The reason life in my main subunit was unstable and underdeveloped in those days was not because it was culturally Mediterranean but because we were a colonized people. If I had time I would study our political culture with dependency theory. I am betting the analysis would be apt, illuminating, and amusing.
The subunit was dominated by certain instructors who were out to get the assistant professors. The beliefs were that the Ph.D was an MA + 30 hours of additional coursework, and that teaching experience was a good substitute for such coursework. The fantasy was that the category of Ph.D holding assistant professor with research assignment would be eradicated, and the instructors promoted. In this much loved scenario, the older instructors would teach the upper division courses and judge all the faculty.
Professors would teach graduate courses and freshmen — not a bad idea, really, for a freshly minted Ph.D in their first year, since freshman courses will be familiar and graduate courses can be on their specialty, but a poor policy choice for all. The administration knew and loved the instructors whose fantasy this was and it aided and abetted much undermining. Certain assistant professor positions were revolving doors and had long been.
The tenured faculty could have controlled this situation if they had not been constantly subverted by the administration, but the administration allowed this circus on the theory that these instructors had not had raises and deserved some entertainment. The actual appearance given was that they did not wish our discipline or any faculty in it well.
Axé.
coldhearted scientist وداد 