cultural knowledge in the cold war and post 911 world

7/30/2019 Cultural Knowledge in the Cold War and Post 911 World

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3. Introduction

Anthropology is a field that has been extensively criticized for allowing its research to be

influenced by the agendas of colonial governments in the late 19th and early 20th

centuries. However though we like to imagine that we live in a world or free academic

thought and pure research for the betterment of humanity unfortunately this is not the

case. Just as the anthropological field in the past has come under the influence of state

governments attempting to further their own agendas, the same occurs today. In this

paper we will examine the role that state governments play in cultural knowledge

production and its relation to various state agendas, using both the Cold War and Post

9/11 periods. In order to do this we will firstly examine how organizations use outside

control in order to shape the cultural production of knowledge to conform to state agenda.

This is done through the use of McCarthyism and New McCarthyism and their inherent

tactics of pressure and intimidation. Secondly we will explore ways in which the state has

gained control of the production of knowledge from within institutions themselves.

Specifically we shall examine the use of state funds, both covertly and publicly, and the

placements of government agents within Anthropological Research Organizations.

Control from the Outside

We shall begin with an examination of McCarthyism. McCarthyism was about finding

communists those who pose a national security threat (Sieber, 8) however it went

beyond this group to target anyone who fought against the Status Quo. Unfortunately due

to the nature of anthropological research many anthropologists fell into this second

category. During the Cold War the FBI acting on the behest of the government and in


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complete support of McCarthyism secretly met with and leaked information to

employers, officials, and managers with control over anthropologistsin order to destroy

professional careers and opportunities (Sieber, 9). A large groups of anthropologists

were persecuted and careers ruined because of their alleged communist ties and

unwillingness to name names in investigations. These allegations and outside pressure

on institutions caused many anthropologists to lose their jobs and those who survived

these McCarthyist witch hunts learned to censor themselves.

New McCarthyism is as devastating to anthropology today as traditional McCarthyism

had been during the Cold War Era. The point at which Traditional McCarthyism and

New McCarthyism find commonality is that they target people who question the wisdom

of the state, however living in a post 9/11 society the realities of such questioning are

quite different.

In the Post 9/11 world one of the main ways in which the production of knowledge is

shaped by state agendas in the New McCarthyism is through the use of campus watch

groups these groups are connected to vestiges of the George W Bush Administration and

other Republican and neo-conservative groups. Today instead of the FBI, a clear agent of

the government, the states interests are represented by organizations who while appearing

to be independent have deep roots within government administrations. These watch

groups seek out academics who do not fall into line with the state agenda and accuse

them of a lack patriotism, disloyalty, rigid ideological orthodoxy [and] anti-

Americanism(Sieber, 10). The fear is that these academics will indoctrinate their


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radical beliefs into their students. These groups use tactics of intimidation hoping that

these renegade professors will either be dismissed by their institutions or fall into line. In

the case of Abu al-Haj a set of Right wing groups set to create controversy using false

claims and misconstrued information placing pressure on her institution to discipline her,

however while in this case their attempts failed and she received tenure this is not always

the case, under pressure from these assaults, some academic institutions buckle and a

professor's career is derailed; in other cases it is permanently stained (Sieber, 11). Many

anthropologists, including Ward Churchill and Normal Finkelstein, have been denied

tenure while some have been dismissed from their institutions.

While it is the anthropologists who are under the microscope of these groups it is

everyone who ultimately loses. What these measures effectively create is a censure of

ideas and the creation of knowledge that is not free or in the interest of human

betterment, but instead knowledge which falls into line with the current state agenda.

Thus it is clear that during the Cold War and Post 9/11 world the creation of knowledge

is shaped by state agendas.

Control from Within

However McCarthyism and outside control is not the only way in which the production

of knowledge is made to conform to state agendas, there is a much more direct way in

which this occurs. Cultural knowledge production is still shaped by state agendas directly

from within the institutions themselves.


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One disturbing aspect of the cultural production of knowledge is that it is shaped by state

agendas directly in intuitions through the use of government funding. The foundations of

this lie in the Cold War when the CIA covertly funded anthropological research using

several organizations as fronts, specifically the Human Ecology Fund. The CIA gave

money to anthropologists, under the guise of the Human Ecology Fund, for research that

could be used to understand the enemy, the problem was that the anthropologists did not

know the money was coming from the government and more significantly the ethical

rights of the unwilling refugee participants from eastern bloc nations who were used in

these studies. A significant problem also occurs in that the CIAs historical actions are

drastically opposed to representing the needs of those studied.

This situation is mirrored today with the creation of Minerva. Minerva is a government

funded program that would fund the creation of cultural knowledge in order to combat

security threats. However the fear is that such a program will seek to assign any created

knowledge with that of current state agenda. Much of this funded research will

undoubtedly be classified and closed to the peer review process. With the dispersion of

funds from the Pentagon, the money would undoubtedly go to anthropologists whose

views are in line with the current administration and not anyone who would challenge the

current state agenda. Thus in funding anthropological research the State tacitly ensures

that the cultural production of knowledge is shaped by the its agenda.

The case of the Russian Research Center at Harvard offers a case study in which it is

clear that the production of knowledge is shaped by state agendas. This President of this


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organization had deep ties to both the CIA and FBI and directed the research of the

Russian Research Center. Among this research was a study titled Project Troy which was

determined to get to the truth of the Iron Curtain (Price, 405). In such cases as these not

only is academic integrity compromised but also the freedom of research. Such

organizations would also hire only anthropologists who would shape the production of

knowledge to the current state agenda.

Conclusion

In conclusion we can see that during the Cold War and Post 9/11 world state agendas

have continued to shape the production of knowledge in the Anthropological field in a

number of ways. Whether through McCarthyism during the Cold War or New

McCarthyism more recently, the intimidation and intended censorship ensure that cultural

knowledge production is in line with state agendas. The use of government funding also

ensures that the State is able to shape anthropological research and thus the creation of

knowledge to benefit its own agenda. Such efforts go against the spirit of

Anthropological research and ensure that any knowledge produced is shaped in the

interests of the State agenda.

cultural knowledge in the cold war and post 911 world

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