A Tenured Professor (1990) is a satirical novel by Canadian-American economist and Harvard professor emeritus John Kenneth Galbraith about a liberal university teacher who sets out to change American society by making money and then using it for the public good. Set at Harvard mainly during the Reagan administration, the plot and all the characters that appear in the story are entirely fictitious.
The book chronicles the rise to fame of one Montgomery Marvin, a professor of economics who, as an academic teacher, keeps a low profile but who nevertheless is given tenure quite early in his career. While outwardly concerning himself with unspectacular research focusing on "Mathematical Paradigms in an Approach to Refrigerator Pricing" (which is also the title of his Ph.D. thesis), Marvin's extracurricular activities centre on becoming very rich in a very short time. For that purpose, Marvin has devised a new formula—a stock forecasting model by means of which he and his wife can cash in on people's euphoria, greed and, as they call it, dementia. Eventually, while everyone loses money in the wake of the "Black Monday" stock market crash of October 19, 1987, the Marvins gain an awful lot. (See also Michael Milken and leveraged buyout.)
They decide to spend their money wisely, according to their liberal agenda. Intent on strictly observing the code of business ethics, they start to make use of the "positive power of wealth" and embark on a life of philanthropy. They fund a number of chairs in peace studies to be established at, of all places, military academies. They also secure legislation by which companies are required to label their products according to the percentage of female executives employed by them. After they have launched several of their projects, their operations are increasingly considered un-American and officially put under surveillance. But whatever will happen - Marvin knows that he will be able to nourish his family, as he has been accorded tenure.
A New York Times reviewer commented: "Watching Mr. Galbraith's Tenured Professor and his wife shake up Harvard and cut up the corporate world makes for a lively satire".[3]
Footnotesedit
^Amazon.com: A Tenured Professor (9780395471005): John Kenneth Galbraith: Books
^A Tenured Professor: Amazon.co.uk: John Kenneth Galbraith: Books
^Mitang, Herbert (1990-02-24). "Galbraith the Novelist In Economic Fairy Tale". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-10-25.
Referencesedit
. Harvard Economics Bios. Spring 1999. Archived from the original on 2007-12-19. Retrieved 2007-10-25.
January 01, 1970
tenured, professor, 1990, satirical, novel, canadian, american, economist, harvard, professor, emeritus, john, kenneth, galbraith, about, liberal, university, teacher, sets, change, american, society, making, money, then, using, public, good, harvard, mainly, . A Tenured Professor 1990 is a satirical novel by Canadian American economist and Harvard professor emeritus John Kenneth Galbraith about a liberal university teacher who sets out to change American society by making money and then using it for the public good Set at Harvard mainly during the Reagan administration the plot and all the characters that appear in the story are entirely fictitious A Tenured ProfessorFirst edition US AuthorJohn Kenneth GalbraithCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishGenreSatirePublisherHoughton Mifflin US Sinclair Stevenson UK Publication dateFeb 21 1990 US 1 Nov 12 1990 UK 2 Media typePrint Hardcover Pages197 ppISBN0395471001OCLC59837135 Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Reception 3 Footnotes 4 ReferencesPlot summary editThe book chronicles the rise to fame of one Montgomery Marvin a professor of economics who as an academic teacher keeps a low profile but who nevertheless is given tenure quite early in his career While outwardly concerning himself with unspectacular research focusing on Mathematical Paradigms in an Approach to Refrigerator Pricing which is also the title of his Ph D thesis Marvin s extracurricular activities centre on becoming very rich in a very short time For that purpose Marvin has devised a new formula a stock forecasting model by means of which he and his wife can cash in on people s euphoria greed and as they call it dementia Eventually while everyone loses money in the wake of the Black Monday stock market crash of October 19 1987 the Marvins gain an awful lot See also Michael Milken and leveraged buyout They decide to spend their money wisely according to their liberal agenda Intent on strictly observing the code of business ethics they start to make use of the positive power of wealth and embark on a life of philanthropy They fund a number of chairs in peace studies to be established at of all places military academies They also secure legislation by which companies are required to label their products according to the percentage of female executives employed by them After they have launched several of their projects their operations are increasingly considered un American and officially put under surveillance But whatever will happen Marvin knows that he will be able to nourish his family as he has been accorded tenure A Tenured Professor was republished as paperback by Houghton Mifflin in 2001 ISBN 0 618 15455 8 Reception editA New York Times reviewer commented Watching Mr Galbraith s Tenured Professor and his wife shake up Harvard and cut up the corporate world makes for a lively satire 3 Footnotes edit Amazon com A Tenured Professor 9780395471005 John Kenneth Galbraith Books A Tenured Professor Amazon co uk John Kenneth Galbraith Books Mitang Herbert 1990 02 24 Galbraith the Novelist In Economic Fairy Tale New York Times Retrieved 2007 10 25 References edit Emeritus Professor John Kenneth Galbraith Harvard Economics Bios Spring 1999 Archived from the original on 2007 12 19 Retrieved 2007 10 25 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title A Tenured Professor amp oldid 1045960049, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
