According to Susan Lawrence Cheney:
>
If this were not the case then it
> wouldn't have taken so long for white male middle class academics to start
> investigating class, race and gender issues.  Until people from all walks
> of life have the chance to pursue the questions that interest them, the
> questions that are raised will continue to represent the same narrow
> perspectives.
>
 
Susan:
        I agree with much of what you say, but to raise just
one quibble, it seems to me that Karl Marx was investigating
class long before the academy was enriched by the entrance of
non-White-males.  Yes, we do need as many perspectives on the
past as possible.  Yes, some questions went unasked for too
long because of the homogenous character of academic
institutions.  BUT I'm pretty sure that the things you are
interested in are a function of more than your gender,
ethnicity or class.
                        Scott Stephenson,
                        "Half of my ancestors
                            were women"