Antropologicheskij forum, 2015, no. 26

FORUM: “OVER HERE” AND “OVER THERE”: THE STRUCTURE OF ACADEMIC LIFE IN ONE’S HOME COUNTRY AND BEYOND

Abstract: There are two main models of academic life: in some countries (for instance, in France, Germany, and Russia) the most prestigious places to work have traditionally been research institutes (in Russia the most prestigious are under the umbrella of the Academy of Sciences), while in others, universities (e.g. Britain, America) are the nerve centres of science and scholarship. Teaching may be regarded as an aid to academic creativity, or merely a drain on time. When these two models are compared, the criteria by which they assess academic work may differ considerably, but they may vary across national boundaries where the same basic model is in use as well.

The “Forum” (written round-table) addresses the issues of different national traditions in academia. The Editorial Board invited scholars to respond to a questionnaire on the positive and negative sides of the two different models. Participants of the “Forum” were asked how the systems they have worked in might be reformed. They also discussed whether emigration should be seen as detrimental to academic cultures (“the brain drain”), and if it is, could the losses be offset by gains of any kind.

Keywords: national traditions in academia, models of academic life, academic migration.

To cite: 'Forum: Zdes i tam: kak ustroena nauchnaya zhizn v Rossii i za ee predelami' [Forum: “Over Here” and “Over There”: the Structure of Academic Life in One’s Home Country and Beyond], Antropologicheskij forum, 2015, no. 26, pp. 9–84.

URL: http://anthropologie.kunstkamera.ru/files/pdf/026/forum.pdf