The New Feudalism
How academia accidentally recreated medieval hierarchy.
In 2009, an anonymous university support staff member wrote to C.K. Gunsalus—a prominent academic who specializes in the study of higher education administration—looking for advice and, frankly, a little bit of kindness. The staffer claimed that many of the faculty members at their institution, including a number heavily involved in campus activism, refused to treat them with any respect. Their collective attitude towards non-academics, even those who worked for the university, was akin to that reserved for “a servant or a child.”
Gunsalus’ answer, which Inside Higher Ed published as an advice column, amounted to little more than word salad. But the gist of her response was that the employee should simply grin and bear it. After all, those rude academics were just trying to signal their authority, and who is to say that the anonymous employee is as good at their job as they think they are? Sometimes, professors simply need situations explained to them in a more scholarly manner.
