Search

This paper replicates an earlier study of faculty status and tolerance of political dissent by Abramson and Wences. The data support the hypothesis that length of residence on a university campus is inversely related to faculty tolerance of student dissent. The expected relationship between academic rank and tolerance was eliminated by controlling for longevity, but the predicted relationship between academic field and tolerance was unaffected. The effect of longevity appears to be independent of political orientations, and the data suggest that peer group influence is operative among faculty members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Any serious student of politics who nowadays takes it upon himself to introduce new conceptual frameworks, new priorities, and new terms into the study of politics should tread carefully indeed. The proliferation of theory and speculation in political science defies our capacity to absorb, integrate, synthesize, and choose. Ideally, perhaps, ours should be a period more of consolidation and careful exploitation of what we already have than of mad dashes after yet more abstruse, more ambitious, and more doubtful formulae. It is therefore with apprehension that I approach the question of the relationships between the political process and notions of the drama. This unease is, however, not unmitigated. I do not propose that the considerations I put forth be taken as a theory; indeed, they have few of the characteristics of a theory. I merely mean to suggest, first, that in addition to its other characteristics politics incorporates specific dramatic characteristics because politicians use dramatic devices; that at some points in the political process these devices are particularly salient; that, therefore, it is useful to know some principles of dramatic construction in order to appreciate politics fully; and finally, that these dramatic devices must become part of the traditional categories we use to analyze politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gerhard Lenski introduced his conception of "status crystallization" into the sociologist's lexicon a decade ago. This concept has continued to interest sociologists since then and has found its way into textbook treatments of social stratification. Beginning with Max Weber sociologists have recognized the multidimensional charaeter of social stratification and Lenski's contribution gave promise of being an important empirical breakthrough in this direction to a person's position or social status as though it were simple and uniclimensional. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]