DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 377 780 HE 027 964

AUTHOR Wilson, John K., Ed. TITLE Democratic Culture. Newsletter of Teachers for a Democratic Culture. Volumes 1-3. INSTITUTION Teachers for a Democratic Culture, Evanston, IL. PUB DATE 94 NOTE 121p, AVAILABLE FROM Teachers for a Democratic Culture, P.O. Box 6405, Evanston, IL 60204 ($5, single copy price; annual membership: $5, students/low-income; $25, faculty/others). PUB TYPE Collected Works Serials (022) JOURNAL CIT Democratic Culture; v1-3 Fall 1992-Fall 1994

EDRS PRICE MF01/PC05 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Academic Freedom; College Faculty; Culture; Culture Conflict; *Democracy; Democratic Values; Faculty College Relationship; Feminism; Government School Relationship; *Higher Education; *Politics of Education; Scholarship; School Community Relationship IDENTIFIERS Academic Community; Academic Discourse; Political Analysis; *Political Correctness; Political Criticism; Political Culture; Political Education

ABSTRACT This document contains the first five issues of a newsletter for college faculty on countering the publicity campaign against "political correctness." The first issue from Fall 1992 describes the organization's founding and first year, analyzes a lawsuit brought by a faculty member at Massachusetts Institute of Technology against her institution charging acquiescing in "a persistent and continuing pattern of professional, political and sexual harassment," reviews books of interest, and reports on media coverage of "political correctness." The Spring 1993 issue includes reports on a national lobbying organization for scholarly societies, the 1,olitical fate of possible Clinton-Administration appointee Johnetta Cole, and commentary from several contributors on national politics, higher education culture, liberalism and multiculturalism, and feminism and classical studies. The Fall 1993 issue contains articles on critical pedagogy, a debate over politics at Louisiana State University, consequences of the Reagan-Bush administrations, commentary on national politics, and other essays as well as monitoring of media coverage of higher education. The Spring 1994 issue offers 14 essays and reports on a variety of topics relating to the "politically correct" debate in academia. The Fall 1994 issue is devoted to analysis and commentary of "Who Stole Feminism: How Women Have Been Betrayed by Women" by Christina H. Sommers. (JB)

*********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** Newsletter of Teachers for a Democratic Culture democratic P.O. Box 6405 a Evanston, IL 60204

(312) 743-3662 FAX: (312) 743-4548 e-mail: jkw3@amber uchicago.edu c. VOLUMES 1-3

U.S. DEPARTMENT Of EDUCATION 'PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS OrkeotEducshonal ReIgerch and improvement MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY EDUCATIONAL RESOURCESINFORMA1 CENTE ERICI 0 This document has Peen ',Prod' John Wilson reccred horn the parSOn Or cep cjrginating Teachers for a O'PrCnor changes hare been made to unorcer rtoroductiOn Quality Democratic Culture Points Or.... or opithons Meted in this doeu- TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES mint do not neceseahly ',prison! official OERI positron 01 pohcy INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) BEST COPY AVAILABLE 2 `.Pr.7.* S. '^

Volume I 'F411 1992 Nattibek 140, 4=.4 in" '' P.O. Bolcom Evanstouipakob 4204. i312) 74442.14ical2}10448 TDC: YEAR ONE A Report from the Coordinators TEACHERS FOR A his inaugural issue of Democratic Cul- Our major lobbying effort has been di- DEMOCRATIC- CULTURE ture marks the first anniversary of the rected at the increasingly coercive imposition of formation of Teachers for a Demo-a conservative agenda on the National Endow- Co-Coordinators: cratic Culture. It was during the summer of ment for the Humanities. In April, we organized Gerald Graff 1991 that teachers around the country began toa protest against the packing of the NEH advi- Gregory Jay discuss the need for an organization that wouldsory council with outspoken opponents of new Provisional Steering Committee: Steve Fuller counter the publicity campaign against "politi-directions in the humanities (including many Jane Gallop cal correctness." That September a group of usmembers of the National Association of Schol- Barbara Gold drafted the TDC statement of principles, and ars). We issued press releases, called the atten- 1)ominick LaCapra articles about the organization appeared in the tion of many in the media to our concerns, and Amy Lang Ellen Messer-Davidow Chronicle of Higher Education and on the front organized a letter-writing campaign to the Sen- Patricia P.amsey page of the New York Times. ate Labor and Human Resources Committee. David Shumway Over eleven hundred teachers have nowTDC members met with Senate staff represen- James Slevin joined the organization, representing virtuallytatives in Washington and Chicago. Our efforts Judith Stacey Dan Tompkins every discipline in the humanities and socialhave been reported by the Chronicle of Higher Mark Tushnet sciences as well as law, mathematics, medicine, Education and in a recent article on NEH Chair- Richard Yarborough and the health sciences. Our members comeman Lynne Cheney in Lingua Franca (David Newsletter Creators: from two and four-year colleges as well as state Segal, "Cheney's Command" [September-Oc- Susan Lowry Liana Odreic universities and private research institutionstober, 1992]). and contain a remarkable diversity of view- As many of you know, the nominees to the points. We are encouraged by the rapid growth council were ultimately approved in spite of our Inside in our numbers and believe that TDC can con- protest, evidently in a trade-off involving other A report on the media blitz tinue to play an influential role in today's cul- important issues before the committee. (as re- surrounding the Women's tural debates. [Killed in the Chronicle: "Deal on Abortion Bill Studies Program at MIT In our first year. TDC has sponsored con- Said to Pave the Way for 8 Nominees to Hu- ferences, engaged in lobbying activity, and manities Council," July 8. 1992). Nevertheless, The battle is joined in the gained the beginnings of a voice in the national our intervention was effective in delaying con- debate over the term "Political media. We supported a well-attended confer-sideration of the nominees before the Senate Correctness" ence in March on deconstruction and the publicCommittee, and gained recognition for TDC in media at Loyola University. In April we con-Congress.Along the way, many of us have Academics begin to respond to ducted a joint conference. entitled "Reconstruct- made important contacts and gained experience conservative attacks on the ing Higher Ed :ation," at Hunter College inthat promises to be valuable in the future. The academy New York with the Union of Democratic Intel- NEH itself will he up for full reauthorization in lectuals. the spring of 1993, and TDC plans to become Review of two books Regional chapters of TDC have been orga- involved in the hearings. Though we nay have concerning the debate over nized in New England. the Washington. D. C. lost the battle, we still hope to win the war. multiculturalism area. and in the Midwest. and a TDC disciplin- Finally, we believe the publication of Demo- ary caucus has been formed by members in the crude Culture (now projected for three times a Further observations on the field of Classics. We continue to work withyear) will significantly advance our organiza- NASNEH connection members (and invite volunteers) to form chap- tion, give our members a forum for expressing ters and caucuses in other regions and fields.their views, and thereby sharpen the The corporate bankrolling of This organizational activity has produced aorganization's program.In short, we think tht.. NAS and other provisional national Steering Committee, whose TDC's accomplishments in year one give strong conservativeacademe; members have agreed to serve until a perma-evidence that our of ganization can play a major movements nent committee can he elected. role in the national cultural debate. NEWSCLIPS The Making of a PCStory Amy Schrager Lang SHIFT IN THE WIND? rr he lawsuit filed last April againstMIT by Nor would one Olow from the story that There are signs that the professor of literature Cynthia Griffin Wolff has been a powerful figure at MIT who ideological smear campaign Wolff provides an instructive example of thehas largely had her way there. In 1980 she was against new academic movements way the now-familiar stories ofdecline andwelcomed as a tenured full professor by the that has had its way in the public terrorism in the university are manufactured and literature section; in 1985, MIT awarded her media for so long may at last be circulated. Wolff charges MIT with acquiesc-one of the first endowed chairs in thehumani- getting exposed for what it is. We ing in "a persistent and continuing pattern ofties.She has chaired the literature section's may he guilty of wishful thinking, professional, political and sexual harassment."curriculum committee and has served on the but several recent publications Her suffering began, she claims in the legal institute-wide Committee on Educational Policy. lead us to hope that the truth may complaint, with her conscientious opposition to Wolff s interventions in promotion and tenure be catching up to the intrepid foes the tenuring of two female colleagues and cul- cases have succeeded, not failed. Her efforts to of Political Correctness. minated in "a campaign of verbal abuse andcall the MIT administration's attention to the In a review appearing in the isolation." In the document submitted to Mas- sins of the literature section have resulted in New York Times Book Review of sachusetts Superior Court, Wolff contends thatcommittees of inquiry. Along with other fac- the latest conservative book she was denied an opportunity to teach in MIT'sulty, she has been invited to propose courses in trashing the academy. Martin Women's Studies Program in retaliation for her Women's Studies. Wolff's characterization of Anderson's Impostors in the role in tenure decisions and was vilified by herself as a victim is only slightly less bizarre Temple (whose title page bears colleagues because "the content of her scholar- than her characterization of the Literature Sec- the modest proclamation that ship" did not "comport with their stated political tiona division which has yet successfully to "American Intellectuals Are and ideological orientation." .enure a woman from its ranks or to appoint Destroying Our Universities and In its June issue, the conservative magazinemore than one non-White to its facultyas a Cheating Our Students of Their Hetorodoxy recounts the story of Wolff's suit in hotbed of radicalism. Future"), Princeton University an article entitled "Sex, Lies and Red Tape at None of this gets into Heterodoxy, of course, sociologist Paul Starr notes the MIT." The Heterodoxy article presents a luridwhich instead offers the familiar story: Wolff, resemblance of Anderson's attack tale of Wolff battling single-handedly against a battlingsingle-handedlyagainstthe on academics to more customary radical clique, some of them women and shine"politicization" of her department, is presented expressions of right-wing dema-. of them gay, who have seized control of theas a martyr, futilely seeking justice in the cor- eoguery, "Indeed," Starr com- Literature section at MIT." It recounts Wolff'srupt halls of the academy. More strikingand ments. Anderson seems to want to victimization by the joint forces of radical femi-more importantis the fact that the 23-page do for the universities what nism and gay activism, led by eighteenth-cen-complaint Wolff submitted to Massachusetts demagogues like Representative tury scholar Ruth Perry, currently director ofSuperior Court constructs her case in teens so Newt Gingrich have done for Women's Studies. and classicist David Halperin, readily assimilable to the familiar conventions. Congress: "bring the institution director of Gay and Lesbian Studies. Hetero- Apparently as interested in publicity as in legal into such disrepute that conserva- doxy trumpets Wolff s "steadfast" refusalasremedy, Wolff presents herself as another lone tives, long stuck in minority if someone was forcing herto "assert thatdefender of academic "standards" victimized status, wal have a chance at Emily Dickinson was a lesbian" and makesby the left-wing thought police. Replete with gaining power." flagrant use of guilt by association in its effort to charges of sexual misconduct, ideological war- Starr also observes that "Mr. smear Halperin by invoking legal difficulties fare, and institutional malfeasance, her legal Anderson does not give evidence experienced by his brother. complaint tells an irresistible tale of the "tradi- of any direct familiarity with the But what Heterodoxy says is less important tional" versus the "new," the scholarly versus world of scholarship. But, brave that what it leaves out. Nowhere does the article the merely fashionableand, by implication. man that he is, he is not prevented mention the fact that Halperin has flatly deniedthe American versus the unAmerican in a by a lack of acquaintance with the charge of "unprofessional conduct" and that straightforward narrative neatly designed for other academic disciplines from no charge of sexual harassment has been brought the retelling. condemning them in the most against him. Likewise, the editors of Hetero- But Wolff s complaint was not only writ- sweeping terms as given equally doxy do not feel obliged to acknowledge theten with an eye to the press: it appears to have to arid irrelevance and intellectual statement issued by Perry's lawyer and publicly been supplied to the press within hours of its dishonesty." Further encourage- reiterated by the entire senior faculty of Women's submission to the courts. The Chronicle of ment is provided in the Introduc- Studies that, contrary to 'Wolff s claims, "Pro- Higher Education not only knew about Wolff's tion to a new book by Frederick fessor Wolff never proposed a course" to thesuit but had access to the complaint by April 8, Crews, The Critics Bear It Away: Women's Studies Program and "was never toldwithin twenty-four hours of its filing. In fact. American Fiction and the she couldn't propose one." At least the main-Ruth Perry and others named in the complaint Academy. published by Random stream press contacted those accused of mis-first learned of its existence when they were House. Since recanting some of conduct in Wolfrs complaint and printed theircontacted by the Chronicle. The strategy is his radical commitments of the rebuttals, whereas the article Heterodoxy circu-clear: get your accusations published widely lated to its wide readership gives no hint thereenough and their truth hardly matters. coned on pg. 3.cot, I coned on pg 3, cot. 3 are any denials. 4 cone d from pg. 2, cot. 3 bers of its Advisory Boardran a longer ver- After all, the skilled character assassinsion of Roy's article in its June issue. But Roy counts on the denials of the accused falling had already made an appearance in the press. cone d from pg. 2, col. 1 Identifying him only as "a student writer for an away in the course of circulation, as they usu- 1960s, Crews has been a harsh independent campus newspaper," the April 22 ally do. Moreover, since evidentiary matters critic of the trend toward theory Boston Globe quotes Roy's view that "a certain are the province of the courts, the contents of a of and ideological criticism in legal complaint, however distorted or dishon-group was trying to force its views on the rest the faculty." Nowhere does it mention academic literary studies, and his est.can be cited, quoted, referred to in the new book mounts a critique of Counterpoint's conservative editorial policy or media without fear of charges of libel. What- American literature studies that its partial funding by the Madison Center for ever the fate of Wolff's suit in the courts, its many will strongly disagree with. Edcational Affairs, which has also funded the political value as propaganda is assured by its Crews goes out of his way, Dartmouth Review. circulation. however, to dissociate himself This slanted view is elaborated by Christina The damage to those whom Wolff attacks from "such cultural nostalgics as Hoff Sommers, professor ofphilosophy at Clark in her complaint is, likewise, accomplished in William Bennett, Allan Bloom, University, in the New York Times coverage of the press not in the courts. Since none of the Lynne Cheney, and Roger the suit.Described as "a friend of Professor faculty members whose behavior Wolff criti- Kimballpeople who conceive cizes in her complaint are defendants in the Wolff," Sommers voices the opinion that Wolff's persecution is "a case of political correctness of the ideal university as a lawsuit (the only defendant in the case is MIT), pantheon for the preservation of their opportunities to respond are narrowly lim- gone mad." Anyone who dares to oppose the "radical feninists, gay theorists or Marxists" great works and great ideas." ited. Regardless of the outcome. of Wolff's legal Crews goes on to "reject the who control the MIT Literature Section, she face-off with the MIT administration, the accu- rightists' apocalyptic account of sations of wrongdoing against Perry, Halperin goes on, "gets labeled as part of the white, hetero, patriarchal hegemony." Sommers' the current state of criticism, and others, against the MIT Women's Studies whose complexities altogether friendship with Wolff is acknowledged in the 'Program and the program in Gay and Lesbian escape them." He points out that Times, but not her vested interest in the attack on Studies, are now part of the public record. "the most vigorous and telling political correctness evidenced by her presence Tailored to satisfy prurient interest in academic critiques of ostensibly left alongside the editors of Heterodoxyon the mast- scandal. circulated, it appears. by Wolff and her doctrines" in the university lawyers. and exempt from legal repercussions,head of the August Counterpoint,. or by her membership in the National Association of "usually come from segments of Wolfs suit seems to have been designed for the left itself," and that "the left, Scholars, whose views on multiculturalism, af- the purpose of discrediting new modes of schol- unlike the right. has made some firmative action, and political correctness have arship and those who represent them. indisputably fertile contributions been amply expounded in advertisements in the The strategy has been highly effective. On to the recent evolution of literary Times. April 15, a week after Wolff's complaint was study." We have the left to thank, Things, as we say, circulate. And what is tiled in court, the Chronicle recounted her alle- he concludes, "for launching a circulating is the story Wolff has-so carefully gations and the responses of those criticized in fundamental debate about the crafted to conform to the larger narrative, al- the complaint. On April 22, The Boston Globe canon and for bringing minority ready in circulation, of decline and intimidation carried the story in its metropolitan section: a concerns into the foreground in the academy. Of course, one could argue that week later. The Los Ans;eles Times used the case developments that are especially woitr s strategic use of the press is simply in the as the centerpiece of an article headed "Bitter striking and revivifying in my Arguments Mar a Raging Debate among Aca- nature of the game, but that fact makes it no less dangerous. The vulnerability of the "parties" own field of American literature." demic Feminists." The story of the suit ap- Finally, things may he peared in the New York Times the first week in most damaged by Wolff's accusations and the publicity she has garnered for thempeople turning around at the New May. Other journals. from the New RiTublic Republic. Those who have and the New Criterion to Boston's Gay Com- who are not, technically, parties to the case at all and therefore haVe few means of recourse followed the magazine over the munity News to the whole range of student past few years will know that it should stand as a warning to the press of their newspapers at MIT. hae likewise offered their has been among the most relent- power and of their obligation to investigate such recyclings of the story. less in attacking multiculturalism Unfortunately, several reporters credu-accusations with extraordinary care. By exacting an admission of guilt from and other new movements, lously accepted the word of right-wing journal- invariably equating them with MIT, Wolff undoubtedly hopes not only to gain ists and academics as if their accounts were strident defenses of racial or legal confirmation for her smear campaign but disinterested. The Heterodoxy story was writ- gender purity. The magazine's to compel MITand by extension, other insti- ten by Avik Roy. an undergraduate at MIT, who special issue on "Race on tutions of higher learningto enforce the new drew on "research developed by Counterpoint Campus" (February 18. 1991) right-wing cultural agenda. But the outcome of magazine," the "M1T-Wellesley Journal of was all too typical, with its lead the lawsuit is almost beside the point. The real Rational Discourse and Ctunpus Life." This editorial informing readers that goal of the suit, the vilification of individuals would be a little like the DailyWorker announc- multiculturalism is "an orthodoxy and movements, has alread y been accomplished. ing that it has based a story on research devel- that prefers those texts that are oped by Pravda. In fact, Counterpointwhose Amy Schrager Lang is associate professor of American August masthead names Peter Collier and David Studies at Emory University.She was a member of the coned on pg 4, col. 1 Horowitz, the editors of Heterodoxy. as mem- literature faculty at HIT from 1978 to 1988. NEWSCLIPS BOOKS OF INTEREST Dell Publishing, 1992. 338 pages. $8.00 paper. coned from pg. 3. cot. 3 Debating P.C. Ed. Paul Berman: NewYork: Graywolf racially pure." whose "objective Beyond P.C. Toward a Politics ofUnderstanding. Ed. Patricia Aufderhide. St. Paul: is a unanimity of thought on Press, 1992. 236 pages. $10.00 paper. ctunpus...." So it was refreshing face of Debating P.C. and Beyond P.C. Toward a(194). Williams decries silence in the to see a fine essay by classical and Politics of Understanding gather together theoffensive verbal challenges from students. philosophy professor Martha disparate threads of the debates over "Political urges academics toremain vocal lest valuable Nussbaum in defense of gay and Correctness." multiculturalism. canon expan-and hard-won ground be lost. Finally,in the lesbian studies featured as the lash- sion, and speech codes on college campuses. Bysection entitled "Mosaic," Aufderheide cover piece in the July13-20 virtue of their wide-ranging selections, bothions the volume's powerful ending withsnip- issue of the journal. In addition editions disprove simplistic, bipolar accounts ofpets from George Bush, CornetWest. Elizabeth to providing a usefulclarification the P.C. debate. Aufderheide's selection andFox-Genovese, and Molefi Kete Asante. among of the kinds of work done in gay and arrangement of texts provides arefreshing de-others. These excerpts play off one another, and lesbian scholarship. which parture from the "us-versus-them" stereotypestogether they form a poignant ending Nussbaum argues that "the associated with media coverage of the debate.reinforces the edition's overall mess age:the conservative attack on gay studies Berman's effort to give a thorough account ofP.C. debate is as nuanced as it is complex. is not a defense of classical P.C. the debate by juxtaposing opposing viewpoints. Berman's Debating P.C. represents the learning, or of the Western while informative, runs the risk of reinforcing controversy by compiling pieceswritten for philosophical tradition. It is an some of these stereotypes. scholarly journals, reviews and articles printed attack on that learning and that Beyond P.C. Toward a Politics of Under- in the New York Times and the VillageVoice, tradition. At root, these critics are standing contains a careful selection of essaysRobert MacNeil's nationally televisedinter- saying little about intellectual life representing a spectrum of positions within theview with Dinesh D'Souza. and Catharine and everything about political P.C. debate. The edition offers a brief and well-Stimpson's 1990 MLA presidential address. life: these studies, they are informed introduction, and divides its material The resonant mix is organized into sixchapters, saying. are motivated by the intofiveconcisesections.Althoughincluding "Debating Political Correetness." desire of certain people to he Aufderheide's arrangement would at first sug- "Politics and the Canon." and "Free Speech and included in the academy and to issue gest a binary set-upshe entitles thefirst twoSpeech Codes." Some scholars will take have their way of life recognized chapters "Attack on P.C." and "The Counterat-with the accuracy of Berman's twenty-six page as an object of study, and that is tack"the three following chapters entitled "'Inintroduction to the collection. which attempts to precisely what we object to: these My Experience'." "Beyond P.C.." and "Mosaic"summarize, cavalierly. theopnical and philo- people should not he included and move the reader beyond this two-sided construe-sophical movements since the late sixties. their way of life should not he lion. The first two sections familiarize the reader Berman is particularly critical of recent attempts with a recognized. But why not? What with the terms of the debate, and give a sense ofto combine pedagogy and scholarship is the argument? Why are these what is at stake for its various participants.multicultural agenda. _ people. and knowledge about Particularly helpful pieces include a statement The articles in Debuting P.C. are arrangedin them, being pushed away? The issued by the N AS entitled "The Wrong Way to a point-counterpoint format.For example. Aristophanic answer comes hack: Reduce Campus Tensions." the "Statement ofBerman follows Stimpson 's presidential address because there is something Principles" issued by Teachers For A Demo- with RogerKimball's polemical appraisalof the strange about them and they make cratic Culture, and Ruth Perry's informativeevent. In a similar fashion,Diane Ravitch's us very uncomfortable.Never article "A Short History of the Term Politically "Multiculturalism: E Plurihus Plures" is fol- mind that both history and Correct." What enriches the volume by far. lowed by Molefi Kete Asante's rebuttalof the orchestration of arguing philosopti) are, in their very however. is the sequence of sections that fol-same. Although this nature. forms of inquiry into the lows. The section "'In My Experience pro- voices is a gesture toward representing all ac- strange and unsettling. vides a forum for both undergraduate and gradu-counts equally. Berman'soppositional pastiche by ate student voices. in "WhatRevolution atends up reinforcing the polarity emphasized Stanford'?," senior English major Raoul V.media hype. One chapter even hears thetitle clever, Mo watt dispels misconceptions about Stanford's"Texas Shoot Out," which, though mildly Call for Submissions recently initiated "CIV" requirement. In "Whatbrandishes a ready-aim-tire rhetoric that de- articles Campus Radicals?... graduate Rosa Ehrenreichtracts from the complexity the volume's Democratic Culture welcomes critically reflects on her four years at Harvard. so aptly speak to on their own.For their sophis- submissions on any subject of and explores the actual (as opposed to alleged) ticated treatment of the issues at stake.articles Rich- interest to its readers. Submis- effects "political correctness" had on that cam- deserving close attention include those by Louis sions should not exceed 1000 pus. The section "Beyond P.C."reevaluates the and Perry and Patricia Williams. Henry words. Please send your sub- P. C. debate by examining it fromdifferingGates,Jr.,TedGordon and Wahnema Lubiano, Michael mission to Denweratie Cul-, practical and philosophical perspectives. PatriciaMolefi Kete Asante, Paula Rothenberg. Catharine titre. P.O. Box 640.5. Evanston, Williams argues in "Defending the Gains" thatBeruN, Camel West, Edward Said. IL 60204. all things considered, "our hardest job intheseStimpson, and Stanley Fish.Liana Odreie times is not to forget why we...are where weare" University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee The NAS-NEH Connection Again Daniel P.Tompkins A NECESSARY DEBATE Responses to the Radicalization of the Univer- EH Chairman Lynne Cheney's latest ap- A debate that we think has L.1..N pointment comes from her favorite talentsity." He also sits on the board of the conserva- been too long postponed seems the National Association of Scholars.tive Liberty Fund. pool. to be shaping up,in the pages of Continuing a trend that TDC has repreatedly Massachussetts Congressman Chester G. the Socialist Review over the noted. Cheney has named NAS members. RufusAtkins has said, "The agenda of the NEH is term "political correctness." In Fears as Director of the NEH Division of Re-colored by the philosophical pressures that are an essay entitled "Political search Programs. a major management posi-exerted on it by the Buchanan right." Rufus Correctness and Identity Politics" tion. Fears' background with the Liberty Fund and in the journal':: December 1991 Professor Fears, a classicist, previouslyNAS fits this mold neatly. However, he has issue (it has also been reprinted taught at the University of Indiana and Bostonbeen praised as a teacher and administrator, and in the collection Beyond PC: University. then served as Dean of the Collegehas worked effectively with scholars whose Toward a Politics of Understand- of Arts tuid Sciences at the University of Okla-political and academic perspectives are less ing, published by Gntywolf homa. As NAS Senior Fellow, he appearedconservative than his own. Will he he able to do Press). Barbara Epstein writes along with B.U. Presickin John Silber in No-so on Cheney's tight ship? At this moment. that though she hesitates "to vember 1988 at that organization's first generalthat's anyone's guess. adopt a term that carries the conference, entitled "Reclaiming the Academy: Daniel P. Tompkins is a profrssor of (-lassies at right-wing agenda of the neo- Temple University and a TDC organi.:er. conservatives," the term does get at "what seems to me to he a WATCH ON THE RIGHT troubling atmosphere on the Left, having to do with the intersection The Best Ideas that Money Can Buy of identity politics and moral- n future issues of Democratic Culture, this"Through this apparatus." wrote Messer-Davidow ism." While dissociating herself column will continue to document the in-in the February issue of the Women's Review of from right-wing versions of the Books. "the Right has, in the last two years alone, creasingly successful attempt of conservat ive foun- argument. Epstein says she has instigated P.C. controversy, defended conser- dations to buy the influence on higher educathm witnessed "a process of ;;elf- vative nominations to the NEH council, promoted that their ideas have been unable to win on their intimidation in the name of This phenomenon was first widely re-core curricula and common culture, opposed af- merits. sensitivity to racism, sexism, and ported by Jon Wiener in a 199(1 article for The firmative action, decried sexual harrassment homophobia which tends to close Nation called "Dollars for Neocon Scholars: Thecharges, attacked multiculturalismand demon- down discussion and make Olin Money Tree" (reprinted in Wiener's Prof es-, ized academic feminism." communication more difficult." sors. Politics. and Pop 119911).Wiener's re- In1991, TDC issued a fact sheet based on search demonstrated that "Olin and several smallOlin's own annual report, confirming the findings In her courses in the History conservative foundations provide a vital link he- of Messer-Davidow and Wiener and discovering of Consciousness program at the tween universities and the political world of Re- additional beneficiaries of Olin's largesse. On the University of California at Santa puhlicans in government, right-wing think tanks payroll, one finds, among others, Dinesh D'Souza, Cruz. Epstein writes that "I and conservative publications." Allan Bloom, Robert Rtirk, Irving Kristol, Wil- frequently find myself in Wiener's findings have been reinforced and liam Bennett. David Horowitz, Herbert London. discussions that seem to he extended by Donald Lazere (in "Political Correct-The National Association of Scholars, the Madi- dominated by a collective fear of ness Left and Right" [College English (March,son Center. Commentary. American Spectator. saying something wrong." In 1992)1, and Ellen Messer-Davidow, who pre-New Criterion. the Dartmouth Review. and Wil- discussing a hook that criticized sented a paper on the successful network of right- liam F. Buckley's "Firing Line." If one examines the sectarian politics of black wing urga nizat ions at the 1987 MLA convention the vitae of the recently appointed members of the power movements in the 1960s, (a lull version appeared as a chapter in the (988 advisory council of the National Endowment for her students acknowledged "that volume Literature. Language. and Politics. ed- the Humanities, one finds that almost all are either they could not talk about the ited by Betty Jean Craige). members of the National Association of Scholars hook without entertaining According to Wiener. Lazere. and Messer-and/or have received monies from Olin or its criticisms of a black movement, Davidow. this organizational network comprises associates. such as the Heritage Foundation, the which would raise the possibility a new ideas industry and ideology apparatus spe- American Enterprise Institute. or the Bradley Foun- of racism." Epstein describes a dation. As Wiener points out, one of the largest cifically designed to circumvent and subvert the similar problem teaching a hook and most alarming Olin interventions is the "Law traditional institut ions of higher education. Nowa- on the radical feminism of the and Economics" program, which offers millions days you are more likely to hear a "scholar" from sixties and seventies by Alice the Heritage Foundation quoted in the news than of dollars to over a dozen elite universities to fund Echols, "which includes accounts the views of an expert from an accredited college professors and courses espousing Milton of the ideological rigidities and Building on the organizational Friedman's thesis that free-markel capitalism is or university. personal attacks that took place funding and media techniques developed by the the bottom line of justice.At UCLA, which under the slogan of 'the personal Christian Right, this network publishiN its own terminated the program after a year, the school's hooks and articles, funds its on experts. con- curriculum committee wrote that Olin was "tak- is political. Though "Echols's ducts media blitzes, and lobbies legislators. cont. don pg. t), col. 2 cont. d on pg. 6, col. coned from pg. 5. cal. NEWSCLIPS explicitly declares an agenda ing advantage of the student's financial need to as Olin, by contrast, coat' d from pg. 5, cal. 3 that are indoctrinate them with a particular ideology." in advance, namely, to support programs political. book is dedicated to the goals of It is not just the financial need of the students, "intended to strengthen the economic, which...private en- radical feminism," some students however, that explains the program'spopularity.and cultural institutions upon of such in Epstein's class argued that Like a McDonald's franchise, the Olinpackageterprise is based." Clearly the message ideology, even if early feminists had made comes with a complete menuof choices andfoundations is, if you don't endorse our some mistakes, to write about inducements, including research professorships, don't bother to apply. Furthermore, traditionally academic fund- them was to give ammunition to lecture funds, curricula, syllabi, and bibliography. raising begins at the local level, with a decision by the enemy." She goes on to It also offers visiting lectures by Olin professors from around the country and their .like-mindeda scholar or faculty groupthat a particular intel- describe a meeting of feminists at be friends in the judiciary and government: thus an lectual problem or curricular issue needs to which some women argued that addressed. A proposal is drafted that attempts to Echols must he wrong. that these Olin Center will bring you a Robert Bork, an meet disciplinary and institutionalstandards. The things could not have happened, Antonin Scalia, or an Allan Bloom for the asking.How can a budget-strapped Dean in an era proposal is then submitted to one or more granting that if they had happened surely of of recession and state funding cuts turn down such agencies, which pass it on for review to panels they had not been vertimportant It has proved an offer too good toexperts in the field. Proposals arefunded on the and should not he emphasized in a bonanza? refuse for the University of California at Berke-basis of well-established professionalcriteria. an account of the historyof ley, the University of Chicago, Clark University. Compare this to the programs funded by the feminism." Duke University, George Mason, Harvard, MIT, Olin program in Law and Economics. The pro- already been In a letter published in the the University of Pennsylvania, Stanford, theUni- grams' conception and goals have SR,Erica level, January-March issue of versity of Virginia, and Yale. generated and predefined at the national Bloom objects to Epstein's Whenever such dubious use of funds is criti-where paid staffers at private think-tanks develop charges of "an atmosphere of cized, however, we hear the same familiar re- detailed outlines adhering to a prescribed politi- offered, self-intimidation." Bloom points sponse: the liberal-left academy hasalways en-cal philosophy. The program isthen institu- out that such an atmosphere, after joyed its pet sources of financial support. So why along with large sums of cash, to various all, is precisely what "existed for shouldn't the conservative academy too? tions. The programs may have little or no support people of color, women, and This argument is trotted out once again in a among the faculty. who played norole in their religious minorities long before recent issue of theNew Criterion(June, 1992). in development.But this minor obstacle can be inducement of the concern with multi - an article pretending to report on theApril joint overcome, since along with the culteraiism and poststructuralism conference held in New York by TDC and theresearch monies. come paid Olin Professorships faculty Who will becaine manifest." Unionof Democratic Intellectuals. In the article, to allow the importation of new Blodm's argument properly Heather MacDonald argues that "the proponeas support the party line. The current recessionary climate, in which reminds us that a brand of of the traditional humanities curriculum" have yet state universities are defunded andnon-partisan "political correctness" flourished to match "the millions of dollars of support"That corporate funding is decreasing. hascreated an on campuses before the1960s, have gone into "curricular transformation projects" from such agencies as "the Mellon. Ford. andopportunity for private ideologues to purchase though PC adopted quieter tactics enormous influence on campus.Meanwhile, the in the era of "normalcy" after the Rockefeller foundations, the National Endow- ment for the Humanities, the MLA, and theFund NEH. NEA, and other federal culture agencies are purges of McCarthyism.With :killed- for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education,packed with appointees from the Heritage, women. minorities, and intellec- Foundations, or and individual colleges." can Enterprise. and Madison tual radicals excluded from MacDonald neglects, of course, to mentionfrom the lists of the NAS. Add the efforts ofthe admission or employment at recent news reports on the NEH, in whichformer Department of Education to allow alternative and most distinguished colleges and staffers tell of how grant-proposals and scholars accrediting bodies to legitimate right-wing universities, it was hardly thought to be too "political" are increasingly black- evangelical colleges. and the picture ot' the con- necessary to overtly police the listed at the Endowment. She also shows herservative assault on academic autonomy comes thought of students or faculty. ignorance about the Modern Language Associa-sharply into focus. Despite the hypocritical out- The common culture that tion, which is not a grant-giving agency at all. But cry over merit and standards,the right-wing's triumphed in the seminars was what is most misleading is MacDonald's implied philosophy is clear: what America needs is the less the expression of reasoned argument that the funding of left-leaningprojects hest ideas that money can buy. principles than of an unexamined by Mellon, Ford. Rockefeller, and FIPSE is sim- Gregory Jay & Gerald Graff political consensus. ply a liberal counterpart to the funding of conser- But surely Bloom would not vative projects by Olin and others. suggest that it's all right for the This argument blurs a crucial distinction. traditional targets of intimidation Unlike Olin, Scale. and the other foundations on Bulletin to do their own counter-intimi- the right, the Mellon, Ford. Rockefeller, and FIPSE As we go to press, NEH DirectorLynne dating now that they have the foundations make no commitment in advance to Cheney is releasing a report renewingher opportunity. Such a position any I articular social philosophy.And though blistering attack on "P.C." We invite our would not only 'oe questionable some of these foundationshave indeed at times readers to send us responses to Cheney for a on ethical groundstwo wrongs exhibited a strong populist tilt (as did NEH in the special section in a future issue of rixties), they support a great variety of projects Democratic Culture caned on pg. 7. cal. 3 across the political spectrum.A foundatirm such S MEMBERSHIP REGISTRATION JOIN TDC coned from pg. 0, cot. 1 OR RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP WITH THIS FORM don't make a rightbut also bad tactics. The continuing success of TDC depends upon your involvement and your As we see it, if the fight to contributions. We ask that all current members of TDC return this form now to open the university to a wider renew their memberships, which will be good for the calander year 1993. (Even range of voices, subjects, and if you have contributed money recently, we still need you to return this form so we viewpoints is a fight to extend the democratic principle, then the can confirm your address and affiliation information.) This will standardize our forms of democratic debate need membership bookeeping, and avoid the time and expense of contacting individual to be defended as well. The fact members for renewals. that an atmosphere of intimida- tion has existed in the past is no Yes, I want to become a new member of TDC excuse for tolerating it when it favors "our side." Nor is doing so likely to win the sort of public Yes, I want to renew my membership in TDC support we have to have if we hope to overcome the knee-jerk Enclosed is my 1993 contribution of: PC bashers of the right. It seems to us especially important that changes in the $5() $25 $5 (students) curriculum be the result of full and open debate rather than Name being imposed by administrative fiat. A model case of reform Department through democratic procedures is provided by the University of Massachusetts-Boston, as School or Affiliation recently reported by Esther Kingston-Mann in theBoston City State Review( "Multiculturalism without Political Correctness: The University of Massachusetts/ Zip Boston Model,"Boston Review, XVII, nos. 3-4 [May-July. Home Address (if preferred) 1992]). Granted, calls for open debate are deceptive if only one side is allowed on the platform Phone Numbers: (as was not the caseat U. Mass- Business FAX Boston). Still, we believe the best response is to struggle for Home the recognition of one's own voice, not for the silencing of others. IMPORTANT: TDC plans to produce a membership directory.Please indicate The editors ofDemocratic below the information you wish to have included: Culturedon't intend that our voices have the last word, however. With this editorial we Name Yes ts,ko invite TDC members to contrib- Professional Affiliation and Address Yes No ute their own responses and Business Phone and FAX Yes No position papers, a selection of Home Address and Phone Yes No which we will publish in the second issue ofDemocratic Culture. Please mail this membership form to Teachers for a Democratic Culture, P.O. Box 6405 Evanston, IL 60204.

