Let’s start out the New Year with an announcement and some commentary on the resignation of Claudine Gay from the Harvard Presidency.
First, the announcement: This substack is still free, but if you want to donate, I have enabled the paid subscription function. Recently, a reader asked if they could support the substack. In response, I turned on “subscriptions.” As usual, all posts are free. But if you want to donate, you now have the option and subscribers get a bonus. Each month, I will make one post “paid subscriber only.” In that post, paid subscribers can post questions or comments for an AMA - Ask Me Anything. Then, I will record a podcast answering questions and comments. If you really want to support this substack, you can become a “founding member.” You get the podcast and I will send you a signed copy of one of my books if you send me an email with a screen capture of your receipt.
Now, let’s turn to the Claudine Gay resignation. If you aren’t following the news, Claudine Gay resigned as President of Harvard University. There were two reasons: pressure from donors over her response to questions about antisemitism in Congress and a series of accusations that she is a serial plagiarist.
On normative grounds, the issue is fairly straightforward. Donors may whine, but that’s no reason to fire someone. However, if you plagiarized as extensively as has been argued by Gay’s political opponents, then that crosses a line. The fact that the accusations were politically motivated is beside the point.
In terms of sociology, an important question arises: why did Gay take a hit while other academics accused of wrongdoing get a slap on the wrist? Well, it turns out that there is a sociology of scandal, written by folks like Ari Adut. The basic idea is that moral transgressions are not equal. There are social conditions that make some scandals more explosive than others.
A big lesson from sociology is that political regimes, and perhaps organizational leaders like Gay, are more susceptible to attack and scandal when they face “dual pressures” from inside the organization and from the outside. This idea was innovated by, ironically, Harvard Professor Theda Skocpol in her seminal study of political revolutions. For example, the Tsar’s regime in Russia collapsed from the dual pressure of World War I and a revolt by local landed elites.
I suspect a similar process played out at Harvard. The external pressure was pressure by the conservative media, which broke the story. The internal pressure was from donors who wanted Harvard to take a particular stance with regard to the Israel-Hamas war. I doubt any organizational leader could survive pressure from donors and the media at the same time. It also doesn’t help that Gay did, in fact, use “duplicative language,” as the NY Times has admitted.
Bottom line: This substack is free, but donors will get a free monthly bonus… and please cite your sources when you write!
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