mental knowledge is illustrated by a panelist who, in citing John
Maynard Keynes as one of his intellectual heroes, says of Keynes: “He
was another one of these people who combined very advanced theo-
retical and abstract thinking about economics, but would never be
drifting off the focus on the real world, from a concern with [what to
do] to solve problems of the day.” For her part, a political scientist
takes policy implications very seriously because “it’s the only way
that we can justify what we do...mybiasistowardsthings that are
goingtomakepeople’slivesbetter...Because I think intellectuals
are leeches if they don’t do that.” She favors research “that has some
real meaning in the way that power is distributed, or in terms of the
solution of social problems.”^18
Illustrating the concern with “giving voice,” a cultural studies scholar
explains that significance means “potential social significance, as op-
posed to more narcissistic or solipsistic activity, or... simply a sort
of gentleperson’s activity...Scholarship ought to have more impact
than simply personal pleasure of a hobby...It’simportant to con-
sider the work of diasporic peoples, of women as opposed to simply
men, of popular and folk idioms in addition to elite music.” In the
1960s and 1970s, the “invasion” of French theory and the growing
influence of Marxism, feminism, and post-structuralism put the
“power-culture link” at the center of the intellectual agenda for many
humanistic disciplines.^19 This perspective permeates the evaluative
scripts used by many panelists, as illustrated by an English professor
who remarks, “I don’t think a cultural study even comes close to
completion if it doesn’t offer some reflection on how this cultural
phenomenon intersects with power relations...Iwould think that
something’s missing if gender wasn’t included, if race and/or na-
tional identity, or some other factor of that kind, is left out.” A histo-
rian assesses a project’s significance in terms of its urgency and time-
liness for our understanding of society. So of studying racism, he
says, “If we can understand the dynamics of how this arises and how
Recognizing Various Kinds of Excellence / 179