Conflict in the Academy A Study in the Sociology of Intellectuals [Hardcover]

Examining an intramural conflict that erupted within the English Faculty at Cambridge University in the early 1980s, this book develops a theoretical analysis of disputes as they unfold within the academy and explores the broader historical shifts within Higher Education and how these related to developments in Continental Europe.1. Introduction: A Storm In a Teacup? PART I: THE 'MACCABE AFFAIR' IN CONTEXT 2. Chronology of Events 3. Contextualising the Dispute PART II: SYMBOLIC STRUGGLES AND PERFORMATIVE POSITIONING 4. Examples of Symbolic Strategies Employed by the Pros 5. Examples of Symbolic Strategies Employed by the Antis 6. Conclusion

This short book is a gem. It illustrates and elucidates a big issue  that of the struggle over the future course of the academy  by looking through the lens of one particular case, the so-called MacCabe affair (1976-80). & This is an innovative book, which has the capacity to serve as a model for how to renew what has traditionally been called sociology of knowledge, mainly by drawing on the strong programme of cultural sociology. (Andreas Hess, British Journal of Sociology, Vol. 67 (1), January, 2016)

For too long analyses of intellectual disputes and campus politics have stood in the shadows of Bourdieu's Homo Academicus with its structural reading of fault lines. Conflict in the Academy at last moves the game forward with a pithy and yet impressively detailed case study. Building on recent cultural sociology it convincingly demonstrates that deep meanings and contingent performances also play a part. Making a significant contribution to the sociology of intellectuals and ideas this concise book punches well above its weight. - Professor Philip Smith, Yale University, USA

When asked why academic disputes were so bitter, Henry Kissinger famously replied that it was because so little was at stake. Scholars have often been involved in intellectual debates whose intensity seems to lC&