Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Drew Faust in the NY Sun
The Sun gives Drew Faust's new book, This Republic of Suffering, a rave review, one of a string of positive mentions the book has been attracting. (Could this book be a bestseller? I'd be mildly surprised, but not entirely; the Civil War always intrigues, Drew Faust is now a high-profile figure, and reading about the Civil War might be one way Americans can consider the Iraq war.)
"No one expected what the Civil War was to become," Ms. Faust writes at the beginning of her book, and it is the terrible surprise of the war, the inability of Americans to predict or prepare for its cost, that she so powerfully communicates.
The book sounds fascinating. But something else from the review jumped out at me—an unintentional insight, I think, into Drew Faust's leadership style.
As armies and governments tried to figure out how to bury so many corpses and assign the correct name to each grave, civilians back home evolved their own rituals and fictions to try to make sense of their loved ones' deaths in battle. Ms. Faust sheds light on both of these processes, thanks to her extensive research in official records and private correspondence. In general, she keeps her own voice muted, seldom imposing an interpretation, but allowing the dead to speak for themselves. [Emphasis added]
If you substitute—heh-heh—the word "faculty" for the word "dead," that bolded sentence pretty much sums up the way that Drew Faust has led Harvard since she was anointed president. And at least for the moment, it seems to be working: The place is calm, projects are chugging along, there's been nary a hint of divisive controversy on campus this year.
There is, of course, a chicken-and-egg question here: Is Drew Faust a good historian because she started as a good listener, or did she become a good listener through her historian's work, in which the voices of the past do, or should, matter more than the voice of their retriever?
And, of course, there's the interesting corollary about gender. What role did Faust's sex play in making her a good listener? Did she have to be, growing up an ambitious and intelligent woman in conservative Virginia, where women's proud voices might not have been encouraged in the public sphere?
(My grandmother ran for Congress from Yorktown, Virginia, around 1950, I think it was, so I know something of this. She was female, Catholic, from Chicago, and opposed segregation. Didn't stand a chance.)
And another corollary: Any discussion of academic field, gender, voice and leadership style in this context can not help but lead to thoughts of Larry Summers and questions of how his voice, developed through years of family arguments and contentious econ seminars, infiltrated and shaped his own leadership style.
Does the field of history encourage listening more than the field of economics does? If so, why, and what are the implications? And how might that dynamic be shaped by gender, and how might it affect who chooses to enter that field?
¶ 10:04 AM
"No one expected what the Civil War was to become," Ms. Faust writes at the beginning of her book, and it is the terrible surprise of the war, the inability of Americans to predict or prepare for its cost, that she so powerfully communicates.
The book sounds fascinating. But something else from the review jumped out at me—an unintentional insight, I think, into Drew Faust's leadership style.
As armies and governments tried to figure out how to bury so many corpses and assign the correct name to each grave, civilians back home evolved their own rituals and fictions to try to make sense of their loved ones' deaths in battle. Ms. Faust sheds light on both of these processes, thanks to her extensive research in official records and private correspondence. In general, she keeps her own voice muted, seldom imposing an interpretation, but allowing the dead to speak for themselves. [Emphasis added]
If you substitute—heh-heh—the word "faculty" for the word "dead," that bolded sentence pretty much sums up the way that Drew Faust has led Harvard since she was anointed president. And at least for the moment, it seems to be working: The place is calm, projects are chugging along, there's been nary a hint of divisive controversy on campus this year.
There is, of course, a chicken-and-egg question here: Is Drew Faust a good historian because she started as a good listener, or did she become a good listener through her historian's work, in which the voices of the past do, or should, matter more than the voice of their retriever?
And, of course, there's the interesting corollary about gender. What role did Faust's sex play in making her a good listener? Did she have to be, growing up an ambitious and intelligent woman in conservative Virginia, where women's proud voices might not have been encouraged in the public sphere?
(My grandmother ran for Congress from Yorktown, Virginia, around 1950, I think it was, so I know something of this. She was female, Catholic, from Chicago, and opposed segregation. Didn't stand a chance.)
And another corollary: Any discussion of academic field, gender, voice and leadership style in this context can not help but lead to thoughts of Larry Summers and questions of how his voice, developed through years of family arguments and contentious econ seminars, infiltrated and shaped his own leadership style.
Does the field of history encourage listening more than the field of economics does? If so, why, and what are the implications? And how might that dynamic be shaped by gender, and how might it affect who chooses to enter that field?
¶ 10:04 AM
Comments:
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Further to your chicken-and-egg question, in her own words from today's Crimson portrait:
“I think that temperamentally, I am a historian. I ask historical questions when I think about problems,” she says. “I don’t know if I became a historian because I am that way, or if I am that way because I’m a historian.”
“I think that temperamentally, I am a historian. I ask historical questions when I think about problems,” she says. “I don’t know if I became a historian because I am that way, or if I am that way because I’m a historian.”
# posted by 
: January 9, 2008 11:08 AM
: January 9, 2008 11:08 AM
Heard Faust on the radio today; fascinating angle for a book.
To your queries:
Does the field of history encourage listening more than the field of economics does?
Yes.
If so, why, and what are the implications?
Because homo economicus rarely acts for a sustained period of time in actual human history. Cf. everything that's every happened.
And how might that dynamic be shaped by gender, and how might it affect who chooses to enter that field?
People who like history seem, according to Faust's quote above, more likely to become historians. I imagine I could do a regression analysis on that but that would be uber-snarky.
