F. Kurt Cylke
Academic Values

 

 

Over the course of my early academic career, I had the privilege of learning in the classrooms of a number of generous and gifted faculty. I owe much of my own academic orientation to the mentorship of these faculty. In particular, I am indebted to James Sartain (University of Richmond), Ted Lewellen (University of Richmond), Frank Scarpitti (University of Delaware), Gerry Turkel (University of Delaware) and Donna Trent ( Eckerd College). These individuals encouraged me to explore the boundaries of sociology. From these individuals and with the help of the writings of Max Weber, I formed my core academic values.

When I first read Weber's essay on Science as a Vocation I was struck by his honesty, integrity and keen sense of responsibility. It is this essay that ultimately shaped my general orientation to teaching. The following are among my favorite quotes from his essay.

"The primary task of a useful teacher is to teach his students to recognize 'inconvenient' facts - I mean facts that are inconvenient for their party opinion. And for every party opinion there are facts that are extremely inconvenient, for my own opinion no less than for others. I believe that the teacher accomplishes more than a mere intellectual task if he compels his audience to accustom itself to the existence of such facts."

- Max Weber, Munich 1918

 

"To take a practical political stand is one thing, and to analyze political structures and party positions is another. When speaking in a political meeting about democracy, one does not hide one's personal standpoint; indeed, to come out clearly and take a stand is one's damned duty. The words one uses in such a meeting are not means of scientific analysis but means of canvassing votes and winning over others. They are not plowshares to loosen the soil of contemplative though; they are swords against enemies: such words are weapons. It would be an outrage, however, to use words in this fashion in a lecture or in the lecture-room. If, for instance, 'democracy' is under discussion, one considers its various forms, analyzes them in the way they function, determines what results for the conditions of life the one form has as compared with the other. Then one confronts the forms of democracy with non-democratic forms of political order and endeavors to come to a position where the student may find the point from which, in terms of his ultimate ideals, he can take a stand. But the true teacher will beware of imposing from the platform any political position upon the students, whether it is expressed or suggested. "To let the facts speak for themselves" is the most unfair way of putting a political position to the student."

- Max Weber, Munich 1918

 

"The task of the teacher is not to imprint upon them his personal political views. It is certainly possible that the individual teacher will not entirely succeed in eliminating his personal sympathies. He then is exposed to the sharpest criticism in the forum of his own conscience....the prophet and demagogue do not belong on the academic platform."

- Max Weber, Munich 1918

 

"But after all, it is somewhat to convenient to demonstrate one's courage in taking a stand where the audience and possible opponents are condemned to silence."

- Max Weber, Munich 1918