Saints and Scamps: Ethics in Academia / Edition 25

by Steven M. Cahn

Overview

Saints and Scamps has been widely acclaimed as one of the best academic ethics books in print. In its 25th anniversary edition, Steven M. Cahn has updated and expanded upon his critical look at the duties and responsibilities of college professors; presenting us with a masterfully decisive and learned probe into the ethical standards and practices of the academic world and bringing Saints and Scamps to a new generation. Cahn discusses every issue, from grades to degree requirements, from tenure to the ethics of teaching. For Cahn, being a professor is so much more than research and scholarship; it is also about being a good teacher and shepherding in the next generation of students. He shows us what makes a wonderful professor and what constitutes professorial malpractice, and he does so with a wit and charm that is both entertaining and convincing. This is not just a book for college professors, but a book that should be read by parents, students, school administrators, and anyone interested in what teachers do and how they should do it. In this new edition, Cahn continues to do what he has done so brilliantly in the past; he shows us the ethical guidelines that every professor should follow.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442205666
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	10/16/2010
Edition description:	Twenty fifth Edition
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Steven M. Cahn is professor of philosophy at the Graduate Center of CUNY, where he has served as provost and vice-president for academic affairs.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Preface to the 25th Anniversary Edition
Chapter 2 Preface to the Revised Edition
Chapter 3 Preface
Chapter 4 Chapter One: The Professorial Life
Chapter 5 Chapter Two: Teaching
Chapter 6 The Art of Instruction
Chapter 7 A Teacher's Concerns
Chapter 8 Examinations
Chapter 9 Grades
Chapter 10 A Teacher's Role
Chapter 11 Evaluating Teaching
Chapter 12 Chapter Three: Scholarship and Service
Chapter 13 The Morality of Scholarship
Chapter 14 The Community of Scholars
Chapter 15 Departmental Obligations
Chapter 16 Requirements
Chapter 17 Chapter Four: Personnel Decisions
Chapter 18 Faculty Appointments
Chapter 19 Tenure
Chapter 20 Voting Procedures
Chapter 21 Faculty Dismissals
Chapter 22 Chapter Five: Graduate Education
Chapter 23 Appendix
Chapter 24 A. Searching for Administrators: The Missing Step
Chapter 25 B. Two Concepts of Affirmative Action
Chapter 26 C. Why Not Tell the Truth?
Chapter 27 D. Taking Teaching Seriously
Chapter 28 E. Teaching Graduate Students to Teach
Chapter 29 Notes
Chapter 30 Index
Chapter 31 About the Author

Editorial Reviews

Cahn's book is a lively, highly relevant examination of enduring principles of faculty ethics. He ably unites lofty principles with practical concerns and advice. I recommend this 25th anniversary edition as required reading by both newly minted and experienced professors.

Molly Corbett Broad

Diogenes lay down your lamp; the search for an honest man is over. Steven M. Cahn is he. His new improved edition of Saints and Scamps is a must read for anyone who cares about American higher education. Particularly those paying tuition! It's obligatory for all responsible trustees, presidents and deans. A copy should accompany every PhD awarded by all graduate schools from New York to Honolulu.

Stephen Joel Trachtenberg

Steven M. Cahn's Saints and Scamps is a sound, highly readable rumination on the ethics of higher education. It should be read by everyone engaged in teaching and scholarship.

Diane Ravitch

One is greatly cheered to see this new edition of Saints and Scamps, a delightful and instructive compendium of acute observations about the academic life, brimming with the knowledge and wisdom of an author who has not forgotten the difference between the two. Cahn's decency and intelligence are everywhere in evidence, cutting through the pseudo-savvy cynicism and gamesmanship that pervade modern academic life, and recalling us to the fundamental nobility of our work—the quality without which it becomes empty and pointless. This book should be required reading for every aspiring graduate student, every university president, and everyone in between.

Wilfred M. McClay

Saints and Scamps is still just as fresh, pertinent and irreverent as it was the first time around. Cahn is skeptical rather than cynical. He doesn't suffer educational fools gladly. And his commonsensical advice to students and their teachers is still worth pondering.

Stanley N. Katz

I fell in love with this book in 1988 and have re-read it often. I always view it as a brief retreat, as if returning to a friend who will give you advice that you know is good and true. Over the years I have made it my tradition to give this as a gift to new faculty, deans and Trustees. I am thrilled that it is now in the 25th anniversary edition. It will continue to grace the book collections of essential reading of my friends and colleagues. This is the book I wish I had when I started my academiccareer. In a cogent and well written manner, Dr. Cahn gets to the heart of our profession, reviewing our major responsibilities to our students, colleagues and society. His experience as a provost and professor provide numerous real-life challenges forthose of us who toil in the fields of academia. The simple truth is that we are engaged in a multifarious endeavor as we balance competing needs and agendas. Dr. Cahn gently, but with firm conviction, helps us deal with the complexity of our duties through a review of the axioms of the profession and our ethical responsibilities. Although I have never met Dr. Cahn, through this book he has been a good mentor.

Thomas H. Powell

Hailed as one of the best works on the subject of academic ethics when first published in 1985, Cahn's (philosophy, Graduate Ctr., CUNY) book has been "lightly edited" and appended with five papers for this 25th anniversary edition. Cahn originally sought to emphasize the obligations college professors assume in their careers, covering all aspects of teaching, from office hours and grading to departmental responsibilities and publishing. These obligations have remained relatively unchanged over the last quarter century. Unfortunately, so has the level of many professors' ethics. This edition is an effort to raise the consciences of a new generation of professors and stem the increase of academic malpractice. While it may be too late for those who have already acquired unethical teaching habits, perhaps this updated version will be better used by today's education students and novice instructors. VERDICT Cahn's work is still relevant. Even parents, students, and taxpayers will find this an accessible read.—Terry Christner, Hutchinson P.L., KS

Library Journal