9 Mr:

Newsletter of Volume 2 Number 1 Teachers for a Democratic Culture democratic Spring1993 P.O. Box 6405 Evanston, IL 60204

(312) 743-3662 FAX: (312) 743-4548 e-mail: [email protected] TDC JOINS NATIONALHUMANITIES ALLIANCE IN January of this year Teachers for a both organizations of working together inthe reauthorization of the NEH, and TDC I Democratic Culture accepted an invita-the future. has already provided suggestions on this tion to join the National Humanities Alli- We feel that membership in the NHA isissue. Two TDC members in the Washing- ance. The NHA, a lobbying organizationa major advance for TDC, since itwill give ton, D.C. area, Professors Jim Slevin (En- headquartered in Washington, D.C., in- us the specific lobbying voice inWashing-glish, Georgetown University) and Judy cludes over 75 major scholarly societies,ton that we have lacked up to now. Hallett (Classics, University of Maryland) higher education institutions, and other or- The N HA willkeep TDC informed abouthave been very active in contacts with the ganizations concerned with federal programsnational policy, programs, and legislationNHA. TDC members interested in becom- in the humanities. NHA's current director, concerning the humanities. TDC will ining more involved in humanities policy at John Hammer, worked cooperatively withturn provide NHA with input on humani- the national level should contact either Jim TDC last year to protest the abuses in ad-ties issues and join in the discussion thator Judy. Letters to the NHA shouldbe ministration of the National Endowmentproduces NHA directions and activities.addressed to John Hammer, Director, NHA, for the Humanities. NHA and TDC agreedFor example, the NHA will be involved in21 Dupont Circle, NW, Suite 604, Wash- that this experience showed the benefits topreparing for the Congressional hearings on ington, D.C. 20036. TEACHERS FOR A Are You Now, or Have You Ever Been, a Leftist? DEMOCRATIC CULTURE Cole Co-Coordinators: McCarthyism and the Case of Johnnetta Gerald Graff John K. Wilson Gregory Jay Cole's role in the Clinton transition team, Provisional Steering Committee: HE attacks on "political correctness" have Steve Fuller I commonly asserted that McCarthyism insaying that it is "impossible to trust some people Jane Gallop America has moved to the left, and now appearsfor public office, people who have broken no Henry Louis Gates law but who you feel in your stomach should not Barbara Gold only in intolerant compaigns to suppress the free Dominick LaCapra speech of conservative and liberal dissenters.be hanging around government." On Thursday, Amy Lang Johnnetta Cole can tell you how untrue this is. December 17th, The New York Times reported Donald Lazere that "after a run of bad publicity, her chances of Ellen Messer-Davidow Cole is the president of Spelman College, the Patricia Ramsey h.ad of the Clinton transition team on educa- being named to any job requiring Senate confir- David Shumway tion, labor, and the arts and humanities, and- mation appear near nil," and Cole herself said James Slevin there "is no possibility I will go to Washington Judith Stacey until the conservatives began dragging her name Dan Tompkins through the political muda candidate for Sec- at all." Mark Tushnet retary of Education. The charges which turned Rosenthal's stom- Richard Yarborough The attacks started on Friday, December 11 th , ach are remarkable in their resemblance to the Newsletter Editor: when the New York Jewish weekly The Forwardguilt by association attacks of the McCarthy John K. Wilson reported: "An educator with a record of politicalera: Newsletter Layout: Reid Huntsinger activism on behalf of hardline, old-left Commu- For years, Cole was a member of the na- nist front organizations has emerged in a pivotaltional committee of the pro-Cuban Venceremos INSIDE role on President-elect Clinton's transition op-Brigade, which sponsored sugar-cutting sum- Judith Staceyon intellectual life af- eration, generating concern in both the labor mer trips to Cuba and is accused by the FBIof ter Cheney, page 3. movement and the Jewish world as to how com- having connections to Cuban intelligence. Tim Brennan defends the Old Left mitted Mr. Clinton is to the centrist strategy he In 1983, Cole was listed as a member of the against left and right ca ,tics, page 4. executive board of the U.S. Peace Council Donald Lazere answers the con- pursued as a candidate." The Forward went on to servative distortions, page 6. accuse Cole of "strident agitating against Ameri- (USPC), which Rosenthal calls "pro-Soviet, Barbara Gold confronts sexism in can policy" and taking "a grim, left-wing viewofanti-Israel, pro-Marxist in Grenada, anti-criti- Classical Studies, page 12. American life." cism of the North Vietnamesethe usual col- Plus: News on Sheldon Hackney, the A.M.Rosen-lection of far-left loves and hates." An FBI National Association of Scholars, the On Tuesday, December 15th, end of the culture wars, and more. thal's column in The New York Times attacked continued on the next page

