The Military Industrial Academic Complex at Cal Poly (Abstract and Annotated Bibliography)

Thesis/Abstract

As former President Eisenhower warned against the Military Industrial Complex in his Farewell Address, he left out one pertinent word: Academic. As American economy was becoming reliant on warfare, academics were being shaped by warfare and the same remains today. The Pentagon and an increasing obsession with national defense create what is known as the Military Industrial Academic Complex. Composed of universities from all over the nation, the Military Industrial Academic Complex has come to dominate curricula and entire university agendas due to the significant amount of funding coming from the Department of Defense and being poured into the sciences and engineering. In contract with the Department of Defense (DoD), Cal Poly is no exception, receiving millions to train their engineers as prime military defense employees ready for recruitment fresh out of graduation.

The Military Industrial Academic Complex at Cal Poly

Annotated Bibliography

Fraser, Cary. “The Politics of Knowledge and the Revitalization of American Democracy: A Response to Henry Giroux’s The University in Chains: Confronting the Military Industrial Complex.” The Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies (2009), p. 479-492.

Fraser starts with the discussion of Eisenhower’s Farewell Address and the warning of the Military Industrial Complex. Fraser states that Eisenhower had originally used Military Industrial Academic Complex, but took it out when he delivered the speech. Although Eisenhower took ‘academic’ out, he still acknowledged the domination of the MIA over academia. There is also a discussion, taken from Giroux’s book, on the fact that the American society was established and still has anti-intellectual traditions (although he gives a very vague example of why: the founding of the nation as a ‘promise land’ for Christian Protestants). The author goes on to say that Americans must focus upon the revitalization of the institutions and rhetoric that have nurtured democratic sensibilities (p.12). In conclusion, the author suggests that there is a precedent from with in the university that can provide both legitimacy and momentum for an effective challenge to the Military Industrial Academic Complex. Since I intend to use Cal Poly as a focus point of my research, many may want to discuss starting points for change, at least I hope, and this can be a starting point as words of encouragement.

Giroux, Henry. “The University in Chains: Confronting the Military Industrial Complex.” Paradigm Publishers (2007). Print.

Giroux discusses the evidence of pressure, especially after 9/11, from the military and corporate sectors on the university to dedicate its resources and curricula to the goals of ‘national security’ and corporate profits. He also discusses the rise of right-wing fundamentalists who view critical thought as a threat to political order (relating to anti-intellectual traditions discussion in Fraser). Giroux argues that the university has lost its status and initial role as a democratic public sphere that encourages and facilitates critical learning and thinking and in turn, has become a direct branch of the Pentagon and corporate interests, which are one in the same. Giroux offers a lot of information that can be used regarding this topic. There is a thorough background on the MIA and how it is thriving today. Furthermore, he discusses characteristics of institutions/universities that are affiliated with the MIA (which Cal Poly fits right into). One main example is the example of military and corporate control over all curricula and material discussed at these institutions, and what immediately came to mind was the Michael Pollen incident, although I need to look further into more examples regarding Cal Poly specifically.

Martino-Taylor, Lisa. “The Military-Industrial-Academic Complex and a New Social Autism.” Journal of Political and Military Sociology (2008), p.37-52.

This article discusses the early statements of C. Wright Mills of how there was “the great structural shift of modern American capitalism toward a permanent war economy” and that the universities were in fact financial institutions part of the military (p.2) and thus a part of this structural shift. Martino-Taylor described the Military Industrial Academic Complex as the disastrous recipe of prevalent racism, development of biological and chemical weapons, military-minded leadership, profit-driven chemical industry and a talented and “values free” academia (2008, p.5). Although, the author does not delve deep into a discussion of the Military Industrial Academic Complex (MIA), she does give a very detailed history of how the MIA was created; through early involvement of universities in gas and chemical weapons research which became more and more prevalent with the rise of WWII. From this came the office for Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) headed by the president of MIT, Vannevar Bush. This history will help establish what constitutes an institution that is involved in the MIA and how it came to be that way.

Targ, Harry. COMMENTARY: The Military/Industrial/Academic complex: Fifty Years Later. (2011). http://archives.huntingtonnews.net/columns/110103-targ-columnspeacevoice.html, 7 February 2011.

This article is a critical discussion and analysis of Eisenhower’s warning of the Military Industrial Complex in his farewell address. It is supported with up to date examples of how things have not changed and even gotten worse to a certain extent. This article will further aid me in establishing the definition and notion of the MIA.

Turse, Nicholas. “The Military-Academic Complex.” (2004). http://www.countercurrents.org/us-turse290404.htm, 8 February 2011.

This author gives a brief history of the Military Industrial Academic Complex then goes into more statistical information as far as how many universities are affiliated with the MIA and what percentage of funding goes to these universities from the Department of Defense to do military defense research. The author states that according to a 2002 report by the Association of American Universities (AAU), almost 350 colleges and universities conduct Pentagon-funded research; universities receive more than 60% of defense basic research funding; and the Department of Defense is the third largest federal funder of university research. These numbers are shocking, but Cal Poly has received a part of the 60% of basic defense research, as ex-President Baker signed a multi-million dollar contract last year with the Department of Defense in New Orleans. There are many more statistics given within this article, and more information to be found connecting Cal Poly to the infamous MIA.