Atul's Quest (Chapter 1)

Atul’s Quest

Nader Habibi

*Disclaimer: All the characters that appear in this story are fictional. None of them represent any real individual that I have ever met. The story is a work of fiction, and in no way is it intended to provide an account of the lives or attitudes of any specific indi viduals or groups. Nader Habibi

Copyright © January 2003, Nader Habibi First Edition

Acknowledgements

I’m grateful to many individuals who have assisted me with the background research for this book or have re- viewed the manuscript and provided valuable comments and suggestions. I like to thank Sumiko Otsubo, Gaiutra Bahadur, R.A. Vasavi, Timur Kuran, Kevin Paglias, Peter Kilby, Jeffrey Nugent and Warren Samuels for their comments in various stages of this book’s preparation. They are not responsible for any errors and shortcomings of this manuscript. They do not endorse any of the unorthodox ideas that are dis- cussed in this book either.

Chapter One

Independent Study Proposal

It was a Friday afternoon in April of 1998. I had just returned from a two-hour lecture that ended at 4:30

p.m. and was too tired to do anything. I was sitting in my office on the third floor of the economics department at Yale. (I’m not used to going home early even on Friday nights.) So, even though I was practically brain-dead and could not even find the energy to casually surf the Internet, I decided to relax for a few minutes and try to spend at least two hours on my re- search before heading home.

The department of economics and its associated re- search centers (like most other offices at Yale) are spread around in four old buildings around Hillhouse Avenue in New Haven. Unfortunately, being a junior faculty member, I had been condemned to a small and rather uncomfortable room on the third flood of the main building that also hosted the department’s offices. My office was no larger than 9X8 feet and had a small narrow window that did not have much of a view, even if you stood directly in front of it. Another building about 20 feet away blocked the view. However, if   you

stood to the right of the window and looked to the left, you could see some trees and the intersection of Hillhouse and Trumbull streets. That afternoon, I was doing exactly that, except that I was sitting in my chair. I was aimlessly looking at people who came into my line of vision for only a few seconds.

Five minutes into this exciting way of recovering from two hours of lecturing, I heard a quiet knock at the door.

“Yes. It’s open.” Again, there was a knock. This time, I raised my voice: “Come in, please.” The door slowly opened. It was one of my former students who had taken a course with me the previous semester.

“Hello, Dr H. I hope you remember me from your Public Choice class last term, ’’ he said in a polite voice.

“Yes I remember you, I… I’m sorry. I’m very bad with names. But, please, come in.’’ He was one of those attentive and smart students who stand out within the first few sessions. He sometimes asked very tough questions. Nonetheless, when you teach 50 to 70 new students every semester, it is hard to remember their names after the term is over.

“Oh, I’m Atul Divan. Do you have a minute?” “Yes. Yes, Atul. How are you? Have a seat.”

Atul was trying to catch his breath while sitting down and putting his large black backpack on the floor. He was a short fellow - only 5.4” - and very skinny. He must have been a second-generation immigrant, because, while he looked like a typical person from the Indian subcontinent, he did not have an Indian accent. His face was bony, and one could not help but notice his large cheekbones. The good thing about having your office on the third floor of an old building is that you and anyone who comes to visit you get a good

workout. Noticing that he was still breathing heavily, I commented : “At least it’s good for your heart. Isn’t it?” Then I waited for him to tell me the purpose of his visit. My guess was that he was here to ask for a recommendation letter, since ex-students rarely contact their former teachers for any other purpose.

“Dr. H, I was wondering if I could take an independent study course with you next fall?”

My answer was going to be negative, because I was very busy back then trying to complete my latest re- search paper. And besides, I did not have a good experience with supervising individual studies (IS) before. Last time I supervised an IS course, the student did not want to do the required readings. She didn’t do a good job on her term papers either. At the end, she filed a complaint against me and claimed that I expected too much. However, I thought it would be impolite to reject Atul’s request immediately. Besides, he might take another course with me in the future and give me a bad teacher evaluation. So I asked if he  had a specific topic in mind.

“Yes, I do. It is a rather unusual topic that I have been thinking about for a long time. I would like to show that non-whites should improve their racial beauty through marriage with whites. I believe this is the only way that non-whites could overcome their socioeconomic rejection and achieve full integration into  American society”.

I was taken by surprise by this idea, especially since it came from an Indian-born student whose own skin color was dark. Atul’s complexion was even darker than that of most Indians.

“Could you run that by me one more time,” I said, as I leaned forward in my chair.. “Did you say you want to show that non-whites should improve    their

racial beauty?!!” I asked with a polite smile. I  wanted to tell him that this vague idea was not an economic topic, but first I wanted to know what the topic was exactly.

