Avoiding the explicit taking of sides in the academic war between
"radicals" and "conservatives," Graft (Humanities and English/Univ.
of Chicago; Professing Literature, 1989, etc. - not reviewed)
argues that everything in higher education will be fine - in fact
better than ever - if the great battle itself becomes what college
students study. The trouble for college students today seems to be
that their teachers so often contradict each other - one saying,
for example, that Western culture is the world's highest ideal,
another that it's racist, sexist, and oppressive. What's a student
to do? Graft suggests tearing down the classroom wall between the
teachers - having them teach together in "theme" courses - so that
students can watch the two argue face to face, thereby learning
much not only about the nature of the debate but about approaches
to knowledge. Never allowing that students might make conclusions
for themselves even with the classroom wall in place, Graft argues
tirelessly for the merits of its removal. The "wars" now going on,
he declares, are a sign not of moral collapse but of a valuable
social energy and commitment among humanities scholars no longer
content just to be dull antiquarians; fights may arise between them
and their old-fashioned colleagues, but conflict causes paralysis
"only as long as we fail to take positive advantage of it." Well,
maybe, but the how ia the trouble. Putting faculty together into
cozily "thematized" classrooms won't convince everybody that a lot
of new learning will occur, and even Graft, as if admitting the
unspeakable truth that quality of teaching depends on quality of
teacher, devastatingly admits that "a dull, pedantic faculty
teaching in concert will produce no more inspiring result than a
dull, pedantic faculty teaching separately." Earnest in intent, but
in logic wandering confusedly in the torn battlefields of academe.
(Kirkus Reviews)
Is the academic warfare over multi-culturalism and political
correctness really a sign of America's intellectual decline, as
critics such as Allan Bllom and Dinesh D'Souza have suggested? Or
is it in fact a welcome sign of vitality, an assertion of the
desire for American cultural citizenship by women, blacks, and
other groups previously excluded from the mainstream? In this
response to these critics, Professor Gerald Graff argues that the
conflicts over education today signal the intellectual vigour of
American higher education. By teaching these differing conflicts,
Graff argues that the anger and hostility over political
correctness can be channelled into productive debate. Drawing on
his experience and teacher, lecturer and administrator, he contends
that conservative critics have over-reacted to what is actually a
gradual process of change in the American curriculum.
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