Conflict in the Academy: A Study in the Sociology of Intellectuals

105 Pages·2015·1.06 MB·English

by  Marcus Morgan

Conflict in the Academy
DOI: 10.1057/9781137521309.0001
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DOI: 10.1057/9781137521309.0001
Conflict in the
Academy: A Study
in the Sociology of
Intellectuals
Marcus Morgan
University of Cambridge, UK
and
Patrick Baert
University of Cambridge, UK
DOI: 10.1057/9781137521309.0001
© Marcus Morgan and Patrick Baert 2015
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2015 978-1-137-52128-6
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this
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Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication
may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
Th e authors have asserted their rights to be identifi ed as the authors of this work
in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published 2015 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN
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registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke,
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ISBN: 978-1-137-52130-9 PDF
ISBN: 978-1-349-50660-6
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
www.palgrave.com/pivot
doi: 10.1057/9781137521309
Contents
Acknowledgements vi
About the Authors vii
1 Introduction: A Storm in a Teacup? 1
Part I The ‘MacCabe Affair’ in Context 10
2 Chronology of Events 11
3 Contextualising the Dispute 23
Part II Symbolic Struggles and
Performative Positioning 41
4 Examples of Symbolic Strategies
Employed by the Pros 44
5 Examples of Symbolic Strategies
Employed by the Antis 60
6 Conclusion 74
Bibliography 82
Index 93
DOI: 10.1057/9781137521309.0001 v
Acknowledgements
We would like to express appreciation to our interviewees
for sharing their recollections and reflections, Vicky Aldred
and the Cambridge English Faculty Board for granting us
access to their archives, Jacqueline Cox and Frank Bowles
at the Cambridge University Archives for helping us
consult them, Jonathan Drummond at the Times Literary
Supplement for permission to reprint an advertisement
from their pages, Harriet Barker and Palgrave Macmillan’s
anonymous reviewers. Thanks also to Jonas Tinius who
generously read and provided valuable comments on a
draft. The research leading to these results has received
funding from the European Union Seventh Framework
Programme (FP7/2007–2013) under Grant Agreement no.
319974 (INTERCO-SSH) and was aided by the stimulat-
ing intellectual atmosphere provided by the members of
this collaborative group: Christian Fleck, Johan Heilbron,
Victor Karady, Marco Santoro, Gisèle Sapiro and Gustavo
Sora. Finally, thanks to Lorena Cervera and Emma Murray,
for all manner of things.
vi DOI: 10.1057/9781137521309.0002
About the Authors
Marcus Morgan is a fellow and college lecturer at Murray
Edwards College, Cambridge, and a research associate in
the Sociology Department at the University of Cambridge,
UK.
Patrick Baert is Professor of Social Theory in the Faculty
of Human, Social, and Political Science at the University
of Cambridge, and a fellow of Selwyn College, Cambridge,
UK.
DOI: 10.1057/9781137521309.0003 vii

1
Introduction: A Storm
in a Teacup?
Abstract: This introductory chapter poses the question
of how a dispute that erupted in the early 1980s over
whether a young Assistant Lecturer in the Cambridge
English Faculty was to be made permanent became such a
widespread controversy. We explain the significance of our
book in the context of existing literature, and detail our
methodological approach and the empirical resources we
will draw upon, including interviews, archival research and
content analysis of various forms of published material. We
also elaborate our pragmatic approach to theory, and the
critical synthesis we forge between positioning theory and
cultural sociology. Finally, we briefly summarise the case,
and lay out the broad structure of the book.
Keywords: cultural sociology; MacCabe Affair;
positioning theory; pragmatism
Morgan, Marcus and Patrick Baert. Conflict in the
Academy: A Study in the Sociology of Intellectuals.
Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015.
doi: 10.1057/9781137521309.0004.
DOI: 10.1057/9781137521309.0004 