I don't think it's much of an insight, Richard, to say that Faust is good at listening to her historical documents and LIKEWISE is good at listening to faculty. Basically, being good at listening is in most areas of human endeavor the same as being good at life.
Which is not to imply that I think Summers is bad at life.
Standing Eagle
To your queries:
Does the field of history encourage listening more than the field of economics does?
Yes.
If so, why, and what are the implications?
Because homo economicus rarely acts for a sustained period of time in actual human history. Cf. everything that's every happened.
And how might that dynamic be shaped by gender, and how might it affect who chooses to enter that field?
People who like history seem, according to Faust's quote above, more likely to become historians. I imagine I could do a regression analysis on that but that would be uber-snarky.
I don't think it's much of an insight, Richard, to say that Faust is good at listening to her historical documents and LIKEWISE is good at listening to faculty. Basically, being good at listening is in most areas of human endeavor the same as being good at life.
Which is not to imply that I think Summers is bad at life.
Standing Eagle
Chicken and egg questions are, by the way, almost never interesting. The interesting questions are How questions, whether about reproduction, evolutionary pressures, fertilization obstacles, or the best recipe for Hollandaise. (Mmmm.... chicken Benedict....)
There are also interesting chicken-and-egg STATEMENTS. For example:
"A chicken is an egg's way of making another egg."
I don't know if that's a koan, but it's pretty close.
SE
There are also interesting chicken-and-egg STATEMENTS. For example:
"A chicken is an egg's way of making another egg."
I don't know if that's a koan, but it's pretty close.
SE
Standing Eagle, what's a regression analysis? some new freudian therapy? not sure what you are saying about psychoanalyzing the deep desires of historians. Can you clarify?
# posted by : January 9, 2008 10:28 PM
: January 9, 2008 10:28 PM
I’ve begun to panic.
The complete lack of activity on this blog for the last month speaks to how busy I’ve been doing things other than what I really ought to be doing. Sure, I’ve been spending days in the library, interviewing academics, gathering information, all that stuff. But I’ve also been to Barcelona, Rome, and Edinburgh. I’ve had a steady stream of house-guests whose company—while welcome—has been most distracting. And I’ve developed all sorts of bad habits that will probably undermine my self-esteem for weeks after the summer ends.
I’m about to scribble down a whole lot of belated reminisces about my travels this past month, but before I do, let me just mention some of the habits that have come and (in some cases) gone since we last spoke:
Dan Brown novels.
Harry Potter novels.
Poirot. (The TV show, not the novels.)
The Office.
Hitting the snooze button on my alarm clock for a good hour every morning before getting out of bed.
Having a glass of wine with lunch. (How European!)
Having a beer before dinner. (How European!)
Cigarettes. (How European!)
A near-complete lack of rigorous physical activity. (How European!)
A constant desire to do nothing but eat, drink and read books during the month of August (How—you get the point.)
Today’s been a cloudy day in Paris, and I left the CAFDA early in order to start making headway on some research tasks that are overdue. Instead, “Angels and Demons” intervened. Now that I’ve finished the book—24 hours flat, baby!—I’ll take a break from the rest of my new habits to reminisce. You’ll pardon me if I have a beer while I’m doing it.
The complete lack of activity on this blog for the last month speaks to how busy I’ve been doing things other than what I really ought to be doing. Sure, I’ve been spending days in the library, interviewing academics, gathering information, all that stuff. But I’ve also been to Barcelona, Rome, and Edinburgh. I’ve had a steady stream of house-guests whose company—while welcome—has been most distracting. And I’ve developed all sorts of bad habits that will probably undermine my self-esteem for weeks after the summer ends.
I’m about to scribble down a whole lot of belated reminisces about my travels this past month, but before I do, let me just mention some of the habits that have come and (in some cases) gone since we last spoke:
Dan Brown novels.
Harry Potter novels.
Poirot. (The TV show, not the novels.)
The Office.
Hitting the snooze button on my alarm clock for a good hour every morning before getting out of bed.
Having a glass of wine with lunch. (How European!)
Having a beer before dinner. (How European!)
Cigarettes. (How European!)
A near-complete lack of rigorous physical activity. (How European!)
A constant desire to do nothing but eat, drink and read books during the month of August (How—you get the point.)
Today’s been a cloudy day in Paris, and I left the CAFDA early in order to start making headway on some research tasks that are overdue. Instead, “Angels and Demons” intervened. Now that I’ve finished the book—24 hours flat, baby!—I’ll take a break from the rest of my new habits to reminisce. You’ll pardon me if I have a beer while I’m doing it.
# posted by : January 9, 2008 10:36 PM
: January 9, 2008 10:36 PM
Obviously, Adam, that poster was telling you that your decadent lifestyle (do you even know what MONTH it is? why are you in Paris while classes are in session?) undermines your credibility as the Jimmy Olsen of SITF.
Oops, I meant SITD. (Perhaps I was mingling it with STFU.)
Adam, I think we pardon you for your beer while reminiscing. Just try not to put things on the Internet when you're drunk! (A New Year's Resolution of mine too.)
Adam, I think we pardon you for your beer while reminiscing. Just try not to put things on the Internet when you're drunk! (A New Year's Resolution of mine too.)
Drew Faust will surely be relieved to know that there has been "nary a hint of divisive controversy on campus this year." So might others who have attended FAS meetings.
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# posted by : January 10, 2008 12:59 PM
: January 10, 2008 12:59 PM<< Home