10 Wilson from page 1 itself from any hint of leftist ideology. Although NENVSCIAPS official in 1982 accused the World Peace Coun-Clinton officials called it "an unfair smear" and cil (of which the USPC is an affiliate) of being"part of the distant past," The New York Times Liberal Education "the largest and most active Soviet interna-reported, "Privately, transition officials are as- or Conservative tional front organization." Cole says she wrote suring questioners that Dr. Cole will have no say for the USPC, but was never a member of the in setting Administration policy and will not be Education? group. She says she "is pro-Israel but also be- nominated to any top Administration position." The National Association of Schol- lieves Palestinians should have equal rights." Ironically, the victim of all these attacks is ars (NAS) has announced a new ac- Cole was the president of the U S.-Grenadanot even a radical. Cole has sterling establish- crediting agency, the American Acad- emy for Liberal Education. The AALE Friendship Society before the United Statesment credentials. She has worked with Presi- has the noble goal of encouraging lib- invaded that country during the Reagan Ad-dent Carter's Atlanta Project and the Atlanta eral education; unfortunately, it seems ministration. Black/Jewish Coalition. She is a member of the to confuse improving education with In 1975, Cole signed an advertisement in board of Coca-Cola Enterprises, a founding di- advancing the conservative agenda. The New York Times which declared, "Vietnamrector of George Bush's Points of Light Founda- AALE has developed 17 accrediting tion, and a board member of the Citizens and st-,ndards, including emphasis on now enjoys human rights as it has never known tea._hing over research; distinguishing in history" and criticized Joan Baez for accusingSouthern Georgia Corporation, the Atlanta between fundamental courses and less the Vietnam government of holding politicalSymphony, and the Atlanta Chamber of Com- important ones; supporting freedom of prisoners. merce. speech; having senior faculty teach in- In 1984, Cole spoke at a tribute for Herbert A double standard exists in the PC debate. If troductory classes; and requiring math, Cole had been a conservative attacked by the science, and foreign language classes, Aptheker, a leading American historian who as well as at ieastone-third of a student's was a Communist; Cole says she was recognizing left, the McCarthyism directed at her certainly course work to be devoted to classes his professional work as a historian, not hiswould have inspired a massive outpouring .of like surveys of Western civilization. ideology. The Forward also claimed, "Ms. Cole'sprotest in the national media against "political AALE leaves a lot of questions unan- association with the Communist fronts broughtcorrectness." Cole would have become another a tiered. Will universities which encour- her into at least one public appearance withanecdote about the Orwellian leftist thought age multicultural education and other innovative subjects be knocked off the some of Israel's most dangerous enemies," apolice. But she is a liberal, and a black woman, list? Will colleges that don't focus solely reference to Cole's attendance at a 1985 funeraland so the assaults go unnoticed. on "Western civilization" surveys be for Alexandra Pollack that was also attended by Forty years ago, when America was in the considered illiberal? And I think we can a member of the PLO. midst of the McCarthy Era and charges like this all guess which courses are going to These charges against Cole are lowest form ofwere regularly made, professors who refused to count as 'fundamental' in the minds of the conservatives. insinuation. Cole has been attacked not forsubmit to the House Un-American Activities AALE fails to ask the right questions what she has done, not for what she believes,Committee's inquisitions were often fired. Sena- about a liberal education: Do students and not even for what right-wing groups and the tor Joseph McCarthy claimed that 28 percent of learn? Are they taught how to critically FBI claim she believes, but for what they claimtop collaborators in the communist-front move- read books? Do they examine a variety that organizations and individuals she has asso- ment were college faculty and that 3,000 profes- of different ideas and learn how to challenge their own presuppositions? ciated with believe. What Cole actually be- sors were "guilty by collaboration." These should be among the tests of a lieves, let alone what she has done..:wringher These are the crimes Cole is accused of com- liberal education, not whether a college long career, has never been examined. mitting: speaking her mind, disagreeing with requires a certain numberof classes on No one has accused Cole of being a poorU.S. foreign policy, and fraternizing with people Western culture. president at Spelman, a h istorically black liberalwho have unorthodox ideas. These accusations Instead, AALE gives us the standard have ruined our chance to have an exciting, conservative litany: Research is bad, arts women's college. No one suggests that she teaching is good; multiculturalism is has imposed her views on anyone. But such intelligent leader in the Clinton cabinet. They bad, Western civ survey courses are considerations did not prevent Rosenthal fromhave also shown us the other kind of "political good. A case can be made for all of declaring that "her appointment was a mistakecorrectness," the insinuation machine that starts these ideas, but it's absurd to claim that that should be explained. I hope she does notwhenever anyone with a "radical" past comes a college doesn't provide a liberal edu- into the public spotlight. When qualified indi- cation unless it hasaWestern culture hang around government much longer. Propa- requirement and a heavy teaching load gandists for dictatorships don't suit my particu- viduals can have their political careers ruined by for professors. lar nose." charges of "association" with "Communist-front" The impetus for AALE began during Most alarming of all has been the total acqui-groups, it shows how little we have progressed the controversy over the Middle States escence of liberals to these McCarthy ite attacks.since the McCarthy Era. The temptation to "diversity' standard, when the accred- No one, except for syndicated columnist Carlcensor, to punish people who hold different iting agency delayed approval of Baruch College (which had 70 percent minority Rowan, came to Cole's defense. No one pointedviews on political questions, and to condemn students but less than three percent out the cheap shots and the meagre arguments ofindividuals because of who they associate with, minority faculty) and Westminster Theo- her critics. No one defended Cole's right toremains as strong as ever. log ical Seminary (which prohibited express her views without being banned from John K. Wilson, a graduate student in Social women from its governing board of government service. The Clinton Administra-Thought at the University of Chicago, is writing a ordained elders). After pressure from tion has been particularly evasive, distancingbook on The Myth of Political Correctness. Page 2Democratic Culture conference report' NEWSCLIPS Lamar Alexander and the Bush De- Post-Cheney Culture Prospects partment of Education (and a threat not Judith Stacey to accredit the accrediting agency), NE of the first self-indulgent fantasies thistrue victims on U.S. campuses, "regularly and Middle States backed down and the routinely verbally abused," and subjected to diversity standard was dropped. But left, feminist academic allowed herself af- the NAS, fearful that 'politically cor- ter Clinton's victory was the vision of a respite "widespread intimidation." Later, well-scrubbed rect" accrediting agencies might take from the culture wars. Among my morning-afterand suited male disciples from hisCenter for the over higher education, started plan- activist daydreams was a scheme to goad Teach- study of Popular Culture distributed gratis cop- ning for their own accrediting agency ers for a Democratic Culture and Unionofies of their guru's polemic along with compli- (with a $100,000 Olin Foundation Democratic Intellectuals (UDI) into hosting a mentary issues of Heterodoxy, his slick new right- grant). The new "academy" is the result of their reaction. farewell banquet for Lynne Cheney, William wing rag. Jeffrey Wallin, president of the acad- Bennett, Anne Imelda Radice and their anti-PC This encounter was a bracing reminder that emy, says, We weren't founded to go brigades. We would have had to work quickly. ItClinton's victory is no cause for complacency on to battle with political correctness, bu: took Cheney less than a month to announcethe part of progressive scholars and cultural to improve undergraduate educk`.,n." that she would resign from the NEH to evade theworkers. Indeed, such complacency is one of the ButJohn Agresto, chairman of the acad- emy and president of St. John's Col- greatest dangers a Clinton administration poses, political isolation she anticipates under lege in New Mexico, says, "True liberal Clintonian cultural politics. for it would undermine recently-organized resis- education and political correctness Just three days after the election, I attendedtance to assaults on democratic educational ac- could not be more polar opposites." In the meetings of the American Studies Associa-cess and projects at a critical moment. The very other words, the AALE's purpose is to tion, a professional organization that has be- economic crisis that underwrote the Bush defeat go to battle with political correctness defined as anything smacking of come a haven for the sort of progressive andhas been decimating public higher education. multiculturalism, feminism, gay stud- multicultural intellectual projects that CheneyWith access restricted through fee hikes and ies, or any other "politicized", topic. and company worked so hard to suppress. A hostdraconian staff and service cutbacks, with job AALE claims to have the cure for of lively sessions offered reassuring evidence prospects bleak even for those who jump through what ails higher education. But unless that these Reagan-Bush monocultural warriorsthe hoops, the fate of hard-won multicultural it gets off its ideological hobbyhorse curricular and institutional gains is precarious. and focuses on the quality of educa- had failed to stem an irreversible tide of opposi- tion, rather than how conrvative the tional intellectual projects germinated by theEconomic anxiety inflames racial, gender, and college catalog is, this accrediting social movements of the sixtiesethnic studies,sexual resentments on campuses, as in the broader agency will be nothing more than an women's studies, gay and lesbian studies, cul- culture. As the David Horowitz panel and Jerry official rubberstamper of The National tural studies Falwell's talk of reviving his Moral Majority Review College Guide: America's 50 make clear, the Clinton victory will incite New Top Liberal Arts Schools. Neither stu- But I attended one session which inoculated dents nor colleges will get a better me against premature complacency. Titled, Right cultural warriors to redouble their efforts education. "Change of Course for American Studies," itsto exploit these reactionary sentiments. John K.Wilson organizers sought to dislodge "the burden of It would be tragic if Clinton's victory lulled ideology which has impeded the development ofleftist intellectuals into the kind of false security Sheldon Hackney: the field." Five white men in suits and tiesthat demobilized many feminist reproductive blanketed the dais, a perverse achievement givenrights supporters after Roe v. Wade. We will have New Hope for the multicultural demographics of the confer- mainly ourselves to blame if we miss the oppor- the NEH ence participants. It soon became clear thattunity a Clinton administration offers to link Sheldon Hackney, president of the resentment on the part of white, straight maleour vision of a democratic culture to a move- University of Pennsylvania, is the intellectuals was the session's foundational ment to restore democratic access to university Clinton Administration's choice to head premise. Historian John Diggins complainededucation. Continuing the sort of self-critique the National Endowment for the Hu- that the only people really excluded in Ameri- of political correctness that Socialist Review has manities. Some hints about how he may lead the NEH are given by an can Studies these days are conservatives. But itpromoted is one crucial component of this ef- article he wrote for the July-August was a loathsome diatribe, "Queer Revolution:fort. Restoring and expanding student scholar- 1990 Academe. titled "The NEA Under The Last Stage of Radicalism," delivered by ship and loan programs is another. Challenging Attack: Resisting the Big Chill." post-New Leftist, now neocon convert, Davidthe corporate model of university administra- Hackney criticized the attempts to Horowitz, that fatally punctured my post-elec- tive compensation levels is a third. And the list control artistic freedom, declaring that is long. I hope many will join me in TDC, UDI "what was envisioned was the con- tion myopia. This paranoid harangue excoriated scious politicization of the NEA. That gay studiesalong with multiculturalism, femi-and local efforts to restore and revitalize the way lies madness and mediocrity." He nism, and all social construction theoriesfor endangered species of public higher education. stated his conviction that 'open ex- leading inexorably to nihilism, totalitarianismThat would be cause for a banquet. pression is a fundamental principle for and extermination. Horowitz portrayed I iberatory a university and that it must not be Judith Stacey teaches sociology at the University compromised." However, Hackney also intellectual projects as a "war against civiliza- noted: "My own career is built on know- tion and nature" and white male students as the of California at Riverside. Democratic Culture Page 3 Dissenting from the Dissenters Tim Brennan ing when and when not to compromise. I generally see compromise as a virtue, DOES the "PC" charge have substance? I justPakistani), the editors of a reputable journal of but I get very nervous when fundamen- wrote an essa for American Literary Historypolitics and popular culture at first deny the tal principles are at stake. In those respondent the right to revise the letter in the cases, one must be very careful that denying it did, at least very much, but now wish the compromise, if necessary, does not I had reconsidered. Barbara Epstein, quoted inname of (as they put it) "third world solidarity." involve things of substance." Democratic Culture's last issue, describes PC as 3) According to reports by members of the Hackney also praised the NEA's peer "an intersection of identity politics and moral- recruitment committee, a successful novelist review system: "The system wonted ism," whose result is "a process of self-intimida- and Marxir.- " -:'polar of postmodernism is denied just as the original act of twenty-five a post at a prominent midwestem university years ago had intended for it to work tion" that "elese[s] down debate." I agree with ben ,use two faculty members (one a man, one a in a nonpolitical manner, using profes- this charge. I want to give a few examples of the sional judgments and criteria having to forms I have seen it take, and then situate thewoman) "didn't feel included" in the way he do with artistic merit." problem in a way that no one, I think, has openlydiscussed sexual desire in his critical exposure of Hadmey's article expressed the fear considered. recent white male rampage films. that censorship against the NEA could Let us take the case of Camille Paglia's highly Small potatoes for the most part? Yes, but be extended to higher education: "All of there are many examples like these, and they the arguments being made for putting publicized book, Sex, Politics, and American Cul- blinders on the NEA could also be made ture. If one tries to point out that, in addition toalready have attained the cumulative force of with regard to the university as a whole, the book's indefensible outburstsits denial ofsuppressing some scholars' visibility, hurting their using as leverage the federal financial the reality of date rape, its defense of snuff films,chances at promotion, or denying them access to aid programs and research support on its proto-fascist urgings for an unleashed "na- employment. As in the case above, a pluralism which universities have come to de- that demands everyone always be "included" is pend." ture"there is also an incomparably rich ex- Hackney concluded his essay by pressiveness, a lively (and overdue) savaging ofrepressive, even though these repressions have writing, "the best protection we have academic cronyism and bluff, and a convincingnever reached the levels claimed by the right. found for democracy is an unregulated defense of a "generalist" knowledge which is notNor are these repressions comparable to the market in expression. Such a funda- listened to in the circles I know. In the opinion usual Berufsverboten against progressive teachers mental commitment to intellectual free- in the academy, which is notdespite most dom has served us well for over two of many, to say these things is to be insufficiently hundred years and is our best hope for vigilant, or to conceal a hostility toward femi-recent commentary) limited to the McCarthy the ilex' two hundred as well." nism itself. Anyone who attempts to say them isyears, but is a standard practice of American After Lynne Cheney's politicization often simply told to shut up. Intolerance like this intellectual life. So, on the one hand, the threat of the NEH, Hackney's words are a not only lacks a sense of shading, it is alsoto fledgling undergraduates by the chilling of refreshing defense of free expression politically damaging since Paglia's appeal (herdiscussion about Paglia, although real, is vastly without hypocrisy. When the NEA con- troversy reached his own campus, rather different message in the end from that ofoverstated; but the more meaningful discrimina- Hackney supported the NEA-funded Cheney, Bloom & Co.) needs to be learnedtionagainst a kind of left in the profession exhibit of Mapplethorpe's photos at the from. It needs also to be matched in kind,which is at present unauthorizedis simply un- University of Pennsylvania's Institute something which--she accurately points outimportant to the conservatives, and so never of Contemporary Art. few of us trained in the ponderous rigor of bothenters the debate as such, although its energies Hackney has also repudiated the are cathected onto the imaginary injuries of the false charges of widespread 'political continental philosophy and late American correctness." In a 1991 Philadelphia bureaucratese are able to do. young Republican held captive in the new Inquirer article, he argued that "cam- Here quickly are a few further examples of theStanford humanities core course. puses aren't besieged by Politically PC I think Epstein ww-, referring to: What's wrong is seeing this identity politics Correct Storm Troopers' and added, 1) During a gathering at a prominent Hu-as the work of an overdiligent "left" that is "Happily, I can report that such fears injuring others out of its own fanaticisms. By are greatly exaggerated." Hackney con- manities Institute, a participant questions the cluded, "a university must not be cap- separatisms of identity politics by quoting Trinh"identity politics" I mean insisting on the unique tured by any orthodoxyexcept a de- Minh-ha's insider/outsider essay to the effectviability of the local. over the "total"; requiring votion to the freedom of inquiry." that "you don't have to be one to know one." Atthat we "situate ourselves" in the enclosed space If Hackney runs the NEH according this point, a famous academic in attendanceof gender, race, or nationality; opposing on prin- to these principles of academic free- ciple "speaking for" others; rejecting mivocal dom and non-political control, it points loudly guffaws, gets up, and stomps out of the to a much better future for the NEH. If room, effectively silencing the speaker. Whenreadings as a "colonizing" of texts; and dismiss- Hackney remains true to his word, he the final essays for the project arc compiled foring nature as a category within culture by insist- will speak out for freedom of expres- an anthology representing the Institute's working, again on principle, on the "construction" of sion and help to end the unspoken self- that term, the essay of the one who spoke up isall subjectivity. This is not the place to critique censorship which currently clouds both each of these stands i n turn, only to observe the the NEA and the NEH. eliminated under the usual extenuating, circum- John K. Wilson stances. practices that often accompany them. 2) After receiving a harsh letter to the editor The PC which I gave examples of above, I am about an essay by one of their collective (who is saying, is not the work of reformers who (as the

