When science makes angry

Most of the scientific articles that I read are very neutral in emotions they awake in me.

Instead, they usually evoke simple reactions:

"Ok, understandable what is said"

"Ok, not understandable. I have not yet reached this level of abstraction"

"Ok, simply, very simply, so that stupid"

"Ok, nothing new".

This is the first article that makes me angry. It really irritates! The article tells about changes in social structures in Germany. Although the author does not mention the word "Germany". In the article I recognise the current situation in Germany. The whole article is the product of the German reality. The author lives in it and reflects it.

Closer to the content. The article tells how the value and the meaning of higher education and academy titles have changed. Earlier (in the 70s) it was quite elitist to have a doctoral degree in Germany. Today however a doctoral degree is not always associated with the elite. The article clearly states that those who have reached higher education (especially women and people from lower social status) – Master and Doctoral degrees – cannot find a job, dissent paid job and hence cannot reach a higher status in society. They have to look for other ways of engagement and other roles that they can play in a society. This role appears to be voluntary activity in civic organisations. The author dwells a lot about their situation. The author concludes that the value of doctoral degrees decreases. But he does not simply states it. The author is totally angry about it. He is angry at all those masses that received PhD and in such a way de-valued this title. He virtually blames women and people from lower social lays to devalue academic titles that used to a sign of the elite. His anger and blame is totally chauvinistic outrage! Women by making own PhD devalued the title?! I am totally angry with this article, because the author firstly is not right and secondly dares to be angry at someone who is least to be blamed in the situation! 

Let me remind the author, the elite, put it shortly, is a male capitalist. So I see this situation as the feminist-chauvinist conflict. The wide entry of women in higher education is a result of feminist movements of the 60s-70s. They strived to reach the same status as men. But the elite class is a closed circle. The access requirement to the circle is not only an academic degree but also relations. But the network of these relations is closed and defined by social status. To remain elite the circle simply denies the entry to those PhD-carriers that are unwellcomed. No! Women and those from lower social classes did not devalued the PhD title. It is just the old system built by male capitalists does not value, does not recognise and does not accept the content of PhD that women chose! That is what makes me angry.  

The author is angry that a closed circle of elite class is trespassed with unwellcomed PhDs. To prevent it, a male capitalist simply ignores unwellcomed PhD titles. What questions would women and lower social class rise in the PhD? If they are not fully primed with the system, they would rise questions that go in conflict with the system and intend to criticise it and destroy it and try to finally bring the aim of movement of the 60s to the end - change the system! Change is a nice tricky word. So I should add: to change it the way they wanted. I can imagine a range of those topics. The topics that have hints of feminism and socialism and intend to destroy the capitalistic logic that tries to beget the notion of economic effectivity in every aspect of human life. 

My interpretation of the situation described in the article is the following. It can only mean that the system did not change. The elite class remains closed, despite PhD titles from those who does not belong to the circle. After all revolutions and social movements in the 60s-70s the system did not change. The system, the money, decisions and elite class created and controlled by male is still there. They simple do not accept women and others in their closed circles. The full change of the society would be the full acceptance of women with academic degrees into working life and decision making process and introduction of their views and perspectives. Only has the facade of the system changed. The core system is still there and the author is the part of it. And I am one of immense number of females who strive for PhD in Germany but it seems not working.

The article is called

On a contradictory way to the 'learning society': A critical approach

Alheit, P 1999 in Studies in the Education of Adults;Apr99, Vol. 31 Issue 1, p66