a little vent

Question.....

does being part of an academic community have certain obligations attached to it? what factors are particularly important in an community focused on the discussion and practices of the social sciences/humanities? how do the ideal norms of the community affect the way we should act? how do we move academic discourses forward together? in sum, what can make academic communities valuable? i.e. why are we here?

perhaps....

-does it mean that we have to examine carefully the concepts we use when we interact with each other?
-does it mean that we have to be cautious of the frameworks we use in our community discourse?
-does it mean that we have to be aware of the importance of integrity not only in general life, but also specifically in the context of an academic career where without reputation of integrity, i fear, a scholar is very little....if no one listens to what (s)he says....unless the selling of souls enters the equation...
-does it mean we have to be aware of diverse backgrounds and experiences that escape those wretchedly weak categories so often provided by our society and language?
-does it mean taking into account AND USING analytical tools when discussing emotional issues?

I actually think that it does. And am surprised at how strongly I feel this. If we, as people who choose to sit around and think about these issues all day (and night), cannot discuss issues of social categories and history without descending into personal debates based on weak and analytically lazy concepts, then what hope is there of building constructive societal discourses? Why are we bothering to think about these issues at all?

I think that joining an academic community, at no matter what level has certain integral responsibilities, and it makes me angry when these are ignored. Maybe I'm overly idealistic about the whole concept of academic 'community' and will be angry frequently but so be it.