The phrase is “ivory tower” rather than “ivory tour”. Google's definition: a state of privileged seclusion or separation from the facts and practicalities of the real world. "the ivory tower of academia". Quoting the opening paragraph from Wikipedia's discussion of the term (Ivory tower - Wikipedia):. read more
"the ivory tower of academia" Quoting the opening paragraph from Wikipedia’s discussion of the term (Ivory tower - Wikipedia): The term ivory tower originates in the Biblical Song of Solomon (7: 4) and was later used as an epithet for Mary. read more
In an academic sense, this leads to an "overwhelming and disproportionate dominance" of the United States and the Western world. The ivory tower can be dangerous, some believe, in its inherent privatization of knowledge and intellect. read more
The first mention of ivory towers is in the Bible, Song of Solomon 7: 4 (King James Version): Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes like the fishpools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bathrabbim: thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus. The contemporary figurative meaning is of a place of unworldly isolation. read more