Page 4Democratic Culture 13 familiar god-that-failed narrative goes) mistake about these things while placing them in a NEWSCIA PS their own ardent sense of justice for permission history of labor, of capital's plans for us, of a fight to discriminate. It is instead the work of an avant by many local people fora total vision and system D'Souza's garde which, as avant gardes tend to do, opposesof lifethe only one relevant to an era of Delusions about the left with many of the same cliched impulsescorporate globalization. as Roger Kimball. WhenThe New Criterion Contrary to the ill-informed press, which has Ohio State shouts that "radicals" have taken c7er the En- publicly identified "theory" as a creature of the In Illiberal Education, Dinesh glish department, we shout back "no," we say left, it is both the recent wave of conservative D'Souza wrote: 'Some colleges, such that's an exaggeration, we claim that despite campaigners as well as most poststructuralisms as Ohio State University, am going changed. Butthat (albeit without any sense of common pur- beyond a single requirement: they are some inroads, nothing much has overhauling the entire curriculum to when we look at the profiles of the profession'spose) weed out, silence, chill, and mock posi- reflect what they call 'issues of race, stars, the tides of forthcomingbooks, and the tions that still speak prominently of class inter- ethnicity, and gender.'" Like much of credentials in the most coveted posts, what we ests, of a correspondence between languageand D'Souza's book, this turns out to be a always took for radicalism has in fact found a the world, of the necessity of orienting oneself in gross exaggeration and distortion of respect to a broad public (a "people"), andof the the facts. Jeff Grabmeier, associate prominence that no one can call weak, incho- editor at the Ohio State Office of Uni- impossibility of progress if there are not forms of ate, or even (ptecisely speaking)embattled. It is versity Communications, writes in the already too strong for that. But we were right thecollective action. These are views that Richard November 1992 USA Today magazine first time: Nothing much has changed. DerridaRorty, of all people, was correct to point out that, contrary to D'Souza's account, firs too well somehow with Cleanth Brooks,recently in Dissent are difficult to oppose if one the curriculum change "hasn't created the controversy that similar changes Foucault with Lionel Trilling. wants still to conceive of change as a goal.Of politicians of caused elsewhere." Grabmeier notes No one wants to say it, but we have basically course all people, including the that as of September 1991, 'All stu- two camps sharing the seat of power,and fight- identity, have the right to their opinions; but dents are required to take a social di- ing over spoils. Forgetting for a moment the then as now the hostilities towards the Old Left versity class that will give special atten- infinite variations within camps, the older hu- have not been carried out solely with a pen. tion to race, gender, class, and ethnicity Despite enormous local differences (and the in the U.S. The curriculum also encour- manist guard at, say, Harvard, the NEH, journals ages them to study other cultures to scenario I am giving probably does not fit some like Raritan or papers like The New York Review meet requirements in the arts and hu- of Books complements in a specific and restrictedschools or departments), the tendency is not to manities." Robert Arnold, associate pro- sense the "usurpers" at Duke, the Instituteofchart new paths but to join a venerable Ameri- vost for curriculum and instruction, de- Advanced Studies, the Cornell Humanitiescan tradition of busting commie chopsaplace clares, "I'm very comfortable with the where the old and new meet in a new PC. curriculum at Ohio State because it Center, or Routledge Press. Their fights are real, doesn't force any one viewpoint on PC has little merit as a charge of abuse against but both groups are quite comfortable getting students. What we're after at Ohio State media attention while gearing up to stifle or those who challenge bigots or sexual harassers. is a balance." ridicule the theoretical outlooks and institu- A lot ofpost-Bloom./Bennett commentators have Even ccriservative critics of PC ap- tional proposals -)f what they scornfully call the expressed that thought brilliantly. What they pear satisfied. Grabmeier notes, "Old Left." Old Left outlooks and proposals inforget to add is that PC has quite a lot of merit as "Williamson Murray, a professor of his- a charge against the cosmetically improvedred- tory and NAS member, admits he is the end are much more difficult for those in suspicious of the new social diversity privilege to swallow, since they talk about thingsbaiting that often occurs under the auspices of requirement because these courses like school fundi ng, red-lining, English-only laws, "left" theory. could become 'ideologically centered.' and educational access rather than about disci- Tim Brennan teaches English at SUNY-Stony Over all, however, he thinks the new plinary contents or methodologies. They talk Brook. curriculum still has a strong basis in science and humanities and is not clut- tered with the politicized courses that he sees at other colleges. 'I would ar- WRITE FOR gue that we stayed in a centrist posi- tion, without a lot of the silly require- ments found at some schools.'" DEMOCRATIC CULTURE John K Wilson The Other Political We need your submissions to create this newsletter. The next issue ofDemocratic Correctness Culture will appear early in the fall, so we must receive your contributions duringthe summer. We are looking for letters, essays, book reviews,and reports from universities The endless recycling of horrifying anecdotes has been one of the most on the latest events of interest to our mambers. Ifpossible, for longer articles please send effective devices used by conserva- a disk with the article (saved in ASCII or text format).Send your submissions to: tives to convince the public that a PC monster exists. But when its radicals Teachers for a Democratic Culture who are being censored, a short article appears in The New York Times or The P.O. Box 6405 Chronicle of Higher Education and the Evanston, IL 60204 issue is quickly forgotten. Democratic Culture Page 5 4 BEST COPY AVAILABLE The Mugging of the Academic Left Donald Lazere In 1991, for example, Stuart Rages, a computer science instructor at CON SERVATIVE critics of the academicThus the critics' largely factitious attacks on an Stanford University, was fired after writ- left have tried to claim the rhetorical high absolutist position enables them to evade evalu- ing a letter to drug czar Bob Martinez opposing the government's drug war, road with appeals to intellectual disinterested- ating (or even reading!) the full array of concrete and declaring that he violated federally ness, nonpartisanship, and standards, againstsupporting evidence that is the strong point of imposed campus anti-drug regulations leftists' alleged debasement of these values. Butthe best leftist scholarship. by carrying illegal drugs in his back- much conservative criticism in practice bears Second, such misrepresentation, which os- pack. the marks of the kind of partisan smear cam-tensibly chastise leftists for polarizing intellec- More recently, Pauline Bart, a pro- fessor of psychiatry at the University of paign that Republicans have specialized in fromtual and political life taking extreme posi- Illinois at Chicago, was suspended from Nixon's dirty tricks to Bush's Willie Hortontions, actually serves to proliferate polarization. teaching her classes frs a semester ploy and his cheap personal attacks on ClintonThis works to the advantage of those conserva- after a student, whon tali was and Gore. tives who are forlorn without an evil empire disruptive, complaine, rimina- The scholarly writings of many of the leading tion in a women's stu s. Al- though the issue was neve. ,esolved academic Marxists and other "tenured radicals," I myself have been compared to and the student never requested Bart's in Roger Kimball's term, are determinedly nu-Klaus Barbie, the Nazi "Butcher suspension, university officials deprived anced, complex, and nondoctrinaire, but con- her of her classes, tried to negotiate for servative critics and the media have stereotyped of Lyons." Bart's retirement, and now refuse to these scholars as a monolithic if not conspirato- allow her classes to be cross-listed with women's studies. rial band of flakes and vulgar Marxist ideo-against which to wage holy war, whether in the Some of the most disturbing PC inci- logues. Thus the crudeness is most often in theKremlin or the English department. dents come from religious universities. eye of the beholding, vulgar anti-Marxist critics Conservatives like Kimball, Di flesh D'Souza, Cecilia Konchar Farr, assistant profes- themselves. Allan Bloom, John Searle, and Lynne Cheney sor of English at Brigham Young Uni- There are undeniably some doctrinaire aca- make no effort to read the writing of left scholars versity, was criticized by university offi- with any willingness to acknowledge val id points cials after she spoke at an abortion demic leftists, and many whose arcane., jargon- rights rally and expressed her personal ridden theorizing fully deserves ridicule, butin them, or at enough length to evaluate the opposition to abortion along with her they represent only one faction in the academic complete evidence, extended arguments, and support for the right to choose. Although left, and those of us who oppose them get weary qualifications on which their case is based. In- Farr clearly stated that she did not speak of being tarred by the same brush. In virtuallystead, they go at texts with malice aforethought, for Brigham Young University, officials put a letter in her record calling her a every case, the more virulent critics of thelike heat-seeking missiles searching for the most "poor university citizen" who had bro- academic left, mainly conservatives but someextreme-sounding passages to jerk out of con- ken her promise not to oppose funda- liberals, attack a leftist concept by presenting ittext. mental church doctrine. Other profes- in its most extreme-sounding formulation, a In his preface to Tenured Radicals (1990), sors and students have been warned position which might actually be held by fewKimball's evidence of left extremism is a sen- against expressing unorthodox doc- trines. While some will say thata private but the most fringy leftists. Whether deliberate tence on the first page of Fredric Jameson's The or religious university can censor who- or not, this misrepresentation serves two rhe- Political Unconscious asserting that "the political ever it wants (which it can), this hardly torical ends. pers- "ctive" is "the absolute horizon of all read- excuses it from the moral obligation to First, by posing issues in terms of absolute ingid all interpretation"without giving any engage in free discussion. philosophical polarities rather than in the muchsubsequent indication he bothered to glance at Another example of the "other" politi- the 300 supporting pages or at the many other cal correctness is the widespread dis- more limited terms posed by most responsible crimination against gays and lesbians. leftists, it enables the critics to make high -works of Jameson, whose erudition and bril- At Brigham Young, employees are for- minded defenses of commonsense positionsliance are internationally recognized. The same bidden to have sexual relationships that against straw man left opponents. For example, quotation appeared two years earlier in Cheney's are not heterosexual marriages. At critics accuse leftists of total skepticism or nihil- tendentious NEH report, Humanities in America Bethel College, Kenneth Gowdy was ism in denying the existence of any objective(wherein Cheney also gave no sign of having fireda 21 years of teaching be- causeoutside of classhe advocated reality, which then leads them to advance theirread further than page one of Jameson), so lifelong relationships for homosexual own partisan "truths" in the manner of StalinistKimball might have done no more than crib the partners, instead of condemning homo- thought control. No reputable American aca-quote from Cheney. This appears in the same sexuality entirely. At Auburn University, demic leftist to my knowledge, however, advo-breath in which Kimball huffs and puffs about state lawmakers, university officials, and cates any such thing (and most, incidentally,left scholars' alleged "destruction of the values, student government leaders have tried to stop students from forming a gay and have long been anti-communist, belying con-methods and goals of traditional humanistic lesbian student organization. servative red-baiting). Most simply study in- study." In the face of this bigotry, the critics of stances in which claims of objectivity in politi- Kimball finally got around to writing an ex- political correctness have been silent. cal or cultural issues have deliberately or uncon- tended critique of Jameson in the Junc1991 New In the few cases where public attention sciously masked conservative ideological biases. Criterion, but it consisted mainly of more of is directed to the censorship of leftists, Page 6Democratic Culture 15 Kimball's typical M.O.glib oversimplificationssues like Reaganomic views onfree markets of Jameson's complex arguments, derision sub- while avoiding taking sides in a way that would NEWSCLIPS stituting for rebuttal, and quotes taken out ofallow the instructor to grade on opinions rather it is usuallyto justify silencing them. context. For example, Kimball says Jameson than on a balanced summary of opposing argu- One famous case concerns Leonard ments. See especially "Teachingthe Political Jeffries at City College of New York. "speaks of Maoism as the 'richest of all the great In the summer of 1991, Jeffries' anti- new ideologies of the 60s."' However,he deletesConflicts: A Rhetorical Schema," College Com- Semitic remarks in a public speech Jameson's next sentence: "One understands, ofposition and Communication (May 1992) and the caused the CUNY trustees to retain course, why left militants here andabroad, fa- introductory sections in my anthology American Jeffries as chair of the Afro-American tigued by Maoist dogma tisms, must have heavedMedia and Mass Culture: Left Perspectives (Uni- Studies department for a special eight- when the Chinese turnversity of California Press, 1987). month term, and then later remove him a collective sigh of relief from that position. Many politicians [sic] consigne.1 'Maoism' itself to the dustbin of One of the most frequent targets in the as- thought this was eight months too many. history." sault agaihst academic leftism and other recent Senator Alionse D'Arriato of New York I myself have been compared to Klaus Barbie,theory is a 1989 American Council of Learned said, "Jeffries should have been re- the Nazi "Butcher of Lyons," by Heritage Foun- Societies report, Speaking for the Humanities, a moved as chairman of the department," rebuttal to Bloom's The Closing of the American and Governor Mario Cuomo said the dation syndicated columnist Don Feder, condemnation of Jeffries by City Col- on the basis of a Los AngelesTimes review ofMind and to Cheney's 1988 report Humanities in lege was less than had been warranted. Kimball's Tenured Radicals enumerating Kimball'sAmerica, both of which had denounced the Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan de- distortions. I am among the multitude of leftistspoliticizing of humanistic studies and the left clared of Jeffries, "He ought to resign. Ii maligned by Cheney in her final report as NEHcritique of ideological subjectivity. This report he does not, certainly the trustees was written by five prominent literaryscholars, should." Legislators summoned City chair, Telling the Truth, published late in 1992. College officials to a hearing, and ac- Cheney charges that in my recent publications cording to The New York Times, "de- in defense of exposing students to left view-There seems to have been a com- manded to know why ProfessorJeffries points in composition instruction, I am "deter- has remained chairman of the Afro- mined to convert his students to his point ofpetition among conservatives to American Studies Department and why view. He has no intention of introducing them he was still teaching at City College at find the most dishonest way of all." Even the liberal New York Times to other perspectives." She lateradds, "It is hard wrote an editorial demanding that to imagine the professor fromCalifornia q. noted turning Speaking for the Humani- Jeffries be fired from his job as chair, above, the one who wants his students to view ties into a manifesto of left/ calling his opinions "unsubstantiated themselves as victims of big business and con - remarks" and saying his punishment sumership, suggesting books and articles thatdeconstructionist nihilism. would be "a healing of the tensions." :1111 The bigotry of Leonard Jeffries' rav- would help students make a case for free mar- ings should not conceal the threats this kets." George Levine, Peter Brooks, Jonathan Culler, action poses to academic freedom. The Cheney deliberately misrepresents the ar-Marjorie Garber, E. Ann Kaplan, and Catharine reaction against Jeffries was clearly ticle she cites, "Back to Basics: A Force forR. Stimpson (none of whom are radical leftists). caused by his remarks outside the class- Oppression or Liberation?" in the January 1992 There seems to have been a competition room. If professors must watch what among conservatives to find the mostdishonest they say on their own time or face College English, which is in fact a critique political retribution, then their freedom dogmatic leftist teaching. Cheney bases her ac- way of turning Speaking for the Humanities into a of speech and our freedom to listen will cusation on a passage, quoted out of context, inmanifesto of left/deconsisuctionist nihilism. In be imperiled. When another controver- which I say that in a course on argumentativeTelling the Truth, Cheney singles out a sentence sial City College professor, Michael and research writing, the ethnocentrism of con-fragment"Claims of disinterest, objectivity, Levin, was investigated by university and universality are not to be trusted"which is officials (but not punished) for his racist servative middle-class students can be challenged views, a Federal Court ruled that his by exposing them to leftist sources. She doesn'tadmittedly a rash generalization in isolation, but First Amendment rights had been vio- mention this earlier passage: "Conservatives arecarefully qualified in the context she pulls it out lated. Jeffries' rights are equally pro- correct in insisting that it is illegitimate forof. Elsewhere the ACLS report explains, "All tected. His offensive remarks should be teachers to advocate a revolutionary or anyparties believe that the truth is on their ideologi- refuted rather than punished. other ideological position in a one-sided waycal side. 'Objectivity' and 'disinterest' are often Some of the victims of the "other political correctness are rightly criticized and to force that position on studentsandthe means by which the equation of truth and for their beliefs or pedagogical prac- despite the tendentious exaggerations of conser- particular ideological positions can be disguised." tices. But this cannot excuse the intimi- vative critics about the tyranny of left politicalGranting the qualifiers "often" and "can be," dation and repression of their views. correctness, this sometimes does occur." who could disagree? Well, precisely those like `Political correctness" is political cor- Other publications of mine, including someCheney who seem convinced that conservative rectness, whether done at a private or a beliefs are not a partisan ideology but simply public university, by leftists or conser- cited in "Back to Basics," (which Cheney would vatives, for religious or ideological rea- have looked up if she were to practice the kind"telling the truth." sons. All examples of PC should be of scholarly standards she accuses leftists of aban- Defending The Closing of the American Mind condemned. doning) develop a method for cm. bling studentsagainst critics in its sequel, Giants and Dwarfs, John K. Wilson to research and analyze leftist sources inrhetori-Bloom wrote: "The Closing was brought before cal counterpoint to conservative oneson is-this inquisition and condemned to banishment Democratic Culture Page 7 from the land of the learned. The American When viewed historically texts are most fully Council of Learned Societies even issued a re- humanized, and the strangenesses in them The Imaginary port written by a panel of the new men and become accessible in new ways. Surely this is women which declared that there is now a true for Macbeth, written by Shakespeare when Word Police scholarly consensus, nay, a proof, that all classic his company was under the protection of 'Instead of allowing free discussion texts must be gtudied using a single approved King James I, formerly James IV of Scotland, and debate to occur, many gung-ho method. Such texts are, we are ordered to be- a king who had written extensively about advocates of politically correct language lieve, expressions of the unconscious class, gen- both tyranny and witchcraft....The famous seem to think that simple suppression of a word or concept will magically der, or race prejudices of their authors. The passage in Paradise Lost, in which Milton make the problem disappear." calling of the humanities in our day is to liberate distinguishes between Adam and Eve by say- That's what Michiko Kakutani claims us from the sway of these authors and their ing thee for God only, she for God in him' in a recent New York Times article prejudices; Shakespeare and M ilton, among oth- should obviously not be passively accepted as (February 1, 1993), "The Word Police ers, are mentioned in the report." Cheney simi- authoritative and 'timeless,' but needs to be Are Listening For 'Incomact Language," larly claims that Speaking for the Humanities read as the articulation of his own culture's which examines several books on bias- free langu:-...ge. "hold[s] up Milton simply to display his sexism." view, as part of a history with which we still Kakutani attacks "the P.C. police" Compare Bloom's and Cheney's accounts contend. and "the language police" who advance with the actual text of the ACLS report, whose These and other examples of historically and "the prohibition of certain words, pertinent passages I quote in their essence: phrases and ideas" in the name of ideologically situated aspects of works by harmony. But Kakutani claims this all Allan Bloom's disturbingly popular The Clos-Shakespeare and Milton are presented without comes "at the cost of freedom of ex- ing of the American Mind seems, for example, the least hint of banning or denigrating these pression and freedom of speech" and to attribute major moral and social changesauthors, fixating solely on their prejudices, or even the ideals of individualism and democracy." This dire crisis of the Word in America to the failure of the humanities toimplying that the political is the "single ap- Police might be more alarming if it had insist on and teach the great philosophicalproved method" for their study. On the contrary: any basis in reality, rather being distor- tradition from Plato through Rousseau. Nei- "Far from constituting an abandonment of the tions and exaggerations. ther Bloom nor any of the other major deni-humanistic concern with values, the best work One of Kakutani's targets, Rosalie grators of the condition of the humanitiescharacteristic of the humanities today has re- Maggio, wrote in The Dictionary of Bias- Free Usage (Onyx Press, 1991), "At disciplines in higher education attends to thenewed debates on value, indeed on the ethics of least once you will find an entry that possibility that changes in curriculum as wellwhat we study and how we study it....There is no causes you to smite your forehead and as changes in the social and moral structure ofreason why the humanities cannot continue to say, petty can you get!'" Maggio our society might reflect America's changingfoster knowledge of the great traditions of the doesn't suggest that everyone should position in the world economic communitypastof its books and artifacts and the values be forced to follow every recommenda- tion in her book, nor is she biased in her or the emergence of non-Western powers onthey embodywhile simultaneously pursuing usage: Outing gets called "a control- the world scene.... an inquiry into how we understand what we read ling, violent, and dominating act," and and observe." redneck is called "classist, judgmental, Critics of the state of the humanities today D'Souza, in an excerpt from Illiberal Education inflammatory, and used mostly of men." charge that an interest in theory, and in theprinted in The Atlantic, attributes to Speaking for And if you don't like Maggio's recom- mendations, you can ignore her; there's claims of feminist, Afro-American, andThirdthe Humanities the opinion that "democracy can- no Word Police out there waiting to World studies, for example, has producednot be justified as a system of government inher- crash down your door and search your thinking that is ideologically grounded, toends; superior to totalitarianism; t; is simply an hard disk for offending material. the detriment of their own kind of objective`ideological commitment' that the West has Ancther victim of the Word Police and disinterested study....At its best, con-chosen to make." Compare D'Souza's account fantasy is a pamphlet handed out by with the portion of the text in question: the Smith College Office of Student temporary humanistic thinking does not Affairs to incoming students in 1990. It peddle ideology, but rather attempts to sensi- `To locate ideology is not necessarily to con- included some uncontroversial defini- tize us to the presence of ideology in our work, demn. In America, for instance, everyone would tions explaining racism, classism, eth- and to its capacity to delude us into promot-be likely to agree that we want our students to nocentrism, sexism, anti-Semitism, and ing as universal values that in fact belong tolearn `to appreciate democracy,' and w: design religious discrimination in standard one nation, one social class, one sect. our curricula with this objective. So we teach in ways. But because of words like age- ism, ableism, heterosexism, and most ways that other countries, with other objectives, of all "lookism," the pamphlet has been Humanities in America contends that sch l- would not. We may wish to argue that a commit- widely ridiculed. ady emphasis on politics, gender, race, and ment to democracy isnot ideological but a recog- Lookism, the pamphlet explained, is class does not bring students to an under- nition of a universal truth, disinterestedly "the belief that appearance is an indica- standing of how Milton or Shakespeare speaksachieved, and unavailable to other mare parti- tor of a person's value; the construction of a standard for beauty/attractiveness; to the deepest concerns we all have as human and oppression through stereotypes beings....But...those writers were themselves TDC Conference Spring 1994, Chicago and generalizations of both those who working, often very consciously, within the ...Watch for further announcements do not fit that standard and those who political sphere....

Page 8 Democratic Culture fy _1. san cultures. This, ironically, makes the non- As for Searle's travestied account of left views authoritarian democratic system entirely depen-on excellence and oppression, leftists them- N EWSC LI PS dent on an asserted authority. We ought to beselves are more inclined to pose questions like do." But none of the critics have ex- and we areable to defend our ideological com- these: Aren't criteria of excellence and moral plained exactly what is so terrible about mitments without recourse to such arguments.(as opposed to scientific) truth, as well as the this definition. Do they believe appear- A firm recognition of our own interests, and ofinterpretation of historical facts, to a large ex- ance never influences how people are tent contingent on the ideological biases of treated? Do they think people should the fact that in teaching democratic principles be fired from jobs because of how they we are being ideological strengthens rather thanparticular times, classes, and cultures, and isn't it look? weakens our position and our capacity to learnplausible that such contingent criteria help per- Instead of making arguments, these and teach." rciaate the power of dominant groups over critics speculate about the specter of What in the report is a defense of open- others? For example, has the actual incidence of the Word Police. In Kakutani's article, a minded inquiry into the topic of ideologicaldiscrimination against dominated groups in paragraph on speech codes is inserted between descriptions of two anti-bias subjectivity is deliberately misrepresented byWestern and American history been downplayed handbooks, even though no one is Bloom, D'Souza, and Cheney as commissarial in traditional humanistic education? To what forced to use inclusive language. The imposition of left-wing ideology or the nihilisticextent have canonical literary texts, along with Smith Cdllege pamphlet, which was claim that all beliefs and values are wholly sub- scholarship about them, been biased in favor of never imposed on anyone, has been jective and arbitrary. In a similar distortion ofWestern, white males and upper classes? To presented as totalitarian or simply idi- otic. Even the Random House Dictio- the ACLS report and the general position itwhat degree have the contributions of women, nary was recently attacked for includ- speaks for, John Searle in The New York Reviewworkers, non-white and non-Western people to ing words like "womyn" in its pages. of Books reduced that position to two allegedworld culture been overlooked or their excel- Unfortunately, the debate has been "assumptions": "that the Western tradition islence underestimated? One cannot imagine that distorted by those who think dictionar- oppressive, and that the main purpose of teach- even conservative intellectuals would deny a ies must produce prescriptive declara- Priori the validity of scholars open-mindedly tions of what words we ought to use. ing the humanities is political transformation," Nothing is further from the truth. A dic- with the corollary that "the very ideal of excel- exploring these questions, as large numbers have tionary describes the current use of lence implied in the canon is itself perceived as been doing. Their fincl;ngs must be evaluated on language: for example, the 10th edition a threat." Responsible. left scholars are more the basis of an equally open-minded reading of of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dic- inclined to phrase their goal as emphasizingeach individual's works, not on the basis of tionary includes obscenities, racial slurs, sweeping generalizations by critics who show and even "politically correct." And if significant political dimensions of culture that feminists use "womyn" in .neir writings, mainstream American society and educationscant familiarity with those works. dictionaries ought to tell us what it avoidthe avoidance itself tacitly bolstering Donald Lazere teaches English at Cal Poly. His means, not censor it for the sake of conservative ideology. However, the leftists' at- previous criticisms of the conservative assault on the ridiculous fears about the Word Police. tempt merely to bring to light heretofore cultural left have appeared in Profession 89, The These terms may be silly, bu. silliness unperceived biases in the cultural mainstream isChronicle of Higher Education (November 9, has never meant suppression. Even the critics of bias-free language stood on its head by conservatives claiming that 1988 and June 13 , 1990) , The New York Times handbooks will admit that there is a the problem is these leftists who are inordinatelyBook Review (December 17, 1989), College moral responsibility to avoid needlessly fixated on politics and trying to impose theirEnglish (March 1992) , and In These Times offensive phrases. But when someone own biases on the mainstream. (May 27, 1992). tries to provide guidance about which words are considered offensive, de- bate is shut off by condemnations of "Orwellian" thought police. It's time to Two Views of Dinesh D'Souza start discussing the issue, not dismiss- ing it. "The most extensive critical study yet made of an academic convulsion... John K Wilson Agree with it or not, [this book] deserves serious attention."C. Vann The Higher Cost of Woodward, July 13, 1991 New York Review of Books (reprinted on the Higher Education back cover of the paperback edition of Illiberal Education). Public resentment at the rising costs "When I first wrote on the book I accepted its purely factual statements of higher education has provided an effective weapon for conservatives at- as true; on the whole, for a subject so heatedly debated up to the last tacking universities, For parents pay- ing higher tuition, students shut out of moment, the investigation seemed reasonably thorough, the rhetoric classes, and state legislators who watch public universities demand more and comparatively temperate, and the documentation fairly detailed, if some- more money, the frustration over com- plicated issues of poor management times very selective. Unfortunately, the book turned out to contain some and waste in higher education can be serious and irresponsible factual errors."C. Vann Woodward, revised more easily dealt with by using "political correctness" and leftist professors as essay (in Patricia Aufderheide's anthology, Beyond PC). scapegoats.

