HISTORICAL EXPLANATION AND THE STUDY OF POLITICS

In: Government & opposition: an international journal of comparative politics, Band 4, Heft 2, S. 215-230

Abstract

Presidential address presented to the Society for the Study of Soc Problems, Washington, DC, Aug, 1970, which, in the light of anti-war riots on the U campus & the subsequent repression by the instit's of the free 'ability to inquire,' discusses 'applying sociol to the policy of governing the academic community.' The anti-war feelings of the students are discussed with reference to the student power movement which focusses on 2 issues: sharing the authority, is, allowing students to take part in the decisions which affect their lives, & 'restructuring the U so that students have responsibility commensurate with their power.' The author points out that in the weeks following the campus disruptions of May 1970 when about 760 campuses across the country had strikes or demonstrations, the students were involving themselves with discussion, the holding of meetings, & the creation of new courses of action. These are the real functions of an academic community. In another sense the students are very revolutionary in that 'for a privileged class to seek responsibility is surely revolutionary.' It is for the U's to encourage this trend, to recreate the 'ivory tower' in the sense of the U as a place to work on improving the quality of human life. H. Lachs.