Elite Monopoly and the Narrow Circle of Humanities Luminaries

The story of writing this note began when it was decided that, along with a few friends, we would voluntarily undertake some activities to enhance the scientific spirit and vitality at Razi University. One of these activities was inviting renowned professors in the field of humanities. A task that, although we knew would not be easy, we did not think would be this difficult.

With every famous professor and researcher in various fields of the humanities (philosophy, sociology, political science, theology, economics, etc.) whom we contacted and invited to participate in a lecture or discussion program—within the timeframe of one semester—we rarely succeeded in getting their agreement. Because they often had such packed schedules and were invited from various places that some of them genuinely could not spare any time for us, and also perhaps some thought that as long as they could have meetings and lectures in Tehran, what need was there to plan for participating in programs at city universities? Some of them explicitly stated that they would not participate in any program outside the city of Tehran, and some even only participate in programs sponsored by the University of Tehran. If the criticism leveled at the luminaries in the field of theology and religious studies is that they rarely leave the city of Qom, the same criticism applies to famous humanities professors: why do they rarely leave the city of Tehran?

Although this is a phenomenon worth pondering and requires discussion and dialogue, my point of discussion is not analyzing this issue. Rather, amidst all these phone calls and coordinating, I would think to myself: are all our possibilities and human capital in the field of humanities limited to these few individuals?

Those who continuously study and follow up in various fields of the humanities and monitor notes, articles, and books know that the answer to this question is not positive. And there are many young and unknown individuals in the field of humanities who possess thought and ideas and have things worth presenting to Iranian society and academia. Young people who are sometimes more thoughtful and have more and more effective ideas than the well-known figures.

But the problem here is that we suffer from elite monopoly, and the circle of humanities luminaries is very narrow. Our problem is not just monopolism in politics and among politicians. We have the same problem in the scientific institution as well.

The problem is that the macro situation of the country and the country's scientific policy-making is not such that these young or unknown individuals can enter the circle of luminaries and elites through a natural course. Our main problem and issue is not the lack of thinkers and ideas in the field of humanities; rather, our problem is wasting and not utilizing these assets.

The issue is that becoming prominent and famous in the sciences, and especially the humanities, is inherently a difficult and time-consuming task. When this attainment of position and platform becomes linked to politics and power, the task becomes even more difficult for some. Many young people in the field of humanities who have ideas and things to say, or who are thinkers and have the talent to become a prominent or average thinker, remain unknown due to livelihood and political reasons, the country's scientific management, etc., and their talents do not flourish. In our country, even when there is talk of brain drain or issues related to elites are brought into focus, the intended meaning is often elites in the fields of mathematics and empirical sciences.

In such a situation, luminaries and grandees of the humanities must consider it their duty that if they see a young person who is talented, thoughtful, and full of good ideas, but the hand of fate and politics prevents them from being brought to the fore, or their views from being heard, or this happens at a very slow pace, they should strive to promote their name and writings. They should dedicate a portion of their social position and capital to introducing and bringing these individuals to prominence. They should not view this as a secondary duty or a mere favor, but rather it should be their concern, and each of them should define this mission for themselves: to introduce several thoughtful young people to the scholarly community. For one of the primary missions of a teacher is to nurture students, and one aspect of this student-nurturing is using one's own credibility to introduce outstanding students. Much like what was done to some extent in the old tradition of the seminary under the title of granting permission for ijtihad and narration.

Great professors and luminaries of the humanities must use every opportunity to introduce talented young people. For example, they can introduce their writings and books or write prefaces for them, introduce these young people for lecture sessions and conferences, involve them in projects, take them along to scholarly gatherings, open doors for them at universities under the title of part-time work, support the publication of their writings by introducing them to renowned publishers, introduce and praise their dissertations at every suitable opportunity, support them in the face of unjust and narrow-minded security encounters, and so on.

It is not important whether these young people are morally seeking fame or not. Questioning their motives is pointless. What matters is that they are thinkers and are at a level where they deserve to be known by scholarly communities. Although with this help from grandees, over time, their thirst to be seen and heard will diminish, and their motivation to write will increase. And as their audience becomes specialists, their work will also become more precise, the elite monopoly will be dismantled, and with the quantitative increase of thinkers and, consequently, ideas, the humanities will take on a new life. This is perhaps the only place where using the privilege of position is both ethical and beneficial for society.

It might be said that the obscurity of many idea-rich and talented young people in the humanities is, to a large extent, their own doing; that is, some are introverted and have no desire to be introduced, some lack strong writing or speaking skills, some lack strong public relations skills, and so on... But the goal should be, instead of blaming them, passing the buck to them, or advising and preaching, to draw them into the arena by introducing and bringing them to prominence, and in practice, these shortcomings will resolve themselves.

- Of course, it is not the case that the only way to introduce thoughtful and idea-driven young people is through the efforts of humanities professors and luminaries. Rather, there are various ways to accomplish this important task. Among these ways, the following can be mentioned:

- Scholarly institutions and websites, etc., can do this work, much like what analytical websites in the humanities (Sedanet, Niloofar, Farhang-e Emrooz, Zeitoon, Radio Zamaneh, etc.) do.

- Figures who, due to their knowledge, literature, and perseverance, have gathered a considerable audience on messaging platforms (such as Telegram, etc.), can also consider this mission for themselves and introduce talented young people in the humanities and their writings.

- The Society for the Appreciation of Cultural Luminaries can, alongside introducing grandees of the humanities, design programs to introduce and make known talented young people.

- Centers and institutions working on the history of science and thought can have programs in this direction.

- The National Elite Foundation is another body that can pursue this matter. That is, firstly, it should not suffice with merely providing material support to talented young elites, but should also strive to introduce them to the scholarly community. Secondly, its efforts in this direction should not be limited to those who are considered elites according to regulations; rather, it should introduce individuals whose writings—even if they are few or published in obscure venues—attest to their elite status, not their credentials. Alternatively, it could ask luminaries in the humanities to introduce young elites to them.

- Officials at newspapers and magazines can help introduce these individuals by establishing contact with them, soliciting writings and articles, and breaking the monopoly on connections.

- Departments and organizations in various provinces and cities that are somehow involved with humanities topics should reduce their bureaucratic routines somewhat, and instead of using young advisors, many of whom are power-hungry and politically motivated, they should genuinely seek consultation and ideas from young elites. One of their goals, regardless of seeking advice and assistance—if such a thing exists—should be the very formation of these meetings. That is, the meetings themselves, as forums for deliberation and consultation, should be an end in themselves. Gathering them together from time to time and providing an opportunity for dialogue creates the ground for introducing them to one another and to institutions.

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Elite Monopoly and the Narrow Circle of Humanities Luminaries

The Waste of Human Capital in the Humanities

Author: Abbasali Mansouri, Faculty Member, Department of Philosophy, Razi University

[email protected]

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