Democratic Culture Page 9

16 NEWSCLIPS review This resentment became dear last Liberalism and Multiculturalism fall, when the House Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Families Gregory Jay (chaired by liberal Democrat Patricia Multiculturalism Means" (in Transition no. 55), Schroeder) made a scathing indictment TDC members seeking reasonable voices in of higher education in a report called, the debate over the politics of multiculturalismErickson argues that we must "undo the equa- "College Education: Paying More and could begin with the essays of Peter Erickson,tion of multicultural with liberal" or pluralist, Getting Less." author of Patriarchal Structures in Shakespeare'sand reattach "the term radical to a multicultural The report noted that during the Drama and Rewriting Shakespeare, Rewriting Our- stance." A radical multiculturalism will be anti- 1980s, tuition rose by more than twice racist, will pursue conflict as well as consensus, the rate of inflation despite large in- selves. In his article on "Multiculturalism and creases in endowments and govern- the Problem of Liberalism" in Reconstruction 2:1 and will reflect critically on its own institutional ment support, and the trends are ex- (1992), Erickson argues that "Conventional lib-context and practices: 'The shift from exclusion pected to continue. For 1991-92, public eralism has shown itself unable to produce itsto inclusion of minority cultures accomplishes universities increased tuition and fees own distinctive response to contemporarycul-only the illusion of progress if it is based on a by 12 percent, while the inflation rate tural change." Left-1 iberals such as Irving Howe, superficial pluralism that becomes another way was only 3.2 percent. The report blames colleges for trying "to emulate the re- C. Vann V/ lodward, John Searle, and Arthurof maintaining the status quo. This move [plu- search-dominated model of higher edu- Schlesinger (and, one might add, virtually ev-ralism] offers an image of unity in diversity in cation," which "would xist a lot of money eryone now associated with PartisanReview) which the overall controlling power of the es- and teaching students would have to echo the neoconservative line on cultural poli-tablished tradition is not disrupted or altered by take a back seat" to research. The re- the admission of emergent minority traditions. port also attacked the increasing pres- tics, often relying uncritically on sources like ence of teaching assistants and `ex- Dinesh D'Souza. The individualism central toBut the strong version of multiculturalism en- traordinary [sic] large classes" and de- the tradition of American liberalism appearstails this disruption: it does not posit a master scribed a TA strike at Berkeley in 1989 incapable of absorbing the critique which argues tradition that organizes the others." which caused the cancellation of nearly that this individualism has often excluded whole These essays leave us with the question still 75 percent of classes. groups from its rights and powers. Thus, liberalsvexing the cultural politics of higher education: The report concluded we must "face How will knowledge be organized and taught in the reality that the system can no longer have been ripe for co-option by the conserva- afford to keep research in its preemi- tives, who provide the anti-multicul rural ist, anti- the absence of "a master tradition"? Getting nent position and relegate teaching to feminist, anti-theory liberals with most of theireducators, administrators, and the general pub- the status of an unwanted orphan." It arguments. lic to abandon a monolithic canon as an organiz- declared that "skyrocketing prices, ig- Erickson notes that two prominent blacking principle has proven very difficult in prac- nored undergraduates, vast!), reduced teaching loads, and bloated administra- liberals, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and Comeltice. It won't get easier if radicals insist on tive staffs" had hastened the conclusion West, offer strong alternatives to the marriagereplacing one essentialist, biased tradition with that "higher education has lost sight of with neoconservatism. Schlesinger confusesanother (or group of others). It might help if its purpose to educate the public." multiculturalism with Afrocentrism and otherradicals borrowed a page from the conservative Another criticism of higher education tyrannical absolutisms threatening to liberal playbook, and started co-opting the best ideals of is offered by Jon Meacham in the May the liberal tradition for the radical cause. 1993 Washington Monthly. Meacham individual freedom. Gates, too, criticizes black declares, "Since the seventies, aver- essentialism, but as Erickson points out, GatesMulticulturalism does make claims based on age faculty workloads have dropped also targets the racism of traditional liberalism.concepts of right, justice, freedom, equality, and from 15 hours a week to about 6, and Gates writes: "Recognizing that what had passedliberty, even as it denounces the flaws and abuses college costs have risen at five or six for 'the human' or 'the universal' was in factof these notions in the past. Better to claim and times the rate of inflation." Both num- renovate these liberal ideals than to abandon bers are obviously grossly exagger- white essentialism, we substituted one sort of ated, but Meacham's argument is a essentialism (that of 'blackness') for another.them to the neoconservatives. common one: Professors spend too That, we learned quickly enough, was just not Gregory Jay teaches English at the University of much time doing useless research, and enough." Wisconsin at Milwaukee. too little time teaching. In place of the debilitating liberal-conserva- But "research" is taking the blame for tive convergence, Erickson promotes a liberal- many problems it hasn't caused. The What's Your Opinion? radical interaction: "I have no desire to adopt current crisis in many state universities TDC plans to write and distribute position is due to declining funding by state the fal se comfort of a singleminded radical stand- legislatures. Many financial problems point from which to engage in liberal bashing. papers on the various controversies about for students and parents are caused by But I think liberalism must be held to higher higher education. We encourage mem- the sharp decline in federal financial aid intellectual standards." Multicultural ists, how- during the 1980s, which forced colleges bers or chapters of TDC to submit pos- ever, must also answer radical critics who (per- to raise tuition costs to fund their own sible position papers, or ideas about the financial aid programs. The allegedly haps to the puzzlement of Schlesinger and com- dramatic increases in professors' sala- pany) see the movement as too easily contained stands we should take and the issues we ries followed real decreases in salaries by the status quo. In an essay on "What should focus on. during the early 1970s. The drop in Page 10 Democratic Culture interview NEWSCLIPS Thoughts on Political Correctness faculty workloads is relatively small and hasn't happened at most schools. Al- The following interview with Todd Gitlin is excerpted from though "research".did drive up costs in Freedom Review, September - October 1992: the 1980s, itwasn't humanities research that was the culprit. Large and costly projects caused many universities to cally correct faculty. Very, very few activists. FREEDOM REVIEW: What do you make of the overinvest in scientific research in hopes current uproar over political correctness? Is it all ...One of the things that is so disingenuous of getting federal grants or corporate a media creation or is there a point there? about the anti-PC hysteria is the presumption money, as reflected in the research TODD GITLIN: There is a point. There is such that political correctness was invented by the "overhead" scandal. a thing as political correctness and it's deplor- left circa 1981 or whatever. There is always a There are serious problems which political orthodoxy around. When I was in col- need to be addressed. Administrative able. But the genius of the right here was to costs are excessive, and many univer- clump three phenomena togetheraffirmative lege, the political orthodoxy was basically con- sities need more efficient management. action, canon revisions, and speech codesandservative, except for certain fields. Now one Teaching is often undervalued at some to define the issue so that there were only twogoes to an MLA convention and hears the of the leading research universities. positions available: For and against. This kind ofpredictable range of papers about race, class, But these attacks on professors rarely suggest effective reforms. bifurcation refuses to recognize a whole range ofgender, sexual preference, and so on; you could program a computer to write those annual ar- Meacham advocates changing the other possibl e posi tions.There are certain people requirements for the Ph.D. to eliminate in favor of certain canon revisions but not oth-ticles, and I am sure somebody has. But one the dissertation, a proposal made by ers, for certain affirmative action but not others,would have found other sorts of orthodoxies if Jacques Barzun 25 years ago and re- for certain speech codes but not others. Thereone went to MLA conventions twenty years peated most recently by Martin Ander- are people who support canon revisions but areago. It's the hysteria that I think is outlandish.... son in Impostors in the Temple. But reducing standards won't improve qual- against speech codes, and so on. FR: Do you think Berkeley's new American ity or lower costs. It's particularly suspi- Really, it was quite ingenious for the right toCultures requirement is a step in the right direc- cious to find people complaining about present itself as the exponent of universal values,tion? "research" mainly when it reaches con- of individual liberties, and of general verity and TG: 1 think it's fine to have students do clusions they find ideologically suspect standards, .while the left, often enough, por-comparative studies of ethnic groups. I think it It's no secret that many conservatives want to limit research in the humanities trayed itself as a sum of differences, dismissingpeculiar, however, that we have this require- in order to prevent the "politicization" of any need for a common discourse or commonment when we have, as yet, no requirement in the university. culture. world history or philosophy. There are many Research and teaching needn't be ...I would insist also the alarm that was soundedstudents here that have only the most flimsy and framed as opposites. On the contrary, about the reach of PC constitutes a kind ofprovisional, or even wrong-headed, sense of the good research and good teaching can hysteria. It was a media-fed hysteria. There is world as a whole, of world history, of the con- go together, and usually do. The prob- lem is that teaching is difficult to evalu- some fire behind the smoke, but if you follow the tours of American history. Or, for that matter, of ate, and research is often viewed sepa- stories through the Newsweek cover story, The. the difference between an assertion and an argu- rately from teaching. Faculty need to New York Times, New York Magazine, Dinesh ment. I think these things are central to the begin considering how research and D'Souza and so on, a lot of these stories do noteducational process. teaching can interact. Instead of merely hold up. A lot of them are exaggerated. A lot of FR: To fulfill the American Cultures require- reading (and criticizing) each other's articles, professors should attend one them are old news. A lot of them can be con-.ment, a course must take a look at three of the another's classes and give suggestions strued Differently. And the sum of them"the five ethnic subgroups: African Americans, Asian for improvement. Instead of only valu- thought police," "the new McCarthyism" asAmericans, Native Americans, Latinos/ ing specialized research, faculty should Newsweek called itthis is outlandish and hys-Chicanos, and European Americans. What's favor well-written ideas which commu- wrong with this approach? nicate to the public as teachers must terical. communicate to students. TG: Nothing, in principle, as long as there There is a real intolerance on the left, there The conservative attacks on univer- are orthodoxies, and so on. On the other hand,are more general American and world history sities have manipulated the understand- the notion that the academy has been seized byrequirements. The test is in the specific courses. able public resentment against higher cabals of superannuated radicals from the sixtiesFrom what I hear, these are not Mickey Mouse costs into a hostility directed at leftists is, in general, utterly false. The deconstructionor feel-goodcourses. I find it, actually, sort of and radicals who are said to be in control of universities. However, the silly to say that all Asian American groups have exotics have taken the limelight, while in eco- real enemies of quality higher educa- nomics, most of political science, literature, anda common experience. Or that the Irish, the tion are not tenured radicals, but ad- so on gravitate as usual toward unsurprisingPoles, the Jews and the Anglo-Saxons are indis- ministrators with misplaced priorities conventions. In certain disciplines you will, oftinguishable"Euro-Americans."These are them- and the federal and state government course, find a higher representation of remnantsselves constructed categories. officials who, ironically enough, use these criticisms of higher education to of poll tical movements of the 'sixties. And even justify cutting budgets and further ex- there, by the way, you will find very few e -hile Todd Gitlin teaches sociology at the University acerbating these problems. activists of the sixties among the so-called politi- of California at Berkeley. John K Wilson Democratic Culture Page 11 C011fereliCe report The Crisis in Higher Feminism and Classical Studies Education Barbara Gold After years of unabashed bashing by session was that we, as classicists and feminists, the conservatives, the academic left is MO many insiders and outsiders alike, the learning to bash back, to make their i field of Classical Studies has long seemedmust focus our attention not only on gender but own criticisms of higher education, and hopelessly mired in an unhealthy idealization ofalso on race. The suppression and marginal ization to analyze their reception in the public the past and completely resistant to even the of issues related to third-world feminism and the culture. A conference in April at the most necessary and salutary changes. Classicsnear absence of women of color from our midst University of Illinois on "Higher Educa- should have been a glaring reminder to us that tion in Crisis' showed the determination has finally begun to accept the sorts of curricu- of academic liberals and leftists to prove lar, pedagogical, theoretical, and scholarly ad-we still have much work to do. themselves to the American public. vances that many other disciplines have been The second event, which was clouded in Michael Berube and Cary Nelson of more eager to embrace. Yet this long overdue controversy even as it exercised a salutary effect the University of Illinois, who organized transformation has proceeded slowly, and there on at least some segments of the classics commu- the conference after attending a TDC nity, was the panel on "Sexual Harassment and meeting in Chicago, began with a strong are still signs of fear and reluctance. statement of the conference's aims, Two recent events and the responses to them the Classics Profession" presented at the annual proclaiming an "unqualified self-defense signal the slow dance (one step forward, two meeting of the American Philological Associa- in the face of a frontal assault." They steps back) of classics into the 21st century. In tion in New Orleans on December 29. 1992. refused to apologize for the changes in November, 1992, a first-of-its-kind symposium higher education or claim that it was "business as usual." Instead, they urged was held at the University of Cincinnati onThose of the panelists who have the conference to "defend, .:)xplain, and FeminismandClassics. The symposium marked critique" what has happened since the the first time that those engaged in research on been sexually harassed and dis- 1960s. However, they note that 'we women in the ancient world, and those inter- criminated against in the past feel don't believe all is well," pointing to ested in feminist approaches to teaching and increasing tuition costs and corporate that they have been harassed a sponsorship as a threat to "the avail- studying classical antiquity, joined together for ability of high-quality education to all a profession-wide discussion about the clash second time by this long and qualified students." Urging that "univer- between the evolving feminist principles that sities mustwork as an egalitarian force," many of us espouse, and the practice of classical agonizing effort to educate the Elerube and Nelson declared that diver- scholarship as many others define it. sity and democracy were not a danger APA membership about sexual to the university, but the 'finest fulfill- Two highlights of the conference were theharassment. ment of liberal education." inspiring keynote address by the distinguished In his speech, Paul Lauter of Trinity American historian and feminist scholar Gerda College noted that "tales of political Lerner and the wrenchingly introspective but Judith Hallett and I submitted a proposal for the correctness have been inflated like productive threshing session at the close of theconference to the APA program committee in Macy's parade balloons," causing a February 1992. We proposed a format consisting "smokescreen" of the true crisis in higher conference about where to invest feminist en- education: The underfunding of univer- ergy in the future. As might be expected, no of three presentations followed a discussion pe- sities designed to deprive many stu- consensus emerged about the kinds of research riod. The first presentation, by Judith Ginsburg dents of access to a college education. in classics that need to be done nor about newof Cornell University, would review the section These funding cuts cause "bumping," directions that might profitably be taken. But on sexual harassment in the APA Code of Pro- as many middle class students cannot fessional Ethics. The second, by Diana Robin of afford expensive private colleges and the symposium was characterized by a far freer go to state universities, forcing poorer exchange of ideas and sense of community andthe University of New Mexico, would summa- students who might have attended those identity than exists at our annual classics meet- rize anonymously the findings of testimony col- institutions to go instead to community ings. lected from members of the classics community colleges. They also sharply increased However, the Cincinnati symposium at- about instances of sexual harassment which they the size of student debts, which have had personally experienced or witnessed. The more than doubled in the past 15 years tracted only a few senior faculty members from as tuition costs rose and federal student universities th- t award the Ph.D. degrt.e in clas- third presentation, by myself and Hallett, would aid was drastically cut. sics, and fewer still who were not already com- interpret the testimony, focusing on strategies After the introduction of the economic mitted to the integration of feminism and clas- for a, oiding and combating harassment in our problems in the university, the confer- sics. Those classicists who had the most to learn profession. ence focused on the controversial issue from such a gathering, who have done the least The program committee had two concerns of identity politics. Todd Gitlin of Berke- ley criticized the New Left emphasis on to support feminist work in classics, and who about the panel causing it to delay its decision identity politics, contrasting it with the have the greatest power to effect transformation about acceptance: The panel's format and "pos- 1960s Old Left "ideal of universal hu- in our profession, were conspicuously sible legal consequences." Both the prospect of a manity." Gitlin (who was criticized for underrepresented. threat of legal action for defamation by a mem- being "nostalgic" in his view of univer- An important point made at our closing ber of the organization if this panel was allowed Page 12Democratic Culture to proceed, and the lack of liability insurance to flyerF were posted until the organizers com- protect the APA and its officers, caused thisplained. NEWSCL:IPS panel to be approached in a less friendly, less Despite the restrictions imposed on the pan- salism) declared that the 'separatist constructive atmosphere dominated by legal re-elists, the presentations managed to document theory" of the left today led to the con- strictions. and reflect in depth on the phenomenon of clusion that 'anatomy, once again, be- The panel was finally approved, contingentsexual harassment in our profession. But the comes destiny." upon the association obtaining liability insur-conditions under which the panelists finally Barry Gross of City College of New York, a member of the National Asso- ance prior to the December meeting. We had topresented the panel were so restrictive that most ciation of Scholars, said that higher agree to a number of conditions: Panelists whoof the amused and angry questions after the education was "going to hell in a drew upon and described their own experiencespanel were directed at these restrictions and the handcart" because universities were would not identify themselves as participants in reasons for them. The inclusion of the APA becoming 'political, vocational, and anti- these episodes in order to protect the privacy oflawyer on the panel to present "the legal defini- intellect, !al." Jeffrey Herf, a fellow at the German Historical Institute and ,Johns those involved; questions from the floor in thetion of sexual harassment" and to justify the Hopkins University, made a sikiilar ar- discussion period would be received only inprocedures caused particular concern. Fortu- gument, declaring that conservatives writing and could not identify any individual ornately, Ruth Colker of Tulane University Law "sell books" while "politically correct institution; there would be no "audible infer-School, a specialist in sexual harassment litiga- academics continued their successes ences" from the audience about the identities oftion, was added to the panel at the last minute. within the academy.' As a result, he Her presentation began by clarifying the condi- said, conservatives were "an increas- any individuals institutions, or incidents dis- ingly marginalized group" and "nothing cussed by any of the panelists; the entire sessiontions under which a defamation suit could be is more deadly in the humanities or would be tape-recorded; a handout detailing thefiled, and it should have laid to rest any fear of social sciences than to be labeled a restrictions placed on the panel would be distrib-legal reprisal against the panel. She pointed out conservative." Herf noted that it was uted at the door to all attendees; legal counsel that in a defamation suit, the burden of proof easy to show the exaggerations in jour- nalistic accounts of PC, but he added, should perhaps be available at the panel andwould be on the plaintiff to show that the "the exaggerations contain some truth." should review texts of all presentations in ad-alleged sexual harassment had not taken place; Yet, like Gitlin, the conservatives were vance; and the panelists should consider notfurther, that. such a suit would be virtually im- unable to come up with any alternative only cases of sexual harassment but also cases in possible to file in this case given the lapse of time visions to explain what universities, fall- which actions "may be misinterpreted and indi-and the strict anonymity preserved by the pan- ing back on undefined notions of "stan- viduals unjustifiably accused of sexual harass-elists. dards shared by many historians," "shared norms of evidence," and 'com- ment." Those of the panelists who have been sexu- monly-held standards of excellence." Despite these conditions, in the fall we wereally harassed and discriminated against in the Bruce Wilshire of Rutgers University informed by the APA program committee thatpast feel that they have been harassed a second gave examples of "truth" which included the future of the panel was again in danger. time by this long and agonizing effort to educate "2+2=4," "it's daylight," and "bashing an Because a frivolous threat of legal action forthe APA membership about sexual harassment. infant's headin...isevil," as if thede- batesabout the humanities could be defamation against the APA had been receivedWe are, however, strengthened by our sense that reduced to scientific equations and prior to October 1, when the association's liabil-our labors have instilled a greater awareness weather reports. Barry Gross criticized ity insurance coverage was scheduled to take about sexual harassment in at least some of our those who believe there is no truth or effect, our panel constituted a "preexisting con- colleagues and that we have paved the way for real ity" while admitting, "I actually never dition" according to legal advice given to thefuture efforts to combat and avoid sexual harass- caught anyone doing this." Many people at the conference showed that the cri- APA. Therefore, since the liability insurance ment. We hope that these forms of intimidation tique of objectivity by the left is not a would not cover the panel, it was not included inhave not overshadowed the importance of view- demand for relativism or identity politics the official program for the annual meeting ing sexual harassment as a serious and pervasive above all else, but the recognition that, which was going to press the following week. problem affecting not just a small number of in Berube and Nelson's words, 'factual Finally, as a result of more legal maneuvering "oversensitive" people, but many students and events are inseparable from our inter- pretations of them." junior facu I ty who are powerless to protect them- and more concessions on the part of the panel- Yet academia WI fails to respond ists, it was decided that the panel could proceed selves. publicly and energetically to conserva- under the restrictive conditions. Issues of free Barbara Gold teaches Classics at Hamilton tive attacks, still fails to resolve the speech, first amendment rights, and chilling College. difficult problems of identity politics, and effects on free inquiry were raised by the panel- still lacks a comprehensive strategy for Telling the Truth turning the tables on the conservatives. ists and the task force throughout these negotia- Perhaps the incident which best sym- tions. The APA assured the panelists that every TDC is in the process of creating a network of bolized the problems of academics in effort would be made to publicize the panel to speakers, contacts for the media, and op-ed appealing to a broader audience was when a speaker asked if there were any compensate for its omission from the program. A writers to help spread our members' views. If letter was sent out to the membership by third - undergraduates in the audience. Ev- you are interested in helping us organize or eryone looked around, and nobody class mall, but the promised notice about the becoming part of this network, please write to raised a hand. panel was left out of the supplement to the Telling the Truth, Teachers for a Democratic Academics will gain the upper hand program, the abstract that had been submitted Culture, P.O. Box 6405, Evanston, IL 60204. in the culture wars only by countering was omitted from the abstract book, and no the false attacks on universities, being Democratic Culture Page 13 NEWSCLIPS Wisconsin Teachers for a Democratic Culture open to debate and criticism, develop- Statement of Principles ing an alternative vision of what univer- sities ought to be, and communicating The Wisconsin chapter of Teachers for a Democratic Culture began organizing at the Umversity of in intelligible ways with the general pub- Wisconsin at Madison in the summer of 1992. Among its organizers are professor emeritus of historyGerda lic. Only then can the real crisis in the universitythe decline in funding, the Lerner, theatre professor Robert Skloot, and English and Women's Studies professor Dale Bauer.The excessive burdens placed on poor stu- Wisconsin TDC met in April 1993, with a national representative of TDC. The group isinterested in dents, and the trends toward scientific research and vocational trainingfi- working on access and financing of higher education, multiculturalism, and lobbying of public agencies. nally be addressed. This conference was a beginning, but only a beginning, Wisconsin Teachers for a Democratic Culture has a few basic aims: of a project on the left that should have begun long ago and still leaves much To sponsor and explain initiatives that will improve the quality of higher education,with more work to be done. particularattention to measuresthat address the facts of cultural and economic diversity, as John K. Wilson described in the University of Wisconsin's Mission statement. Are the Culture To affirm our enduring commitment to educational excellence and quality. To affirm our commitment to democratic education in a multicultural nation. Our varying Wars Over? understandings of what such commitment means in terms of theory, the content of our studies and Many recent commentators suggest the methods of our teaching are being developed in a process characterised as much by dialogue and that we have achieved pe.::ce, or per- disagreement as by consensus. This process must remain open, free of political interference and free haps a cease-fire, in the PC battles. Paul Levine asks in the February 8, of simplistic distortions. 1993 issue of The Nation, "Will 1992 go To provide fair and accurate representation of educational developments at our nation's colleges down as the year in which the culture and universities, especially in response to misleading charges about "political corre -.tness." wars in America ended?" Alan Ryan, writing in the February 11th New York To affirm and defend efforts at improving race relations and equal access to education at all levels Review of Books, begins his review by for memi ters of minority groups and for women; to support greater racial and gender diversity in declaring, "Peace of a sort may have faculty and student bodies, which will better equip all students to function in a multiracial world; broken out inthe humanities." to extend awareness of the history, achievements and contributions tothe nation's culture and Christopher Newfield's article, "What Was Political Correctness?" which ap- thought of racial, ethnic, religious and other minorities. pears in the Winter 1993 Critical in- To support recent curriculum reforms which have attempted to be sensitive to the needs, quiry, notes that "After more than a year aspirations and expressions of a diverse student body and which have opened classrooms to a greater of broadcastng emergencies, the na- curriculum. tional pres., lost interest, and we might range of ideas and viewpoints than has the traditional be tempted to breathe a sigh of relief To explain to the public the importance of interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary approaches and get back to work." to study and learning, and to affirm the rights and contributions to generalknowledge of such Although it is encouraging to find programs or units as Women's Studies, Afro-American Studies,Asian-American Studies, Chicano more reasonable voices in these sul- tural disputes, it would be unfortunate Studies, American Indian Studies, Jewish Studies, International Studies and various other area to declare the end of a crisis and return studies programs. quietly to our classrooms. The culture To emphasize that scholarship means the production of new knowlege, which often requires wars have provided us with a unique challenging and revising previous definitions of what is true and real. opportunity to re-examine the ideals of colleges and universities, and to an- To encourage democratic processes of debate and reform in dealing with such controversial swer the questions of what should be matters as curriculum changes, admissions and hiring policies, affirmative action,free speech, and taught and how we ought to teach. tenure and promotion criteria. The misrepresentations about the changes currently going on in academia To promote the involvement of teachers, scholars and students in public policy debates, so that have often distracted us from address- the knowledge produced in colleges and universities finds its way more immediately and effectively ing these issues. Perhaps a better de- into the public arena. bate can now be engaged about the aims and institutions of higher educa- 7o monitor the work done by governmental agencies that provide grant monies to teachers and tion. scholars, and to make recommendations when persons are to be nominated to governmental Democratic Culture hopes to be a advisory councils such as those at the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National forum for discussion of these important Endowment of the Arts in order to assure that such nominations represent a broad spectrum of ideas. We accept submissions for pub- ?..:ademic views. lication at any time, and encourage responses to articles printed in the Teachers fora Democratic Culture urges its members to organize state or regional chapters of TDC. State newsletter. Send submissions to: chapters of TDC meet together to discuss issues, plan conferences, develop strategies for countering Democratic Culture, P.O. Box 6405, misinformation in the media, and deal with local issues of interest to its members. If you are interested in Evanston, IL 60204. forming or joining a chapter, contact TDC for information and assistance. John K. Wilson

