A War Against ‘Normal’
A question of power is at the heart of the new and interesting book by Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay. The Anglo-American liberal duo did a tremendous service to the … Continue reading “A War Against ‘Normal’”
Whatever Happened to the Teaching of Western Civilization?
Stanley Kurtz ranks as one of this country’s most insightful critics of higher education. The National Association of Scholars chose wisely in commissioning him to write a report on what … Continue reading “Whatever Happened to the Teaching of Western Civilization?”
Identity Politics Versus Basic Logic: Should Colleges Offer Affirmative Action for the Female Majority?
Academic postmodernism is no stranger to the idea that classical Enlightenment values such as reason, equal treatment, and individual agency should be cast aside for the sake of racial and … Continue reading “Identity Politics Versus Basic Logic: Should Colleges Offer Affirmative Action for the Female Majority?”
From Indoctrination to Education: Salvaging the University
Editor’s note: This article is an excerpt from Coming Home: Reclaiming America’s Conservative Soul (ISBN: 9781641770569), to be published by Encounter Books on May 14. The promise of higher education … Continue reading “From Indoctrination to Education: Salvaging the University”
College Writing Courses Are in Trouble, But This Isn’t the Solution
Freshman composition occupies a unique position in a college curriculum. It is the only class required of about 90 percent of enrollees whose diverse aptitudes and prior writing experience present … Continue reading “College Writing Courses Are in Trouble, But This Isn’t the Solution”
Why Postmoderns Train—Not Educate—Activists
Here’s why indoctrinating children makes perfect sense to postmodernists. Postmodernism is a sprawling movement centered on the conviction that the modern world’s most distinctive achievements—among them the rise of science, … Continue reading “Why Postmoderns Train—Not Educate—Activists”
Did the Hoaxers Do Anything Wrong?
One of the three “Sokal Squared” academic hoaxers, Peter Boghossian of Portland State University, has been accused of violating his university’s research policies. Boghossian is the only one of the … Continue reading “Did the Hoaxers Do Anything Wrong?”
What the Hoax Papers Tell Us about the Decline of Academic Standards
By now, most followers of the higher education press have heard of the “grievance studies” or Sokal Squared hoax. In this incident, a team of three researchers successfully published several … Continue reading “What the Hoax Papers Tell Us about the Decline of Academic Standards”
Time to Break the Mold for UNC Presidents
The sudden departure of Margaret Spellings from the presidency of the University of North Carolina system presents a unique opportunity to address academia’s most serious problem. The problem is intellectual, … Continue reading “Time to Break the Mold for UNC Presidents”
Why Humanities Programs Suffer as the Humanities Themselves Do Great
In recent years, the media has given us dire warnings about the “crisis of the humanities.” In article after article, one reads about falling enrollments in college English departments and … Continue reading “Why Humanities Programs Suffer as the Humanities Themselves Do Great”