The Associated Press has an article profiling former Yale anthropology professor David Graeber. By all accounts, his academic work has been stellar and he is seen as a very bright mind in his discipline. But he was recently fired from his position at Yale because, as most observers would point out, for being an outspoken counterculture figure and strong union supporter:

Graeber is an anarchist whose counterculture writings are nearly as popular as his academic work. He carries an Industrial Workers of the World union card and has been arrested during anti-globalization protests. He also objected when some at Yale wanted to kick out a student who tried to unionize graduate students.

When Yale told Graeber not to return next year, it touched off a letter-writing campaign from professors worldwide, some suggesting the Ivy League university was letting politics influence its hiring. . . . “It’s extremely odd that one of the most brilliant anthropologists is being excluded from the department at Yale in such an extraordinary fashion,” said Maurice Bloch, a London School of Economics anthropologist who wrote to Yale.

Graeber appealed the decision . . . [and] the university is negotiating an informal settlement but would not discuss the reasons behind the contract decision. . . . Since Graeber’s firing, he has become a cause celebre for student union activists. It’s bittersweet, he said, because he disagrees with the union’s centralized organization and tried not to get political on campus.

I have watch what I say here because there might be some potential employers may one day read this. Nonetheless, I always find it interesting when academics -- particular those in the social sciences -- are punished by their university and/or colleagues for trying to fulfill one of the goals that were in place when their discipline was founded -- to apply their knowledge to society to make meaningful social change.

It is even more ironic when we consider that according to recent surveys, anthropology is supposedly one of the most “liberal” academic disciplines out there. But apparently not at Yale, again despite its reputation for being liberal in general.

At any rate, it seems to me that the battle between intellectualism and realism is still alive in well in academia -- should academics concentrate solely on producing research and remain ivory tower intellectuals, or should they live up to the promise of their positions and use their knowledge to work toward social justice in society?

My discipline, at least as personified by the American Sociological Association, has been trying to get its members to take on the role of the “public intellectual” more these days. I just hope that it’s a real and meaningful call to duty, rather than just just lip service. Or will it be just another case of ideological politics getting in the way, just like it does in every single other line of work?