Inside Higher Ed :: Mind the Gap

Inside Higher Ed :: Mind the Gap: "Nearly 20 years ago, in The Last Intellectuals: American Culture in the Age of Academe, Russell Jacoby charted the disappearance of the �public intellectual� � a phenomenon that occurred in lockstep with the rise of the university. In the first half of the 20th century, Jacoby contended, thinkers such as Lewis Mumford, Lionel Trilling, and Edmund Wilson dominated the landscape, addressing topics of broad concern, writing for an audience of educated laypeople. But as universities replaced urban bohemias as center stage in the life of the mind, these public intellectuals were succeeded by a cadre of professional academics: preoccupied with tenure and peer review, highly specialized, and writing mainly for each other.
Today, however, there are signs that Jacoby's age of academe� may be winding down and a new era emerging. While universities continue to play an important role in intellectual culture, increasingly they are no longer the only game in town. With the rise of the knowledge economy and the spread of decentralizing technology, the academy is ceding authority and attention to businesses, nonprofits, foundations, media outlets, and Internet communities"