Academic Gamesmanship

Academic Gamesmanship Book Cover

By:

Pierre L. van den Berghe

Categories:

Dimensions:

6 x 9 inches

Pages:

140

Formats:

Paperback$12.99

Invalid Date|ISBN 979-8899-4600-29

Description:

The owner of a newly earned Ph.D. accepts a university faculty position hoping to advance based on merit. Soon enough, however, the new Ph.D. learns that academic success depends more on strategic maneuvering than pure ability. Today, gamesmanship is the Ph.D.’s surest means of getting to the top. Academic Gamesmanship is to the Ph.D. what The Peter Principle is to the business executive: a brilliant—and often hilarious—guide to the strategies for success. Its exposé of academic pretentiousness and pomposity is unsurpassed. Yet behind the wit lies the insight of a noted sociologist. Dr. van den Berghe weighs the in-fighting, credit-stealing, and buck-passing used in jockeying for academic power. Most significantly, he unmasks the negligibility of so much scholarly striving and aspiration.

Author Bio:

Pierre L. van den Berghe (1933–2019) was a Congolese-born American sociologist renowned for his pioneering work in ethnic and race relations. Earning a doctorate at Harvard under Talcott Parsons, he rejected structural functionalism in favor of sociobiological approaches. Van den Berghe taught at Harvard, Wesleyan, the Sorbonne, and the University of Washington, where he served from 1965 to his retirement. He conducted fieldwork across five continents, publishing several influential books in sociology, including one about advancing in higher education, namely, Academic Gamesmanship.

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