Academic tolerance towards laissez faire

[A.A]

Hello everyone,

I am a third year student in israel for b.a in general history. i plan to try and apply for a graduate degree history (or something in that area) studies in the US for the year 06/07.

Since i am an individualist, a capitalist, and an advocate of laissez faire, one of the factors in my considerations with regards to which university to apply, is the amount of tolerance it has for pro- laissez faire opinions.

I do not mean the population of the students. i mean the lecturers and the way they would treat my interpertation of american history (my main academic intrest) from a pro-laissez faire point of view.

Does anyone have recommandations for me?

[BurgessLau]

Since i am an individualist, a capitalist, and an advocate of laissez faire, one of the factors in my considerations with regards to which university to apply, is the amount of tolerance it has for pro- laissez faire opinions.

I do not mean the population of the students. i mean the lecturers and the way they would treat my interpertation of american history (my main academic intrest) from a pro-laissez faire point of view.

Does anyone have recommandations for me?

I would strongly urge you to reconsider your approach -- in part.

First, long-term, you might be more successful in your career if you choose a university that offers a particular professor you most want to work with. He might be a specialist in your particular field of interest and thus would have great knowledge to share with you.

Likewise, you should consider where you will receive the best training in historical methods. The philosophy you bring to your interpretations need not be a source of conflict. In my very limited experience, most historians in academic positions are accustomed to working with students from a variety of philosophical backgrounds. The important points in history are: How can I discover the facts? What are the facts? How should I interpret them? Your philosophy, Objectivism, will guide you in all these areas, but need not be a source of conflict. Remember that a student's purpose is to perform (proving he has mastered the material) -- not inform.

Also keep in mind that you will be working with a variety of professors, each with his own philosophical background. That is good for your career because it trains you in understanding and -- someday -- being able to respond knowledgeably to a variety of interpretations.

Of course, the ideal -- which perhaps is what you are asking about -- is worth seeking. Others in this forum can make specific suggestions, for example, Ashland University in Ohio has at least two professors who are Objectvists, one in Classics and one in the Enlightenment period of modern European history. There are others.

A final suggestion: You might find that -- in terms of economic issues -- religious schools might have professors more tolerant of your economic beliefs. Some students of Objectivism have had the same experience I have had: Religious professors and students were much easier to work with and discuss issues with than leftist, nihilists in academia.

Question: Do you intend to specialize in some aspect of U. S. economic history? If not, perhaps your support of capitalism will not have as much direct relevance as you think now.

P. S. -- Forum Rules prohibit posts riddled with poor spelling or grammar -- including failure to capitalize appropriately. See "Spelling and Grammar" under Basic Etiquette, if I recall correctly from memory. At a minimum, a student of Objectivism should always capitalize "I" and the first letter of a sentence. If you are writing English as a second language, you are doing very well. Perhaps you can pay a little more attention to capitalization.

[A.A]

BurgessLau,

First, thank you kindly for your very elaborate reply.

As I have indicated in my first post, the above mentioned consideration is only one of those I`ll take during the desicion-making process. My purpose is to acquire a PHD in either general history, or something close to that field. I hope to do that in the US, if i get accepted.

Up to this point in my academic education, i have focused on the field of american history. Other intrests of mine are European history in the 19th century, and the connection between philosophy and history. I am not yet sure on what spesific field of the above mentioned I would like to focus.

Let there be no mistake- I do not mean to make the issue of this topic the first in my priorities. It is only one of a few. During my (ongoing) b.a studies in Israel, I have witnessed all kind of approaches. All of my lecturers- with no ecceptions- held socialist views, in one form or another. But while some were tolerant towards other opinions, some were not.

As for your final suggestion, I will be honest: I find it very hard to belive I will manage to get by in a religious school. I have very strong anti-religious sentiments, the nature of which(I suppose) is the state I grew up in.

Capitalism, to me, means not only the economic method, but also the entire political philosophy in which Ayn Rand advocated. I can`t belive that won`t affect my studies, in any direction they might take.

To conclude, I hope to get other recommendations and responses. I will take the Ashland University you have mentioned under consideration.

As for the P.S: Thank you for your comment, I will try to implement it in future posts, including this one. English is in fact a socond language for me, and while I have always been very good in the passive and active understaning of spoken English, only in the recent months have I begun expirimenting in computer-writing in that language. So, writing every massage takes a very very long time. I write this to explain why I am not very elaborate in my posts right now, and maybe not very clear as well.

[BurgessLau]

As for the P.S: Thank you for your comment, I will try to implement it in future posts, including this one. English is in fact a socond language for me, and while I have always  been very good in the passive and active understaning of spoken English, only in the recent months have I begun expirimenting in computer-writing in that language. So, writing every massage takes a very very long time. I write this to explain why I am not very elaborate in my posts right now, and maybe not very clear as well.

