assumption to make. I was merely pointing out that the subject matter is not a causation of the professors that make up its background; it's more an externality of a fact that professors tend to be more liberal. I don't know how I can be any clearer...</p>
<p><<you make="" the="" assumption="" that="" teachers="" tend="" to="" be="" liberal="">></you></p>
<p>That's actually not an assumption, but a fact, at least as far as college professors are concerned -- backed by numerous surveys and statistical studies. Here's an article published last year in the Washington Post which provides one such example:</p>
<p>"By their own description, 72 percent of those teaching at American universities and colleges are liberal and 15 percent are conservative...The disparity is even more pronounced at the most elite schools, where, according to the study, 87 percent of faculty are liberal and 13 percent are conservative."</p>
<p>Hope this info helps. Best wishes --</p>
<p>the fact that college professors tend to be liberal is a very crude, superficial explanation for why history professors are liberal. the reason i say this is because the concentration of liberals in history departments, in particular, outweighs your explanation. for example, in the physics department, you are much more likely to find a conservative than you would in a history department. therefore, it can't be explained simply through the premise that, "most teachers are liberal, so history teachers just happen to be liberal, too." it is more complicated than that because even resigning to the fact that teachers are generally liberal, one must acknowledge that a disproportionately greater number of history teachers, in particular, are liberal. this is why i offered up my explanation, which is based around my observation that conservatives are more prideful of America than liberals, who are uncomfortable with the "love it or leave it" attitude when they know of the country's history...i.e. how we became a superpower.</p>
<p>zelda55....sorry to say, but... you got shot down.</p>
<p>actually, if you read my post after PBK Mom's, her statistics had no relevance to my point, regardless of their accuracy; in fact, i even stated in that post that "even if i accept professors are generally liberal...blabla." the irrelevance of those statistics are further demonstrated by the fact that i did not post a direct rebuttal to PBK Mom (i just happened to post a few seconds after her). i have no conflict with her...i know i stated that saying most professors are liberals is an assumption, but my next post clarified my point; i didn't do such a great job of explaining it the first time, but if you'd properly read my next post, i doubt you would have bothered attacking me. lastly, the argument isn't whether professors are liberal, but WHY <em>history</em> professors are liberal in particular, for which my last post still stands...</p>
<p>i'm NOT sorry, but you now look like a fool having made such an immature post, sarah.</p>
<p>...calm down lol. i just think online fights are funny.
i'm sorry if my "immaturity" offends you.... others refer to it as my "sense of humor", but whatev, thats cool..</p>
<p>i'm calm. i don't see how a dispute online is so much different than a real-world one, though...other than that you are arguing with people you don't know as well. i wasn't offended in the least. i acknowledge good humor, but i also distinguish it from immaturity, at least in your context (which is either college undergrad or grad?).</p>
<p>haha i wasn't arguing! and i didn't argue with you... (apart from now..) </p>
<p>anyways, i'm going to bed. goodnight!</p>
<p>Zelda, I don't know the types of "hard" science professors you've encountered, but all the ones I've had (astronomy, physics, biology, chemistry, etc.) in college have all been more liberal than the social science teachers. The scientific community seems to be at odds more with the Bush administration (and conservatism in general) over policies on cloning, abortion, stem-cell research, et. al than history teachers. I think you may have a point but maybe science professors weren't the best example. </p>
<p>I feel that science teachers are more liberal because of the subject matter MUCH MORE so than history and social science teachers. This of course is all from my own personal experiences.</p>
<p>I go to USC now and I would actually say that it is pretty conservative as far as colleges go. Overall it definitely leans a little to the left, but compared to other schools that I have been to and spent time at it has a very large population of conservative students.</p>
<p>i agree with what you said about professors of the sciences, except in the field of physics, which is the one i mentioned (i did so for a reason). i think that both the life sciences and the history departments are specifically liberal because of the subject matter. you have already explained why this is so in terms of the life sciences, so i will try to elaborate on the same case in the history department. </p>
<p>one of the strongest principles of conservatives is nationalism, but these sentiments are difficult to retain (at least in their entirety) when faced with the depressing ways in which america became a superpower. and i know that every single superpower in the world committed atrocities at some point in its history, so i'm in no way targetting the united states as a villain, as it is also one of the most charitable nations (through its people if not through its government). i'm simply pointing out the evident conflict between being prideful of a country and subsequently learning about its shady past.</p>
<p>I specifically also included physics in my point because my astronomy professor is also a physics professor and a renown Bush hater. His beef was more about global warming and the runaway greenhouse effect and how the administration "didn't care, blah, blah, blah". </p>
<p>I did have a poli sci teacher (at my CC) with a Soviet Union flag in his office, though. I find it funny because the same logic doesn't seem to apply to extreme left/socialist/communist professors. Coming from a governmental system (Communism) where the leaders have murdered tens of millions of their own populations, you would think they wouldn't be so proud of that system, one that has failed time and again.</p>
<p>*Zelda - please create a thread, out under the Parents folder, or some other folder, to discuss politics. Your discussion, and your strong opinions are clearly beyond the boudaries of the USC campus. *</p>
<p>It IS very appropriate "out there" in another folder (not USC) to delve as deeply as you care to about politics, religion, or any other controversial subject matter. </p>
<p>It is NOT appropriate in the USC folder to share your strong sentiments about this country, about the current government administration, or about political parties, in general. </p>
<p>You have to realize that there ARE students and parents from both political parties that are applying to USC. And, there are enough emotional issues related to being accepted or not, and receiving financial aid or not, that we do not need to be stirred up by your strong political opinions.</p>
<p>You are very much entitled to your poltical opinions, but you should take them to an appropriate folder. </p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>actually, i didn't express ANY strong views...i never even hinted my personal beliefs. i simply analyzed the differences between conservatives and liberals. you need to calm down because i think by posting what you did, you showed your colors more so than i did.</p>
<p>and to kudos, yeah it's pretty ridiculous when professors worship communism. kinda unbelievable that they are so naive even with all their knowledge.</p>