Visual Turn: The Cult of Dullness

“It was as a candidate for the Ph.D. at Harvard that I first encountered the Cult of Dullness. Since boyhood I had aspired to be a writer. So with my first graduate research paper I tried to write as well as I could. My professor warned me gently that although he himself did not object to a well-written paper, his colleagues might be put off. They might suspect that I was not really committed to dull writing and thus not a suitable candidate for the Ph.D.

“I encountered the problem again when I sent my doctoral dissertation to a typist to have it type up for presentation to my readers, who would approve or disapprove it. The typist called shortly to express her concern. It did not read like a Ph.D. Was I sure it would be acceptable? What was the problem, I asked. Well, she was enjoying reading it, and that made her uneasy on my account. She was concerned that it might not be accepted. It was not as dull as she felt it ought to be.

“The Cult of Dullness not only survives; it flourishes.”