I admire you for your courage, ambition, and diligence. Writing in a second (or third or fourth?) language is very difficult.

I do have further suggestions:

(1) In your Viewer Profile, perhaps in the Interests or other section, say that you are writing English as a second language and you want to improve your skills by welcoming helpful comments.

(2) Repeat that message (in a brief form) in a postscript ("P.S") at the end of each message you send. Further, invite your readers to provide general corrections -- not necessarily line-by-line editing -- either in their postscripts or in private messages to you. Most people here are friendly and are glad to contribute information as time permits. We all have a great model: Ayn Rand became a master writer in her third or fourth language, English (after Russian, French, and perhaps German, if I recall correctly ARI's descriptions of her life).

P. S. -- When I said "religious schools" I didn't mean something like a yeshiva. Instead I had in mind a university such as Notre Dame, a school that has an excellent reputation for historical research, but is a "Catholic school."

[A.A]

BurgessLau,

I prefer to use this forum for discussions, and not as a tool to improve my English. To avoid mistakes that will look very discordant to native English speakers (and will violate forum rules), I will make sure to use a spell-checker each time. I will, however, use other forums (ones that are less Philosophical in nature) to help on the matter. If I plan to try and apply for an American university, my written English will have to improve (there is also an exam which abroad students have to take).

You wrote about " Notre Dame, a school that has an excellent reputation for historical research, but is a "Catholic school"". Pardon my ignorance; I am not sure what that means. Is there some sort of required religious teaching there, are the lecturers religiously oriented somehow?

[BurgessLau]

You wrote about  " Notre Dame, a school that has an excellent reputation for historical research, but is a "Catholic school"". Pardon my ignorance; I am not sure what that means. Is there some sort of required religious teaching there, are the lecturers religiously oriented somehow?

Here is my understanding based on a little first-hand knowledge and more second-hand knowledge:

With universities such as Notre Dame and University of Portland (Oregon), the situation is this: The Catholic Church set up the universities. They are "private," that is, not run by the state. They do not (now) require students, overall, to take classes in religion. They, instead, offer classes in religion to religious students -- who could not find such classes in state schools or in secular private universities.

Such universities compete with other universities for the best students, of whatever kind, and the best professors. The atmosphere may be religious in a diffuse sort of way, but no one, so far as I know, is compelled to study religion. However, if you are studying U. S. History, you must study the history of religion in the U. S. or else you will miss out on one of the driving characteristics of the culture as it has been and as it is today. A "religious" school such as Notre Dame might be an ideal place for getting some of everything you want.

One Objectivist, Dr. Gary Hull, teaches there, I recall -- ethics in the business school, I believe.

Please note: I am not trying to sell you on Notre Dame University. It is only an example. Try http://www.nd.edu/ You might first click on the About ND button in the upper right, to start.

[A.A]

Thank you, I`ll consider it . I did not, for one second, suspect you are trying to "sell" me the university.

[walsh]

I don't know if you are specifically looking for Objectivist teachers, but there are two at the University of Texas, although they are not graduate history teachers. Ultimately, your choices for colleges with explicitly laissez-faire focus are limited. If you are willing to attend a college that is oriented that way, without being principled, the Chicago school is famous for Friedman's laissez-faire ideas. And while I do not know how laissez-faire Stanford is as a whole, Thomas Sowell holds the Milton Friedman chair in Economics there. At the very least, you would potentially be able to associate with what amounts to a top flight laissez-faire intellectual. I don't know of any colleges or universities in America with a specific Austrian bias, but should you find one, you will probably find it more inconsistent with an Objectivist stance than the University of Chicago.

Edited for web links: Chicago

Stanford

Edited December 10, 2004 by walsh

[Toolboxnj]

From what I understand, economics departments are the "least-leftist" parts of the university. For example, Walter Williams is from George Mason Univerity in North VA and that's a top economics dept in the country.

[BurgessLau]

A.A, here is a question you might think about and explore:

If you decide to specialize, for your graduate work and your subsequent career, in U. S. economic history, will you be doing graduate work in a history department or in an economics department or both?

The university you will attend may consider such a study to be cross-departmental and allow you to take courses in both departments and ask that your graduate review committee include professors from both.

[A.A]

I thank all the responders.

One thing I would like to make clear: When I wrote about my advocacy of the "Laissez Faire" mathod, I most certainly did not mean the purely economic sense of that term. It is my understanding that one of the things Ayn Rand did is to show that the justifications for "Laissez Faire" are primarily philosophical, and that in cannot go together with a total state that is not with a "Laissez Faire"- oriented political philosophy. My main academic interest is definitely one associated with what is commonly called "the humanities department".