Yeah, they switched the funding thing just as I applied to them. I got a nice acceptance letter basically saying "we're not giving you a dime, but you'll be studying in Toronto, Center Of The Universe, so it's more than worth the exchange." (They also admitted me without my consent and tried to send me a bill; that was fun.)
I think it's partly academic fashion - the same reason that I was discouraged from, say, seeking information on subjects from other departments for history-program purposes - along with a bit of "oh, we've done that already" attitude, which really is just the same as "academic fashion." I had a few ideas and projects shot down at graduate school because "historians don't look at those anymore," and I know that other fields have similar attitudes about some subjects.
There's also a little bit of "to study an idea is to advocate for it" mindset that's getting more common these days, but getting that reaction is more by individual than by department or field, I think. I don't know how common that is on the broader level, but I know some books I needed for my thesis at SMU were being destroyed by students because of that attitude.
no subject
I think it's partly academic fashion - the same reason that I was discouraged from, say, seeking information on subjects from other departments for history-program purposes - along with a bit of "oh, we've done that already" attitude, which really is just the same as "academic fashion." I had a few ideas and projects shot down at graduate school because "historians don't look at those anymore," and I know that other fields have similar attitudes about some subjects.
There's also a little bit of "to study an idea is to advocate for it" mindset that's getting more common these days, but getting that reaction is more by individual than by department or field, I think. I don't know how common that is on the broader level, but I know some books I needed for my thesis at SMU were being destroyed by students because of that attitude.