Page 14-- Democratic Culture Join TEACHERS FOR ADEMOCRATIC CULTURE (The following is excerpted from the original statement of purpose ofTeachers for a Democratic Culture.) Colleges and universities in the United States have lately begun opinions as if they were established facts, the picture the public has to serve the majority of Americans better than everbefore. Whereasreceived of recent academic developments has come almost entirely a few short years ago, institutions ofhigher education were exclusivefrom the most strident detractors of these developments.... citadels often closed to women, minorities and the disadvantaged, It is time for those who believe in the values of democratic today efforts are being made to give a far richer diversity ofeducation and reasoned dialogue to join together in an organization Americans access to a college education. Reforms in the content ofthat can fight such powerful forms of intolerance and answer the curriculum have also begun to make our classrooms moremischievous misrepresentations. We support the right of scholars representative of our nation's diverse peoples and beliefs and toand teachers to raise questions about the relations of culture, provide a more truthful account of our history and cultural heritage. scholarship and education to politicsnot in order to shut down Much remains to be done, but we can be proud of the progress ofdebate on such issues but to open it. It is such a debate that is democratization in higher education. prevented by discussion-stopping slogans like "political correct- A vociferous band of critics has arisen, however, who decry theseness." changes and seek to reverse them. These critics have painted an What does the notion of a "democratic culture" mean and how alarming picture of the state of contemporary education as a does it relate to education? In our view, a democratic culture is on catastrophic collapse. This picture rests on a number of false claims:in which criteria of value in art are not permanently fixed by that the classics of Western civilization are being eliminated from tradition and authority but are subject to constant revision. It is a the curriculum in order to make race, gender or political affiliation culture in which terms such as "canon," "literature," "tradition," the sole measure of a text's or subject's worthiness to be taught; that"artistic value," "common culture" and even "truth" are seen as teachers across the land are being silenced and politically intimi-disputed rather than given. This means not that standards for dated; that the very concepts of reason, truth and artistic standardsjudging art and scholarship must be discarded but that such stan- are being subverted in favor of acrude ideological agenda. dards should evolve out of democratic processes in which they can It is our view that recent curricular reforms influenced bybe thoughtfully challenged. multiculturalism and feminism have greatly enriched education We understand the problems in any organization claiming to rather than corrupted it. It is our view as well that the controversies speak for a very diverse, heterogeneous group of teachers who may that have been provoked over admissions and hiring practices, the sharply disagree on many issues, including that of the politics of social functions of teaching and scholarship, and the status of such culture. Wharwe envision is a coalition of very different individuals concepts as objectivity and ideology are signsof educational health,and groups, bound together by the belief that recent attacks on new not decline. forms of scholarship and teaching must be answered in a spirit of Contrary to media reports, it is the National Association ofprincipled discussion. We think the very formation of such a group Scholars, their corporate foundation supporters and like-minded will be an important step in gaining influence over the public writers in the press who are endangering education with a campaign representations of us and our work. of harassment and misrepresentation. Largely ignorant of the aca- It will also be a way to take responsibility for the task of clarifying demic work they attack (often not even claiming to have read it),our ideas and practices to the widerpublicsomething, it must be these critics make no distinction between extremists among their admitted, that we have not done as well as we should. We need an opposition and e-tose who are raising legitimate questions about the organization that can not only refute malicious distortions but also relations of cult dr,.; and society. And though these critics loudlyeducate the interested public about matters that still to often remain invoke the values of rational debate and open discussion, theyshrouded in mysterynew literary theories and movements such Pa present the current debate over education not as alegitimatedeconstructionism, feminism, multiculturalism and the new h s- conflict in which reasonable disagreement is possible but as a simple toricism, and their actual effects on classroom practice. choice between civilization and barbarism. We therefore propose the formation of Teachers for a Demo- Yet because the mainstream media have reported misinformedcratic Culture. MEMBERSHIP REGISTRATION JOIN TEACHERS FOR A DEMOCRATIC CULTURE WITH THIS FORM The continuing growth and success of TDC depends your involvement and your contributions.We ask all current TDC members who did not renew their membership after ourfirstissueto return this form to cover calendar year 1993. We also encourage non-memberswho have received this newsletter to join us. Please mail this membershipform to: Teachers for a DemocraticCulture, P.O. Box6405,Evanston IL60204.

_Yes, I want to become a member of TDC _Yes, I want to renew my membership in TDC Enclosed is my 1993 contribution of: $50 _$25 _$5(students) Name Department School or Affiliation City State Zip Home Address (if preferred) Phone Numbers: Busing -s FAX Home E-mail Democratic Culture Page 15

94 L909 'ON IIVIU3d tOZO9 ll'09VOIHO ii `uoisuena CI I'M 30VISOd 'S'n 90179 x08 "ad aingtio OW1130t lea e .101 Sial10801. 31VEI wins

INSIDE John K. Wilson on the case of Johnnetta democratic Cole, Page 1. Judith Stacey on intellectual life after Cheney, page 3. Tim Brennan defends 1.10WM/ VIM the Old Left against left and right critics, page 4. newsletter of Teachers for a Democratic Culture Donald Lazere answers the conservative distortions, page 6. Barbara Gold confronts sexism in Classical Studies, page 12. Plus: News on Sheldon Hackney, the National Association of Scholars, the end of the culture wars, and more. TDC Announces New Regulations for Literary Critics! page 2

Volume 2 Newsletter of Number 2 Teachers for a Democratic Culture democratic Fall 1993 P.O. Box 6405Evanston, IL 60204

(312) 743-3662 FAX (312) 743-4548 e-mail. jkw3 @amber.uchicago edu

Some Questions About Critical Pedagogy TEACHERS FOR A Gregory Jay and Gerald Graff DEMOCRATIC CULTURE EOR THE LAST few years, we have joinedenable us to answer our critics more persuasively. Co-Coordinators: many of our colleagues in defending the acad- Let u', leave no doubt about our own allegiance. Gerald Graff Gregory Jay emy against charges of "political correctness." WeWe regard the newstudies in gender, race, ethnicity, and sexuality as the most revitalizing develop- Provisional Steering Committee: still believe that the anti-PC assault was and is Steve Fuller orchestrated by politically-motivated operativesments to have taken place in education in our Jane Gallop outside higher education who want to turn backlifetime. We believe these studies, along with the Henry Louis Gates, Jr. affirmative action initiatives that have accompa- Barbara Gold the clock to the days of ivy-covered, white male Dominick LaCapra prep schools catering to the American power elite. nied them, have opened up questions about poli- Amy Lang This threat seemed serious enough to us to warrant tics, power, and representazion that educational Donald Lazere minimizing the grain of truth in the PC charges,institutions had too long suppressed. We also Ellen Messer-Davidow Patricia Ramsey which were always exaggerations rather than pure believe, however, that when these questions are David Shumway fabrications. translated into pedagogical practices and programs James Slevin At some point, however, those of us who thinkit is crucial that they be kept open, not treated as Judith Stacey Dan Tompkins of ourselves as advocates of reform and progressive if they had been settled. Terms like "cultural Mark Tushnet agendas in higher education are going to have todiversity" and student "empowerment" should Richard Yarborough return to the original meaning of "political correct- denote a set of problems to be explored and Newsletter Editor: ness"as a name for the extra, -games and follies debated, not a new truth which teachers and John K. Wilson that our own side commits. The hijackingofthe term students must uncritically accept. Newsletter Layout: Reid Huntsinger "political correctness" by the Right should not ob- It remains important to maintain, then, that scure the fact that it began on the Left, with the Left'scriticism can be supportive, and indeed that with- own sense that recurrent self-criticism of ou r excesses out criticism no social movement can get very far INSIDE ought to be a regular feature of our reflections. But in improving its program and chances. We do not once everyone on the Left, or even near the Middle, see enough of such self-criticism in :he various A Special Report on the was declared PC, we were put on the defensive. Themovements toward critical and oppositional peda- Hackney Nomination, pages 11-13 traditional task of criticizing our flaws now appeared gogy that have become so prominent on the cur- either superfluoussince the Right was doing it so rent scene. Ward Parks recounts his vociferouslyor a betrayal. We would like to point out a troublesome conservative conversion and debates affirmative action with Ironically', the dogmatism of the Right made itdouble hind that has plagued these movements William Demastes, page 4 less, not more, possible to isolate and criticizesince the 1960s. What worries us is the way that dogmatism on th. Left, for the entire Left and efforts by teachers to empower students often end Michael Schwalbe and up reinforcing the inequalities of the classroom. Terrence Ripmaster examine much of the Middle had been heaped together today's students, page 8 under the PC rubric. But the time has come whenThis is clearest when teachers directly promote some serious efforts at Left self-criticism have to he progressive doctrines in their courses, merely in- Michael Berube .1:rutinizes politicization and peer review, ventured, even if they give some aid and comfort to verting the traditional practice of handing knowl- page 17 the enemy. The risk is necessary, for it is only such edge down to passive students who dutifully copy Raymond June looks at self-criticism that can save the movement for the it into their notel,,,oks. multiculturalism, page 20 democratic transformation of the academy from This problem .,ppears in the work of suci being undermined by its own advocates. In the radical educational theorists as Paulo Frei re. In hisPlus: letters, a report on TDC at long run, this movement will benefit front such influential book The Pedagogy of the Oppressed,the University of Illinois, and self-criticism, which will sharpen our thinking and Freire attacks the Leninist model of education in Newsclips about Borking the which revolutionary leaders impose their teleo- Clinton nominees, right-wing PC, This essay, excerpted from a forthcoming article. the MLA survey & more. represents our personal view. We invite readers to logical blueprint on students, merely inverting continued on page 15 RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP-BACK PAGE submit responses and challenges. GJ/GG

61

BEST COPY AVAILABLE Regulations for Literary Criticism in the 1990s Michael Berube and Gerald Graff

SEVERYONE KNOWS, we literature professors have become If we are to abstain from the use of unfamiliar language (see sitting ducks for media attacks. Where once we were widely Regulation I), we should ar the very least do our great writers the Arevered as tweedy dithering schoolteachers in bow ties or courtesy of abstaining from political ideas that would not have buns, carefully parsing split infinitives and memorizing long passages occurred to them. We demand, therefore, that literary critics refrain from Tennyson, we are now routinely ridiculed for our barbarous from newfangled political concepts that the great writers would not jargon, anti-Americanism, outlandish paper titles, and (of course) understand, such as "gender" and "power." The rule of thumb here is "political correctness. ,, simple: whether you are discussing Shakespeare, Cervantes, or Samuel We have done our best to answer these attacks, but to little avail. Johnson, do not speak or write in language that they did not use. Clearly, the time has come for drastic measures. We therefore an- In fact, the less "interpretation" you indulge in, and the more you nounce the following regulations for critics and professors of litera- simply read from your author's works themselves, the safer you'll be ture, effective for all future courses, conferences, and appearances and the sakr he. As Lynne Cheney tried to remind us time and before the general public. again, the problem is that we stubbornly insist on interpreting texts for ourselves, thereby distorting and dishonoring the very cultural heri- tage we are supposed to be preserving. Of course, regrettably, some Regulation I. No unfamiliar language. "interpretation" of literary texts is inevitable, but this is hardly an (A) We literary critics lost network coverage (dour annual convention excuse for throwing all decency to the winds. in 1977, when Shoshana Felman uttered the word "phallogocentrism" live on prime time television. One might think that we would have learned our lesson from that episode, but since then the proliferation Regulation III. Avoid popular culture. of perplexing and obfuscatory language has, ifanything, accelerated at Many of us imagine that it spices up our presentations to allude to each year's gathering. We simply cannot countenance any more of Madonna or The Simpsons, presumably in order to make some such language if we are to keep our conventions open to the general specious point about how popular culture can be as intellectually public. We therefore enjoin literary critics from using unfamiliar engaging as the works of great writers. In recent years, some of us have words. even applied the tools of critical analysis to such popular drivel, as if It will no doubt be objected that "unfamiliar words" is a relative it actually possessed some meaning. No one is fooled by this. If there term, since different words are familiar to different audiences. Frankly, is one thing worse than trashing a great book for its sexism and racism, we think it's getting awfully late in the day for this kind of poppycock. it is talking about it in the same sentence as "movies" and "video." We all know what "unfamiliar words" are, and we're certainly not Popular culture cannot be intellectually rewarding. If it were, it would going to repeat them here. Suffice it to say that we can no longer visit not he popular. By the same token, popular culture is out of our upon innocent reporters and bystanders such monstrous words as provenance as teachers of literature. Surely if God had intended us to "intertextual," "iterable," "counterhegemonic," or "subaltern." Like- be popular, our conventions would pre-empt the NFL playoffs, wise, any professor trying to pawn off nonsense words like "catechresis" Adrienne Rich would have her own talk show, and Stanley Fish would or "anaphora" will deserve whatever public humiliation he or she he The Last Action Hero. receives. (B) Even worse are unfamiliar words that sound like familiar words. Nothing is more infuriating than to hear a word whose meaning you Regulation IV. No controversial ideas. think you know, only to find out that the word has another meaning If you want to give a public address involving controversial ideas, join known to none but a small circle of smug, smirking theorymongers. the Controversial Ideas Association and deliver a paper at theirannual For our 1993-94 conventions and in future years, we will publish a list convention. The problem with controversial ideas, as we all know, is of interdicted "familiar" words whose use by literary critics only serves that people often disagree with them. Remember, literature is litera- further to damage our reputation. This year, that list will include ture precisely because it transcends any controversial idea. And literary "sign," "code," "discourse," "text," "subject," "gaze," "articulation," criticism is what we do instead of thinking about controversial ideas. and "recuperate." However, we will not include "hymen" or "phallus" for fear of being tainted by their very utterance. Regulation V. No sex. No topic has invited so much public derision and horror as this. When Regulation II. No Politics. it comes to sex, it doesn't matter whether we're being covered by the Nothing is more dreary than a literary critic who projects his or her New York Times Magazine, the New Criterion, or the Manchester (usually her) petty political concerns onto some innocent, defenseless Union Leader: we will he pilloried. And rightly so. literary work. Literature should not he the occasion for fashionable Ifyou want to talk in public about sex or sexuality, get on Donahue, modem hand-wringing or "politically correct" interpretations that Oprah, or Geraldo. Sex and sexuality are, by definition, things that have nothing to do with what the author intended. many people feel uncomfortable about (in fact, we fed uncomfortable

Page 2Dernorryitic Culture writing this very regulation!), and literary criticism is no place for the correctness." This unfortunate lapse pav ..d the way for Carol Iannone discussion of such matters. After all, literary criticism is what we do to claim that "political correctness" was "long a designation ofapproval instead of having sex. Worse still, encouraging other people to think by the hard left," a designation of approval for so "long" that no record about sex and sexuality may lead them to engage in sex themselves. exists of anyone actually using it that way. As far as gay and lesbian literature professors are concerned, we The lesson is clear. Employing irony, speaking tongue in check, welcome them so long as they do not announce themselves as gay or talking wryly or self-mockinglythese smartass intellectual practices lesbian, something that is obviously irrelevant to literature. Though give our whole profession a bad name. If there's one thing calculated they are often talented teachers and scholars, openly gay and lesbian to alienate an otherwise friendly and helpful press, it's irony. As Dan scholars have clearly had a very serious effect on the morale of the press Quayle once put it, irony is an ill wind that bites the hand that feeds corps. So take a cue from your local library or local armed forces our fashionable cynicism. recruiting office, and ssssssshhh. We cannot mince words about irony. Knock it off, and knock it off now. In the first place, nobody understands your little ironies but you and your theorymongering friends. In the second place, even if Regulation VI. No funny or "provocative" titles for papers. someone does understand your ironies, they still won't translate into Remember that most reporters will never know anything more about newsprint and you'll wind up looking foolish anyway. In the third the paper you deliver at a convention than the title printed in the place, great literature demands of us a high seriousness of purpose- program. That doesn't mean (as some of you apparently believe) you not disrespectful laughter and clowning around. So just wipe that should take this opportunity to draw attention to yourselves by smirk off your face. coming up with titles like "Who Has the Phallus?" "I Thought You Had the Phallus," or "Give Me Back That Phallus." On the contrary: if your paper offers a staid, stolid critique of Northrop Frye's theory What's left for me to talk about? of romance, but it's entitled "Romancing the Stone: The Sodomy of With so much prohibited, you are probably thinking, "What is left Elegy in Frye's Anatomy" or "Fear of Fryeing: A Lurid Tale of for me to teach and write about?" The answer, of course, is plain: Romance" (see also Regulation V), you not only bring disrepute on Literature and Life. Literature and life, the great enduring issues, all your own paper and panel; you expose us allto disgrace and remainas long as they don't involve sex, politics, controversy, embarrassment. And all just so you can amuse yourself and your popular culture, irony, or unfamiliar words. For those who may st, smug, theorymongering friends. Which brings us to the last of these be stuck For a topic, however, we particularly recommend the regulations. following: FeminismThreat or Menace? Regulation VII. NO irony. Why I Love Literature Beowulf or Grendel? You Make the Call In 1990, Andrew Ross quipped that he liked teaching at Princeton Literature and God because it gave him a chance to radicalize the children of the ruling Why Poets Are Just Regular Folks class. Lynne Cheney took him entirely at his word, fingering him in Faulkner and Lawrence: Whose Nature Imagery is More Robust? "Telling the Truth" as a corrupter of the nation's youth. In 1992 How Literature Can Make the World a Nicer Place Molly Hite delivered a paper for a panel entitled "The Humor of the Poems to Treasure Always MLA," and titled it "Jane Austen and the MasturbatingThree-Button LiteratureLove It or Leave It! Jacket," alluding to the once scandalous title of Eve Sedgwick's 1989 paper. The U.S. News thWorld Report cited her title as further eviden ce So let's get out there, fellow literature professors, and let's show of the moral turpitude of the MIA. those detractors of ours that just because we teach literature, that It was irony, of course, that got us in trouble to begin with, when doesn't mean we have to be perverts or terrorists. Oh, and one final radicals were foolish enough to satirize their own kind for "political thingdefend free speech at all times!

