H.S. Hughes Tells Alumnae Of 'Ivory Tower Rat Race'

"Premature professionalism" stifies originality within the academic community, H. Stuart Hughes, professor of History, told Radcliffe alumnae yesterday.

In a talk he titled "Second Stage Reflections on the Rat Race of Our Time," Hughes narrated the success story of the ambitious young scholar, who carefully picks a "manageable" thesis topic in as obscure field, hoping that it will be published, follows the thesis with three books in the same restricted area, winning the respect of book reviewers for his expertise, rising in a university hierarchy on account of his "productivity," until he reaches age 35.

At this "second stage" in the academic life cycle, Hughes declared, the scholar has reached his goals, and finds himself "washed up on the beach of tenure, with no idea what to do next."

The professor who has questioned his "simple positivist faith" in research carried on ad Infinitum can evade the problem by devoting himself to teaching--in which case he traps himself in repetition and self-dramatization, becoming a "quaint figure" beloved of undergraduates, "the legendary hero of local folk-lore."

If he cannot market his personality, the scholar can devote himself to "the cult of tidying up," answering phone calls in the office and writing the endless letters of recommendation which, Hughes confided, "represent a serious drain on one's stock of adjectives."

But, Hughes concluded, the professor has another more hopeful alternative: to recall and reactivate the wider interests and more personal goals he has ruthlessly curbed to pursue his special discipline. Like Freud or Henry Adams, he can provide original insights in new fields as an amateur.

Hughes spoke in the morning at the third annual "Back to Radcliffe" alumnae meeting.

In the afternoon, Professor Erik H. Erikson told the graduates that the identity crises of college students were over-emphasized. Teachers, Erikson added, should nonetheless be aware of the hyper-self-consciousness of the young adult student, and should take this into consideration.

John Kenneth Galbraith, Paul M. Warberg Professor of Economics, also spoke at the afternoon session, discussing what he considers the big problem in international relations today--the disparities between the affluent and the poor nations.