When was the idea that research was so hard for people with Ph.D.s invented? (I do note that in the mythology, it appears that research is only hard after you get the degree — before that, it is expected. This is symptomatic of the mythical nature of the idea that research is hard, I think.)
Was this idea invented around the time of EOE/AA — to discourage the women and minorities who were now applying for academic jobs? Because what I’ve always been taunted with, on the one hand, and in the face of all evidence to the contrary, is the idea that I would not like to do research or would not be able to do it, and would want to spend all my time teaching basic language courses.
On the other hand, I’ve also been excoriated for not fitting that profile. I should o, people kept saying. The fantasy was over; I was not to be humored any more; I was hired to decorate the place with my degree but teach and teach and teach, and submit to the rule of the suffering ladies who either had not had the chance to do a PhD, or were not interested in research, or both.
So my question here is: whom does the idea that research is hard serve?
I have had a related thought this week, too — namely, I have always claimed I wanted to leave academia because that was what all the successful people I knew said, and I wanted to succeed. It appeared you had to want to leave if you also wanted to be able to attain the most rarefied levels of thought. Of course, when I really wanted to leave and for good reason, nobody would believe it.
But here are the deepest reasons I have always wanted to leave academia: so I could go into a profession where people said they worked hard to get there, and were proud of what they had done, and that they were good at it now; where people were not ashamed of the effort they had put in or apologetic about their achievements; where people enjoyed their abilities. Now, don’t dat soun’ nice?
Axé.
coldhearted scientist وداد 