Teachers for a Democratic Culture doesn't receive hundreds of thousonds of dollars from conservative foundations to support our activities. We HELP!!!depend solely upon the contributions of our members to continue our work. TDC badly needs renewals from current members. We also urge non-members who have received this newsletter to join us. Send in your annual membership ($25 faculty, $5 students) to Teach- ers for a Democratic Culture, P.O. Box 6405, Evanston, IL 60204. TEACHERS FOR A DEMOCRATIC CULTURE Democratic CulturePage 3 NEWSCLIPS On the Origins of My Conservatism TDC at the Ward Parks University of OVER THE PAST two or three years I havestory, a radical feminist was filing a professional Illinois often read about a conservative conspiracy harassment and sexual discrimination grievance whose aim is to thwart and undermine the work of against me and Kevin Cope, my department ally in June Juffer academic p-ogressives; and in su,-.h accounts, thethis struggle. An exotic feature of this assistant On October 1 and 2, TSDC members name of the Heritage Foundation figures promi- professor's grievance was that it contained not a at the University of Illinois at Urbana- nently. In point of fact, Heritage's primary orien- single behavioral allegation, nor did it cite a single Champaign presented "Conflicts in Context: A Working Conference on tation is non-academic. Its main academic com- instance where either Cope or I had referred to her Problems Confronting U.S. Universi- mitments revolve around the Bradley Resident personally, although she did cite as evidence against ties," a conference that marked the first Scholars, and of the five Bradleys this year, I am the us a satirical article that we did not write. Nonethe- step toward making the group an active one whose major focus is on political correctness. less, she regarded herself as the victim ofa "pattern" chapter on this campus. Before the If there is a conservative conspiracy, then, I would of discrimination because of our statements in conference, organizing members de- have to he close to the heart of it; and readers of the opposition to political correctness. Ironically cided that the name "Teachers and TDC Newsletter might be interested in knowingenough, during that period Cope and I were being Students for a Democratic Culture" ostracized and denounced by the department's would better reflect the group's compo- how I came to be where 1 am. sition and goals. Until very recently, I was almost entirely non- ruling political bloc to which our accuser be- In several critical ways, the confer- political, or even anti-political; when I voted at all, longed; but even though we plainly represented a ence succeeded in achieving what the it was as a liberal. (In 1988, I voted for Dukakis.) beleaguered minority of two, we were the ones, in organizers, mainly English graduate During the later 1980s, however, I grew increas- her eyes, guilty of harassment for having expressed students, hoped would happen. First, ingly. concerned over the aggressive politicizing ofheterodox opinions. about 200 people from different disci- the English department at Louisiana State Univer- The hearing that followed could have been a plines and locations (administrators, chapter out of Kafka. We were not permitted to faculty, graduate and undergraduate sity, where I have my regular academic position as students) were involved in some part of a medievalist.I was bothered by the tacit yet confront our accuser; we were not told the names the two-day conference. Second, the unmistakable recourse to political criteria in hiring of the other witnesses the committee had inter- five panels provoked interesting, and by the barely concealed professorial scorn forviewed; we were not asked for complete copies of conflictual, and sometimes productive the political benightedness of the Louisiana citi- the articles or talks or memoranda that were the discussion and debate about the issues zenry and LSU student body, much of which is basis of the charges against us; we were not allowed we thought might serve as future ground conservative and Christian. Non-progressive stu- to tape the session itself. My portion of the hearing, for action. For example, the panel deal- which went on for two hours, focused on my views ing with university governance and re- dents, I felt, have as much right to their views as trenchment, focusing on a recent report professors do, and professors ought to be leaders in and opinions (often previously unexpressed) of recommending funding changes in the respecting and upholding these rights. various intellectual matters; only a small portion of College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Finally, to everyone's surf)! ise, I spoke up, first the hearing dealt with the actual charges against brought together an LAS associate at a Philology Club meeting, and subsequently in me. One inquisitor, for example, asked me to give dean, two faculty members who partici- a pair of articles in the student newspaper. In the my definition of feminism. Evidently, my under- pated in writing the report, and two question-and-answer period after the meeting I standing of feminism was relevant to my guilt or gradur to stIdents whose departments were negatively affected by the report was harshly condemned and several times com- innocence on a harassment charge. (one from comparative literature, which pared to David Duke; and accusations of racism, In the end, happily, we were acquitted. A lawyer under the report would be eliminated). sexism, and reactionary conservatism have been ahad accompanied us to the hearing, and we had The discussion that followed the panel regular feature of my university life ever since. made clear our intention to sue if we were not fully presentations in part realized what we After the publication of my articles, there was an exonerated. It would seem that the services of a hoped would happen: people, both on abortive attempt by a faction in the tenured profes- lawyer are indispensable for scholars who wish to the pane' and in the audience, airing soriate to have me formally censured. At the ! ame criticize political correctness on some of our cam- sharp disagreements about the report. puses today. What used to be called "dissent" has In tact, at all of the five panels there time, a group of students (none of whom I knew) was a sense that we had indeed brought were sending a petition to the chancellor com- been reinterpreted as harassment and hate speech togetherdissenting voices, that we were plaining of the atmosphere of leftist intimidation by yesteryear's apostles of the Free Speech Move- perhaps laying the foundation for a that prevailed in English department classes. In ment. democratic organization that could on other words, a group of my colleagues was pre- This experience has profoundly alienated me some issues represent a heterogenous pared to punish me for decrying a spirit of political from the academic left and accounts fir my current and sometimes dissenting population. coerciveness, at the very moment that a group ofwork at the Heritage Four, cation. I have found At the panel on the politics of represen- tation, focusing on Chief Illiniwek, anti- students was protesting that coerciveness. much more tolerance and respect for opposing Chief students and community activists Over the next two years I continued to speakviewpoints at this privately-funded think tank hotly debated with College Republicans and publish on this problem. In 1992, at the same than I have ever found at mainstream universities about the university's mascot, and anti- time the issue erupted in the local media and I was that feed at the public trough. It is only too clear to Chief activists debated about strate- featured in a front-page Baton Rouge Advocateme why my public stands for freedom of con- Page 4Democratic Culture science have drawn such ire from my LSU col- injustice done to them. Preaching respect for "di- leagues, and in closing I would like to speak lay versity," these leftists have defended the state spon- NEWSCLIPS mind rather bluntly on this point, thus providingsorship of "Piss Christ," while promulgating gies of education versus confrontation. a specimen of the kind of speech which my critics vaguely-worded speech and harassment codes to At the panel on the student discipline system, students who had witnessed were trying to suppress. punish students who, in the view ofzealous admin- the system's injustices against Latino The hypocrisy of many on the academic left istrators, offend women and minorities. and African-American student protest- today is shrieking to the high heavens. Celebrating There arc many ascent people on the left who ers were able to question the author of "democracy," these leftists have transformed thecondone this shabby spectacle, or simply look the a recent senate committee report evalu- humanities into a publicly-funded one-party state other way, while others are afraid to speak out. I ating the system. and mounted a witchhunt against their enemies. was one of those who has spoken out. The treat- However, we also discovered that Inveighing against "discrimination," these leftists ment meted out to me was the consequence of arriving at even fragile points of con- sensus out of such conflict is very diffi- have transformed hiring into a race and gender having spoken truths that the academic left cannot cult. We had left time after each panel spoils system in which young white males are being bear to hear. and discussion for a strategy session, scapegoated for evils which they did not commit Ward Parks teaches English at Louisiana State at which we had hoped the conference and "sensitivity trained" into silence about theand was a fellow at the Heritage Foundation. participants would suggest more spe- cific approaches that TSDC might take. But it quickly became evident that the Response audience wanted to continue with open William W. Demastes discussion and either was not ready for or did not want to pursue more specific T DO NOT CLAIM to represent the whole ofthe playing field would have been tilted in my agendas. LSU's English Department faculty in writing this favor. So I fully accepted that legislative interven- Furthermore, we realized that certain response, but I think my recent experiences in the tion was necessary in order to mstitute equality in kinds of conflictual debate may obfus- profession give me a unique perspective from which the long term. Having survived that experience, I cate attempts to present issues in their contexts and complexities. Forexample, to respond to Professor Parks. Before I record my understand some of the feelings behind Ward while several speakers on the repre- experience of some of the same circumstances that Parks' complaint, but I must admit I don't accept sentational ',olitics panel attempted to Professor Parks addresses, I should say that like many the conclusion he makes based on those feelings. shift the focus from "The Chief' to faculty members in our department I am normally Parks' insistence that we level the playing field broader questions of representation, unengaged in the debate about political correctness. nowbefore equality is establishedwould re- both the material and cultural implica- Contrary to published appearances, the debate is not sult in reinstating old practices that would again tions, the audience kept returning to the central to most of this faculty's professional life: for privilege white males. narrower question of the mascot, often attacking each other personally. many of us, the charges and counter-charges have When affirmative action works as it should Wealso realized that the identity of a played only a small part in our classrooms, meeting that is, when it is responsive to qualifications as TSDC chapter on this campus could be rooms, and studies. well as to race and gender issuesit is a just difficult to define. Many participants only I am a white male who was hired by I.SU ininstrument. Of course, were it instituted other- attended the panel that addressed their 1989. In 1991, I was promoted to associate profes-wise, it would create incredibly unjust results. particular interest, indicating that the sor, and in 1992 I was elected the department'sSince I've been at LSU there has been strong desire to create a loose coalition of like- Director of Graduate Studies. In 1989, I was one interest in recruiting well-qualified women and minded people might falterin the face of limited time and devotion to these inter- minorities. But in almost every hiring attempt, the of two finalists for my position: it was first offered ests. In addition, some of the issues to a female candidate who chose to accept a posi- department has located both well-qualified women represented in the panels are already tion elsewhere. On the job market, I experienced and minorities and well-qualified white males. being addressed by active campus numerous such rankings behind qualified female The result has been that from academic year 1989 groups. Some people expressed frus- candidates before the LSU job became mine. 90 to the present, the LSU English Department tration about the lack of close affiliation My professional career was affected by an affir- has hired five white males, four white women, and with the national organization; while we mative action process that placed meat a disadvan- two African-American males. These numbers do introduced the conference with the idea that the specific identity would be forged tage on the job market. I admit to suffering through not support the claims of injustice Parks makes. at a local level, some people wanted some unpleasant days reflecting upon the apparent At other levels, I think Parks should also look at more direction from the beginning. inequity, but 1 also recognized that this inequitythe numbers and procedures. It appears to me that Finally, we realized that if TSDC is to was a corrective to past practices which routinelyat LSU promotion and tenure are done on an take off on this campus, most of the placed women and minorities at a similar disad- individual basis and without bias. The processes work will likely be done by graduate vantage. And though I was not responsible forappear to he neither anti-male nor anti-conserva- students. Despite quite extensive ef- these past practices, I was willing to pay in part for tive and a fair distribution of tenure and promo- forts to convince undergraduate stu- dents to attend the conference, their ions has occurred during my stay here. the "sins of our fathers." participation, other than in the Chief 1 was also determined to succeed despite the Parks' charges ofdisci imi nation based on teach- panel, was minimal. Only a handful uneven playing field and because I truly believed I ers' political leanings are harder to dispute, prima- returned for the final strategy session, was good enough to succeed. And I was pretty rily because there are no real numbers to look at as when the group discussed structure certain that, if affirmative action were not in place, there are in matters of hiring and promotion. So he and agendas. And no professors re- Democratic Cults Page 5 N EWS,C may have located a real problem. If he has done so, enterprise. Without producing any evidence of LIPS then the problem needs to he confronted. But, as abuse, he has published attacks on his colleagues in turned for the final session; in fact, Director ofGraduate Studies, I am the one to hearthe student newspaper, warning students, "if you professors who spoke on panels rarely charges of classroom discrimination at the gradu- are a political conservative, if you hold religious attended other panels. ate level. I have heard numerous complaints about beliefs of a traditional coloring, or if you do not At the closing strategy session, how- ever, there was spirited discussion about grades, grading procedures, and even personality' subscribe to all tenets of radical feminism, you what would constitute a democratic, conflicts, but I have yet to hear one charge ofwould do well to exercise caution before enrolling fluid, and effective organization that political harassment. That, ofcourse, doesn't meanin a course in the English department." I am could fill a need at this university as well that harassment doesn't exist, but I wonder aboutsurprised at Professor Parks' surprise that these as agreement that the conia re nce's edu- the extent of such harassment and doubt Parks'colleagues rise to their own defense as they have at cative forum was one thing TSDC could claim that such actions are widespread or systemic. times done. If at all possible, I'd like to see some- continue to do. We set a date, two In a department with over 50 graduate facultything positive come out of all this struggle. weeks hence, fora meeting at which to arrive at a more concrete understand- members, student-teacher conflicts are inevitable, Which leads me to a final point, one that I think ing of structure and to divide into issue but I simply do not see the pattern of abuse thathas been lost in this debate and about which I groups that would report to the larger Parks alleges. In my position,1 do not directly deal believe faculty members all along the political body. with undergraduate problems, but I am engagedspecr -um can agree. Professors are not hired to June Juffer is a graduate student in with many of the same faculty members who also indoctrinate, regardless of whether the perspective English at the University of Illinois. teach our undergraduate courses, and it seemshe left or right; they' are hired to develop their reasonable that if a teacher is biased he/she will bestudents' skills of inquiry and evaluation. Students The War so at all levels of student-teacher contact. (Ofdo occasionally see the content of a class as some- Against Theory course, I am willing to examine material thatthing to be uncritically digested, but itis the and the TDC demonstrates otherwise.) professor's duty to make clear that course content Professor Parks reports having experienced anis presented as a subject for critical scrutiny, the Gerald Graff and Gregory Jay almost tangible hostility toward him by members result of which can be an informed acceptance or In an American Book Review article of I.SU's faculty, especially by thewomen, since he rejection of that material. If this option is not that appeared in 1992 (February/March) entitled "The War Against Theory," gave his first talk on "Anti-Male Discrimination inoffered, we have a problem, but it is primarily a Curtis White accused TDC of "disclaim- the Profession" in 1990. His experience is unfor- pedagogical problem, not a political one. Ulti- ing radicalism," thus leaving "real left tunate, but I'm surprised that he believes himselfmately, I hope we will give up on charges and radicals with nowhere to stand." In re- innocent of inviting such hostility. After all, as acounter-charges and begin, disinterestedly, toevalu- sponse (ABRJune/July 1992), we wrot tenured professor he directly assaulted women andate pedagogy. Our energy would be better spent in as follows: minority colleagues (most of whom werethat effort, and it would lead to better and more What could Curtis White have had in untenured) with charges that they were hiredopenly diverse departments that would betterserve mind when he referred to Teachers for a Democratic Culture as "dis- merely to fill quotas, that they are at best nomi-their student populations. claiming radicalism"? White could nally qualified to he his colleagues and at worst W Demastes teaches English at Louisi- never have. made that untrue claim professional fakes, wholly incapable of scholarlyana State University. had he bothered to find out who has joined this new organization by ask- ing for a copy of our membership Reply roster, now going on a thousand Ward Parks strong. It is true that in the TDC statement FIND PROFESSOR DEMASTF,S' "Re-good; but what I object to is the attempted recourse of principles, we say that critics on Isponse" to he a reasonable one, and this is an to punitive administrative measures. Over the past the right make "no distinction be- important fact. For if we could discuss the issues decade many academic leftists have castigated con- tween extremists among their oppo- that divide us honestly, many of the current ten-servatives, whites, men, Christian fundamental- sition and those who are raising le- sions could be diffused.I have this criticism,ists, and others in the sharpest terms; yet when gitimate questions about the rela- however: If the new academic orthodoxy is really tions of culture and society." In the similar speech is directed at groups which leftists context of the rest of the statement, it as moderate as the tone of Demastes' article im-favor, it is liable to be construed as punishable should be obvious that this is not a plies, why are there so many accounts of political "harassment" and "hate speech." "disavowal" of radicalism but a criti- abuse? Did these episodes occur without a con- If Professor Demastes would reread my articles cism of the caricatures that reduce all text? for the L.SU student newspaper, perhaps he would positions on the left to the crude In representing me as upset over the hostility' ofsec that this hypocrisy was one of my two or three slogan that "Western culture's gotta my colleagues, Professor 1km as tes misses the point central themes. I believe it was my repCated expo- go." of my article. Certainly I criticized my department It is also true that the TDC state- sure of this hypocrisy that provoked that ire which ment aims to appeal to people who (rarely individuals, but usually the department as led certain colleagues to resort to administrative do not consider themselves radicals, a whole) for having created a state of affairs that I expedients in their attempt to silence me. Nor is necessarily, but who are offended by regard as immoral; and a number of my colleagues my experience unique; if it were, I would never the obnoxious misrepresentations did not hesitate to criticize me in return. Well andhave embarked on this campaign. It is representa- Page 6Democratic Culture tive of the experience of many academics who have published in Surviving the PC University, I will NEWSCLIPS forcibly dissented from current left-wing pieties. Ifrefer readers to that essay for the evidence that I the high priests of the new academic establishmentcollected (as of 1990) on I,SU English Depart- and hypocrises of the anti-PC war- riors. For this we make no apology. persist in their attempts to pretend that nothing is ment hiring practices. I would like to observe, amiss and that tales of repression are fabrications, however, that several of Professor Demastes' char- White replies in the same issue by suggesting that because the TDC state- in the end they will he regarded as liars. acterizations of my views are inaccurate and seem ment of principles makes no mention of If Professor Demastes is willing for his own part to depend more on what critics have said about me Marxism among the "recent curricular to pay for the "sins of his fathers," Ioffer no than on what I have said myself. Yet on the matter reforms" we defend, it must be obvious objection; yet other people should be entitled to of politically discriminatory hiring practices in that TDC is against Marxism. He goes make that decision for themselves. The problemgeneral, I would like to propose a simple test. on to invoke the names of Noam with the"sins of the fathers" theory of justice is thatCurrent affirmative action and quota law assumes Chomsky and Gayatri Spivak against it ritionalizes the replication of those sins on a new that, in the absence of discrimination, groups will us, as if TDC would repudiate them and generation. Professor Demastes and I are not the he proportionately represented. To me, this as- vice versa. We wonder what White would have sumption is a mindless one; but since it has ac- ones on whom the blow falls; the true victims are said if he had known that Chomsky and the white males passing through the system now. I quired such force in the political arena, let us apply Spivak are both members of TDC am not and have never argued that justice and it to groups that the academic left does not like. Are along with innumerable other Marxists equity will be "restored" simply through the abo- political conservatives and Christian fundamen- and others influenced by Marxism. lition of affirmative action. My point is far more talists proportionately represented among facul- TDC plans to make its directory of rudimentary: We need to be able to talk aboutties of humanities departments? If they are not, members available on e-mail to those who request it. Perhaps White might what is going on honestly. Whether or not it candoes this not prove that they have been victims of change his view of TDC after seeing our discrimination? When I presented this argument ultimately be justified in ethical terms, preferential list of members. policy discriminates. The refusal to acknowledge in the past, my leftist it-.serlocutors seemed reluc- this simple truth has wrought more destruction intant to concede that statistical disparities were Right-Wing PC at higher education than has the preferential policysignificant when the underrepresentation of Re- itself. publicans or fundamentalists was in question. But Converse College One of the invidious consequences of this de-why not? Is this now simply another instance of John K. Wilson nial is that, since they cannot acknowledge indi- leftist double standards? Imagine what would happen if a con- vidual instances of injustice, leftist ideologues are When such double standards are firmly en- servative college president was forced increasingly driven to doctrines that indict entire trenched and discourse is completely dominated out of office by liberals for her political views. The story would make national biologically-defined classes of people. When they by a single set of perspectives, discussions of "po- headlines, wouldn't it, as columnists litical correctness" will not arise in the classroom, write about white people or men, for example, cried out against "political correctness" some of the more rabid Afrocentrists or radical to be sure, since they do not need to. Tyranny and the "liberal orthodoxy"? feminists start to sound like Hitler talking aboutproduces its own calm. It is precisely such a calm But after conservative trustees and the Jews. Moderate leftists might not like being that some leftists seem to have in view when they alumnae of South Carolina's Converse tarred with this brush; but how many among them talk about moving "beyond" the culture wars. Yet College forced out presidentEllenWood have spoken out against this new form of racist and I do believe that there. are still leftists who are Hall in May, no conservatives spoke out sexist bigotry? Who in the TDC has done so?sincere in their desire to act rightly and to bring in protest. On the contrary, the latest issue of the conservative national news- about a betterment of the human condition. It is Recently I attended a conference on "The War paper Campus (Fall 1993) salutes the against Bigotry," and with the exception of the incumbent upon these persons, now that they are compelled resignation in an article titled, plenary speaker who was a member of the NAS, in power, to acknowledge frankly the abuses of "Trustees& Alumnae Save School from not one of the panelists whom I listened tomanytheir own partywhich need not reflect discred- P.C. Outsider." of whom were powerful university administra-itably on the validity of their underlying aims The article by Nick Felten praises the torsseemed to question his or her right to im-and to recreate conditions where free and honest "trustee inquiry and oversight of politi- cally correct excesses" which led to pose a highly politicized left-wing conception ofdel%.te can occur once again. Hall's resignation. Hall is described as a You cannot trample on the human conscience what constitutes punishable racism, sexism, "radical feminist" and "an academically homophobia, and so forth, on the college commu- forever. If the leftist academic establishment does trendy liberal who was ot.tof touch with ni ty. From my point ofview, several ofthese people not undertake the responsibility of rectifying its alumnae and the long-standing tradi- were advancing totalitarian doctrines; yet theywrongs, in the end it will he repudiated and its tions and character of the 103 year-old seemed to have no inkling of the lines of argument works will all he torn down. For sincere leftists, the private school." Among the crimes corn- that might lead a person like myself to such a time to speak out is now. mittedunderHall'sleadership were"'ex- perience-based' learning which included conclusion. How have our academic debates come Keep Us Informed field trips to