“I understand this is a controversial issue, but I’m very curious about it. What I mean is that, when it comes to beauty, whites enjoy a comparative advantage relative to other races. While everyone talks about overcoming discrimination and achieving racial equality, I have never heard any talk of racial improvement. The fact is that, even though there are no proven differences in the physical and intellectual capacity of different races, the level of physical attractiveness is higher among some races than others. I want to show that it is good for those who are less attractive as a race to improve their physical beauty by biological intervention.” Atul’s face was very serious throughout this explanation until the last few words about biological intervention. He said these last words with a meaningful smile. I had wanted to laugh much earlier, but did not think it was appropriate. So, as soon as I saw the smile on his face, I started laughing, and Atul’s smile turned into laughter in conformity. “I told you it’s an unusual topic,” said Atul, while trying to show that he was not disturbed by my laughter.

“It is a very unusual and, I should say, a very sensitive issue,” I responded while nodding my head in approval and continued with a more serious tone: “I think you must talk to one of the professors in the sociology or psychology departments about this topic. They would know a lot more about these issues. Unfortunately I don’t have enough knowledge in this area to be able to guide your study.” It is not un- common for professors to reject a request like Atul’s by

referring it to other departments and trying to sound encouraging.

“I agree with you that this issue is not directly related to economics. I contacted one of my professors in the sociology department last week, but he was not interested. He said it was offensive to minorities and there was no scientific proof for my argument. I’m glad your reaction is not as harsh as his. He only gave me three minutes of his time and advised me to drop the idea altogether. I also contacted a professor of ethnic studies who is from Latin America. His reaction was even worse. He said such ideas would give racists added ammunition to abuse non-whites and ridicule them. I came to you because, of all the professors that I have taken courses with here at Yale, you are the most open-minded one. Also, you were always interested in the sociological and political aspects of economic be- havior, and I figured you probably must have had formal training in one of these areas,’’  said Atul.

I was not about to change my mind because of Atul’s flattering remarks about the range of my knowledge. I did not need this distraction at this  point in my life. “I have to agree with the concerns of these two professors. This is a very controversial issue, and some people might even find it offensive. I don’t  think I can convince the department to approve a non- economic and sensitive topic like this one for independent study. As you might be aware, when an in- dependent study course is approved, the department assigns another faculty member, in addition to the supervisor, as a reviewer. Students must write at least three term papers for an independent study course, and these must all be approved by the reviewer as well. Even if I accept your argument, I doubt that another professor would agree to put his approval signature  on

a paper whose basic assumption is that some races are physically, I mean from the standpoint of beauty, inferior. I’m sure you are well aware of the crimes that have been committed in the name of racial superiority throughout human history. So I’m afraid I can’t help you with this idea. However, if you have other topics in mind that are related to my field of concentration, we can talk about them. “

Atul understood that I wanted to end the conversation. It was clear that he was disappointed. He picked up his bag and stood up to leave. Then suddenly he looked at me and said, “What if I rephrased my idea so that it involved economic concepts. After all, I have taken so many economics courses that, subconsciously, I look at the world through an economic lens. Would you be interested to consider it then? This topic  means a lot to me, and I don’t think anyone else would be willing to help me.” His persistence was understandable. Students who choose to do an individual study project are often very religious about the topic, or they would not insist on it. However, I was not about to say yes. If I agree to supervise an independent study project, it has to be on a topic related to my own re- search. That way, I could use the student for literature search and statistical assistance. Cynical as it might sound, this is a tradition in academia. Again I politely declined: “I can’t see how this issue could be related to economics, but I suggest you do a little bit of literature review and organize your thoughts in a more scientific format. For starters, you are simply making a few nor- mative statements about the beauty differential among races and then making a moral judgment that non- whites should engage in interracial marriage to improve their racial beauty. I hope you remember the difference between normative and  positive  concepts.

Science is primarily about observation and positive statements. Rather than making value judgments, you should try to prove your points. First of all, how do you know that whites are more beautiful? Do non-whites think that whites are more beautiful, or is it just the ethnocentric perception of whites themselves? How do you measure beauty to begin with? Besides, even if you show that whites are more attractive, you have to demonstrate why any group of people will give up its traditional method of reproduction, meaning marriage, to reproduce eugenically just for sake of changing its physical appearance.’’ Atul raised his hand as a request for interruption. I paused. “Excuse me. What does 'eugenically' mean?” Atul asked.

“See. That’s just what I mean. If you are  interested in this topic, you should do a lot of reading about race and the history of race relations. Eugenics is the process of selective breeding and other activities that are intended to improve a race or ethnic group based on a predefined criteria,” I replied.

“I thought you did not know anything about these issues,'' said Atul with a smile.

“I know very little. Eugenics is common knowledge. It was a popular topic before World War II. I have read a few articles about it in popular magazines. If you are seriously interested in this topic, I suggest you look into it.” Atul wanted to drag the conversation, but I was too tired and I did not want to commit myself further. Still standing and slightly bending to the left under the weight of his backpack, he asked if he could stop by again and talk about this issue further, after doing a little more reading.

“I guess if you stop by during my office hours, it’s fine. But I can’t imagine how I can be of further help.’’ I could have helped him - if nothing else, at least by

giving him general guidelines on how to formulate his thoughts. I was not as ignorant about the topic as I wanted him to think either. But I had to avoid all distractions and concentrate on my own research. Getting one more paper accepted for publication was crucial for my tenure approval. I promised myself to be nicer to students after I was promoted to associate professorship.