"My split with the university was over the fact that I had become involved with helping Tibetans in India"
About this Quote
The subtext is a familiar one in Cold War academia: the university wants politics as an object of study, not a practice; it tolerates compassion when it stays safely theoretical, grant-shaped, or domesticated into “neutral” expertise. Woodcock’s wording refuses that containment. He doesn’t say he became “politically active” or “controversial.” He says he was “helping,” an insistently human verb that makes any institutional punishment look petty or cowardly.
The Tibetans in India locates this in the real geopolitics of exile after China’s takeover of Tibet, when refugees became a test case for Western conscience and bureaucratic squeamishness. Woodcock turns a personal career story into a critique of the academy’s favorite illusion: that moral engagement is optional, and that the price of belonging is keeping your hands clean.
Quote Details
| Topic | Human Rights |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Woodcock, George. (2026, January 15). My split with the university was over the fact that I had become involved with helping Tibetans in India. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/my-split-with-the-university-was-over-the-fact-167495/
Chicago Style
Woodcock, George. "My split with the university was over the fact that I had become involved with helping Tibetans in India." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/my-split-with-the-university-was-over-the-fact-167495/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"My split with the university was over the fact that I had become involved with helping Tibetans in India." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/my-split-with-the-university-was-over-the-fact-167495/. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