Harlem and sleepovers in to be so one-sided? When I view spectacles such as shanties erected on college lawns." these, I find Professor Demastes' reasonableness Is there a debate on your campus about "political Felton also explains that "speakers and moderation, much as I like these qualities in correctness"? Keep us informed about the culture brought to Converse were overwhelm- themselves, hard to credit. wars in your area by sending us clippings from local ing left-of-center," even though student Since most of my Philology Club talk has been newspapers and reports about what's going on. groups, not Hall, invited them to cam- pus. DemocraticCulturePage 7 NEWSCLIPS The Children of ReaganBush One alumna criticized Hall because she is "short, with short gray hair that is Michael Schtvalbe not in the least bit attractive, and wears godawful clothes," contrasting her with MY FAVORITE COURSE to teach is Soci- case for where they stood. This commitment to the "dignified, wonderful men" with "high ology 203, social problems. As I teach it, reason made a big difference in the classroom. It morals and wonderful backgrounds" the course examines the ways in which 7ace, class, meant that my students were open to thinking who were past presidents. Conserva- and gender inequalities create a great deal of sur- differently if I could show them that they were tive alumnae also criticized the hiring of dean of students Cynthia Greer, a black plus misery in everyday life for most people in theusing faulty facts or logic. These days my most woman, as "unnecessary" because only U.S. No other course I teach allows me to draw on conservative students give little sign of being open 8% of students are black. as wide a range of ideas and information to helpto thinking differently, or of being much im- Homophobia characterized many of students understand how our society works and pressed by facts and logic. the attacks. The conservatives forced how its workings affect their lives. No other course In the past few years I've found it increasingly out Greer for being "intemperate" be- causes me as much grief, either. hard to get conservative students to argue seri- cause she argued with a member of the I first started teaching social problems in 1981.ously. Oh, they will disagree, vehemently; but they ad hoc committee investigating Hall who proposed banning lesbians from the Back then I would respond to challenges from seem unable to construct an argument that is more school. As Felten writes, "The last straw conservative students by beating them over thethan a barrage of slogans. Every semester now I for many alumnae was the formation of head with logic and facts. I was a graduate student hear, "Feminism has done women more harm than a lesbian support group and the 'mar- at the time, and I figured that the best way to good"; "Blacks today are the real racists"; "It's been riage' of two female freshman[sicj." But change minds was by force ofsuperior knowledge. proven that socialism doesn't work"; "A capitalist there was no support group, only an If this strategy made some kids squirm a hit, well, is just a successful worker"; "Trying to create social informal meeting of some students with too bad. It was time they saw the light. equality always produces the opposite result." a counselor to talk about lesbianism. The tactics of the alumnae and trust- My strategy of getting in their faces was not Though it makes my stomach turn, I can do my ees were particularly effective. They wholly unsuccessful. It did cause some conserva- old trick with any of these statements. I can argue tried to discourage students from at- tive kids to think differently. Or so I imagined. Butfor them in a way that gets the attention of my tending the college, and withheld finan- there remained a few whose response to my critical conservative studentsand disconcerts my liberal cial contributions, which exacerbated analyses ofcapitalist America was to seethe quietly.students. But then when Itry, to show what's the problems caused by previous finan- They refused to engage with my arguments be-wrong with these statements, and the beliefs they cial mismanagement. cause it seemed clear to them that I hadn't a cluerest upon, my conservative students get impatient But these conservatives do not rep- resent the majority of Converse Col- about their thoughts and feelings. "Why bother?" and tune out. Or they just repeat the original lege. Within 48 hours, half of the stu- I suppose they thought. statement like an incantation, as if its power were dent body signed a petition opposing After a few semesters I learned how to rouse undiminished by the exposure of its rotten founda- Hall's resignation. Last fall, both the these folks. Whenever I saw that something was tions. trustees and the faculty gave a vote of making them uneasy or causing them to tune out, Anti-intellectualism is nothing new in Ameri- confidence to Hall. I would invite them to voice their objections, butcan culture, and nor perhaps is the invincible Felton writes, "With more courageous then instead of pouncing and trouncing, I would ignorance of my most conservative students. But I and responsible boards of trustees and alumni like Converse's, higher educa- take up their objections as my own, flesh them out,sense something different here, because these kids tion could be reformed overnight." It's a and articulate them better than they could. Theare neither stupid nor totally ignorant of the grim frightening thought that Ellen Wood Hall effect was stunning. state of U.S. society. Something else, something may not be the last college president to Now the conservative kids couldn't write memore insidious than reactionary Limbaugh-style face this kind of intimidation. off as ignorant of where they were coming from.rhetoric, is locking up their minds. They were shook up and primed to hear what came Itis tempting to cite postmodernist beliefs The Other next. So after articulating their arguments, I would about knowledge as the problem. Many of my Affirmative Action carefully explain why I didn't embrace those argu-students, both conservative and liberal, believe ments myself. Now the logic and facts hit home. I John K. Wilson either that all truth claims are relative and self- thought I'd found the key to opening and chang- serving, or that truth is a matter ofwhat you believe While tirades against affirmative ac- tion are common, the most disturbing ing minds. deep in your heart. In either case they feel there's form of affirmative actionpreferences In 1993 my key doesn't work anymore. Thenot much to he gained by jointly seeking a better for children of alumni, known as lega- conservative kids are different. During the past 12 version of the truth, since people already have the cies--is invariably ignored by conser- years these children of ReaganBush have imbibedversion that best suits them. Thus to argue about vative critics. Yet John Lamb, writing in a fundamentalist version of conservative thought what is true is pointless and, worse, not nice. the Spring 1993 Columbia Journal of that eschews argument. But 1 think the source of the problem is simpler Law and Social Problems, observes As recently as six years ago the conservativeand more concrete than creeping postmodernism. that "applicants who are children of alumni receive an advantage greater students were more willing to argue. If they dis- What I think is undermining my students' willing- than that enjoyed by any minority stu- agreed with me they would try to say why. It ness to think critically is fear. This is fear based on dent." seemed to matter to them robe able to make a good an undeniable truth they've learned from watching Page 8Democratic Culture the country these past 12 years. it. Individual powerlessness also helps rationalize What they've learned is that if you don't fit in, selfishness: "If some folks can't figure out how to NEWSCLIPS you'll get hurt. It's plain to see that good jobs are find a place in the system, or even if they never got An Education Department Office of scarce and getting scarcer, and that when peoplea fair shot at it, well, that's a shame but there's Civil Rights investigation of discrimina- tion against Asian-Americansat Harvard nothing I can do about it. Those folks should just lose their jobs they can end up living in the street, found a wide discrepancy in the admis- impoverished, abused. In a country like this, wor-try harder, like me." sion rates of children of alumni, re- rying about truth and social justice is likely to get It's not only the conservative kids who are cruited athletes, and regularapplicants. you in trouble. Rock the boat and you'll get thrown scared and in the grip of an ideology of competi rive From 1981 to 1988, Harvard admitted overboard. No rescue forthcoming. individualism. Most of mystudents are. And all are 16.9% of all applicants, but 35.7% of One irony here is that while some of my mostchildren of Reagan Bush in the sense of growing up alumni children and 48.7% of athletes. conservative students will deny the existence, oras witnesses to a heartless economy and violent In the class of 1992, 15.6% of all appli- cants, but 35.2% of alumni children and polity. extent, of many social problems, they dread be- 41.0% of athletes, were admitted. If coming victims of the injustice that they know, in In 20 years these children of ReaganBush will legacies had been admitted at the same their heart of hearts, abounds in our society. An-come of age politically. If they continue to act rate as other applicants, their numbers other irony is that while they claim to hate collec- fearfully and selfishly and assume the worst about would drop by nearly 200, greater than tivism, they fear not fitting in, because this wouldhuman nature, we will be in great danger. Much all of the Blacks, Hispanics, and Native jeopardize their chances to acquire the kind oftherefore depends on the social justice achieved Americans admitted to Harvard. material wealth and social status they've been between now and then. We must prove to this On every academic scale, including class rank and academic ratings, the generation, and the next, that it is possible to do taught to want. legacies admitted to Harvard from 1983 The fear these kids have grows also out ofbetter than what they've seen so far. Mt telling to 1992 were inferior to regular powerlessness. They may not know the details won't work. We are going to have to prove by doing. admittees. Regular students had com- about how the world works, but they do know that My conservative students' refusal to try to argue bined SAT scores 35 points higher than money (what the professor calls "capital") calls the well still bothers me. But my own biography gives legacies, and 130 points higher than shots. And since most of these kids are coming me reason for hope. When I began college 19 years the athletes. Considering that the chil- dren of Harvard alumni include many from working- or middle-class homes, nothing is ago I too bedeviled my liberal professors with the top students, the fact that they are be- racist and sexist prejudices I brought with me from guaranteed for them. To achieve a little upward low-average as a group suggests that mobility, or merely to reproduce their parents' a white ethnic, working-class home. Then again, I the legacy preference is quite strong. class status, they're going to have to cozy up to witnessed different political events as I grew up, so The OCR report concluded, "It is evi- power. They see no realistic alternatives. maybe now I am just echoing the spirit of a more dent from some of these readers' com- No one who experiences this sort of fear and optimistic time.I wouldn't have gotten here, ments that being the son or daughter of powerlessness is well situated to think critically andthough, if it hadn't been for a lot of good argu- an alt of Harvard/Radcliffe was the critical or decisive factor in admit- creatively. Instead ofengaging in risky and fruitless ments along the way. Michael ScInvalbe teaches sociology at North ting the applicant." thinking about how to change a bad system, one Surprisingly, the inquiry did not re- schemes about how to find a comfortable place in Carolina State University. gard legacy preferences as objection- able. The OCR concluded that the ap- parent discrimination against Asian - Retired from Indoctrination Americans was largely explained by the Terence M. Ripmaster preferences given to legacies and ath- letes. The report noted, "While these T SUPPOSETHE FUNNIEST proposition thatknow as the fictions of Western and American preferences have an adverse effect on I ever came from the new right neocons was theculture. I assumed that there was nothing in the Asian-Americans, we determined that notion that a giant leftist cadre had entered highertexts about women, minorities and working people they were long-standing and legitimate, education and indoctrinated a generation of other- because these groups simply had no history. I still and not a pretext for discrimination." Unlike affirmative action for under- have my college US history textbook that depicts wise innocent and decent students into becoming represented minorities, which seeks to raving revolutionaries. This same subversive cadre"Negroes" as happy slaves, dancing and playing compensate for past wrongs and estab- has been accused of conspiring against "Western"their banjos on the plantations. lish racial equality, the legacy prefer. values and causing everything from the breakdown By the time I graduated from an excellent ence serves no noble purpose. On the of the "traditional" family to the trade deficit. Midwestern university, I knew of only one female contrary, it provides advantages to the I have retired from my college position after 30writer, George Eliot. In political science, econom- most advantaged groups. The sole jus- years of teaching at what I would call a typical state ies and related social sciences, I had been doused in tification given for legacy preferences is the unproven claim that elite private Cold War ideology, capitalism and male-oriented college. I think my experience is reflective of many colleges need them to get money from of us who entered higher education in the 1960snotions of the human character and social pro- alumni. The legacy preference has noth- and who have been associated with the so-called grams. I later came to call this the "father knows ing to do with an individual's accom- radicalization of a generation of students. Mybest" version of history and society. The universe plishments or ability to contribute some education was hidebound and traditional. I neverwas dominated by what Gore Vidal calls male "sky unique talent. It is time for colleges to questioned my grade school or college textbooks or gods" and our life on Earth was controlled by end this deplorable and discriminatory teachers as they "taught" me what I later came to "great" men. practice. Democratic CulturePage 9 34 NEWSCLIPS Ifsomeone had told me in 1960 that I would be about who are the victims of execution. They feel part of an educational and social revolt in America, there is nothing wrong with a $5 billion-per-week Does Diversity I would have laughed at them. I simply replicated military budget and agree that criminalization will the views that I had been taught. I wish there was solve the drug problem. Hurt Students? a way I could contact every student from that As for issues related to PC and debates over the John K. Wilson period of my teaching and send a personal apology. academ ic canon and multiculturalism, they couldn't Multiculturalism has been attacked There is no need here to account for my journey care less. When I cover the long history of racism for promoting ethnic Balkanization and into dissent from the "traditional" values: Theand sexism in my courses, I usually get the re- racial segregation on campus, as well Civil Rights movements, the endless Cold War, sponse: "Well, we're not responsible for all of that!" as for lowering academic standards. the corporate takeover of America in all of its Most of them feel that blacks and other minorities But a recent study by Alexander Astin, dimensions, and the emergence of a radical cri- What Matters in College, indicates that are given too many breaks and openly state that multiculturalism improves racial har- tique. Like many of us, I had to re-learn almostthey think unqualified blacks get the jobs over mony and intellectual standards. everything I had been taught and thought, and it qualified whites. The college increases their tuition Astin examined institutional variables was painful and difficult. And when I began toevery year and many of them work at minimum like affirmative action and multicultural- teach students the unsanitized account of interna- wage jobs. They have no interest even in confront- ism, as well as individual variables such tional and national history, I was dubbed a radical. ing their own economic well-being; a statewide as taking Women's Studies or ethnic For a brief time in the late 1960s and early anti-tuition march at the state capital was joined by studies courses, participating in aware- 1970s there appeared a group of students who ness workshops, discussing racial and eight of the 10,000 students. ethnic issues, and socializing with were excited about new directions and new ideas. From conversations with my colleagues at other people from other racial and ethnic While these students were often disruptive andcolleges and universities and accounts in journals groups. He found: "Generally speaking, misguided, they had an energy and concern that and the media, the above description of under- all these institutional and individual en- was infectious. They became involved in campus graduate students does not seem to be exaggerated, vironmental experiences were associ- and national issues and made tremendous de-which should delight Cheney et. al. Much of the ated with greater self -repoi ted gains in mands on my time. But suddenly, they disap- national debate about PC and indoctrination is cognitive and affective development peared and by the mid-1970s, the disco generation (especially increased cultural aware- useless because it ignores how little has changed. ness), with increased satisfaction in took their place. America veered to the far rightThe media, textbooks, teaching, and curriculum most areas of the college experience, and so did the students. From the late 1970s to the are still based on the Eurocentered, America-knows- and with increased commitment to pro- present, the largest organizations at my campus best white man's interpretation of history and moting racial understanding." have been the Young Republicans, fraternities, ideas. Every major professional field is still domi- Students who had such experiences and the ski club. The two largest majors are busi- nated by men. Any teacher who presents a critique were also less likely to have materialis- ness and communication. The college catalogue is of this society is isolated, denigrated, often not tic values or to believe that an individual packed with courses on accounting, management, cannot change society. Astin concludes, retained, and labeled as a radical, Communist, or "the weight of the empirical evidence and television production. troublemaker. shows that the actual effects on student My students openly stated that they would not A dean, upon hearing of my retirement, said: development of emphasizing diversity take a single history or social science course if they"He is crazy, but he was an excellent teacher." Of and of student participation in diversity were not required for graduation. They have not course, she probably did not mean that I was activities are overwhelmingly positive." the foggiest notion of how national or interna-certifiably insane and required institutionaliza- "The National Endowment for the tional economic systems work, and avoid the study tion. On the day I heard about the dean's com- Ms and the Humanities are hardly sur- of economics as if it were a plague. They have no ments, I walked to the library across the college rogates for a European ministry of cul- interest in the American political system and areyard filled with students; the library' was nearly ture. The foundations are more plau- hard put to explain the differences between aempty. sible candidates for that designation. liberal and a conservative. They support American The neocons have nothing to worry about. The Even they are hybrids, half private, half wars without question; the day after Desert Storm public... The French state, by contrast, graying radicals of the 1960s are departing, and at has always been involved in culture." began, most of them were wearing yellow ribbons least at my college, there will be no trouble from the Norman Birnbaum, Searching for and their cars were covered with "support our present generation of undergraduates. the Light: Essays on Thought and Cul- troops" stickers. With few exceptions, they are for TerenceRipmastertaught history at William ture (Oxford University Press, 1993). the death penalty, even after I present the statistics Paterson College. RITE FOR DEMOCRATIC CULTURE NVWe need your writing to create this newsletter. We are looking for letters,essays, book reviews, and reports on the latest events of interest to our members. Send your submissions to: Teachers for a Democratic CultureP.O. Box 6405 Evanston, IL 60204 Page 10Democratic Culture The Raging Water Buffalo John K Wilson Hackney THE CAMPAIGN OF misinformation and ideological at- justified," but he added, "There is no pro- Nomination tacks against Sheldon Hackney has failed to derail his nomination asvision for the President or for any officer of chair of the National Endowment for tl .e Humanities, which wasthe University to intervene." confirmed by a 76-23 vote in the Senate or August 3, 1993. Hackney The misinformation about the "water buffalo" story has not merely was never the real target of these attacks. He was a moderate caught in unfairly maligned Hackney for entirely reasonable and proper actions, the middle of the crossfire in the war against political correctness, whoit has also obscured what really happened. A group of black women almost had his nomination mortally wounded. As Jesse Helms put it, who were subjected to racist and sexist abuse have been transformed "Mr. Hackney's problem is that he is recognized as one of the most into ruthless PC oppressors while an obnoxious student has became the prominent apologists for political correctness." latest in a long line of conservatives declaring themselves helpless But much of what was reported about Hackney was badly distorted victims of censorship. or simply false, as when the Wall Street I ournal(echoed by Jesse Helms) The second incident which created a national controversy involving attacked Hackney because "he spoke out in favor of kicking ROTCHackney occurred on April 15, 1993, when a group of black students from Penn unless the military began to admit openly gay men andtook the 14,200 press run of the Daily Pennsylvanian because it lesbians." But Hackney says, "I am a supporter of ROTC on campus,"included a column written by conservative Gregory Pavlik, who had ar.: 1983, after the University of Pennsylvania Law School bannedcriticized affirmative action and Martin Luther King, Jr. A flier left military recruiters from the campus because they violated the school's continued on the next page rules about discrimination based on sexual orientation, Hackney reversed the decision, declaring that "the policies of the U.S. armed "A Forum in Which All Voices Can Be Heard" forces are not now illegal in Philadelphia or elsewhere." Excerpts from June 26, 1993 statement by Sheldon Hackney The official story about the "water buffalo" incident at the Univer- I believe my twenty years of major responsibility in universities has sity of Pennsylvania is well-known by now. In January, a group of black prepared me to lead the National Endowment for the Humanities. For the sorority women were making noise outside a dorm late at night. Eden past generation, universities have provided tough environments. Uni- Jacobowirz, who was trying to Study in his dorm room, yelled at them, versity presidents operate in a sea of powerful and conflicting currents. "Shut up, you water buffaloes!" and "If you're looking for a party, To succeed, one must have a clear sense of strategic direction, a there's a zoo a mile from here." Water buffalo, we have been repeatedly fundamental commitment to the core values of the University, the told, "has no known racial connotations" and is a loose translation of strength to persevere through contentious times, and the ability to gain a Hebrew insult meaning both "water oxen" and a "thoughtless and keep the support of a variety of constituencies. I have not only person." A "Kafkaesque" trial mad, him, in the words of the Wall Street survived in that environment, I have prospered, and my institutions have Journal, "the latest victim of the ideological fever known as political thrived. Among the values that I hold dear is a belief that a university ought to be correctness." open to all points of view, even if some of those views expi ..,sed are The other side of the story has been almost universally omitted from personally abhorrent.I take some pride in having protected the right to reports of the incident. As the women noted when they dropped the speak of such diverse controversial figures as Robert Shockley at Princeton, charges, "In an atmosphere of being called the 'N' word and sexually King Hussein of Jordan at Tulane, and Louis Farrakhan at Penn. The demeaning words...someone yelled, 'Shut up, you black water buffa- university should belong to all of its members and not be the exclusive loes!' and `Go back to the zoo where you belong!'" domain of any particular person, group, or point of view.... Is it unreasonable to think, when racist and sexist epiths are being Universities exist to create new knowledge and to preserve and commu- shouted, that a student might have some racist motives when he nicate knowledge. The NEH, as a sort of university without walls, through compares a group of African-Americans to animals and says they ought its research, education, and public programs, is engaged in the same effort. to be put in a zoo? The fact that Jacobowitz's phrase was derived from I am dedicated to the proposition that we can improve the human condition a Hebrew insult and is not a common racial epithet hardly makes it through knowledge and that our hope for tomorrow in this troubled world depends on the sort of understanding that can come through learning.... immune from use in a racist way. There is sufficient doubt in this case I like to think of the humanities as human beings recording and thinking to argue that Jacobowitz deserved no punishment, and almost certainly about human experience and the human condition, preserving the best of he would not have gotten any at the disciplinary hearing. However, the past and deriving new insights in the present. One of the things that the there was enough evidence to justify a hearing to investigate the issue, NEH can do is to conduct a national conversation around the big questions: and to suspect Jacobowitz of having some racial motives. If itis what is the meaning of life, what is a just society, what is the nature of duty, legitimate for a university to punish the use of racial epithets, then and soon. In this big conversation, it is not the function of the NEH to provide surely it is acceptable to investigate a reasonable allegation of one. answers but to ensure a discussion, to create a forum in which all voices can When a group of students makes plausible charges of harassment, be heard. what should a university president do? Can or should the president Because they are not just for the few but for everyone, no single study every disciplinary controversy and then decide whether it de- approach to the NEH mandate is adequate. There is a need for balance serves a further hearing? Or should he allow the regular university among research aimed at creating new knowledge, educational programs to ensure that the humanities are creatively and invitingly represented in the disciplinary processes to work at determining the facts of the case? curricula of our schools and colleges, and public programs to draw everyone Hackney noted, "1 did not think the charge of racial harassment was into the big conversation. Democratic CulturePage II

3 behind declared, "we arc protesting the blatant and voluntary perpetu- ation of institutional racism against the Black community." Such "My Future Was Almost Ruined" deplorable and indefensible attempts to suppress conservative views Statement of Eden Jacobowitz are intolerable in a university which promotes free expression of ideas, My story like so many others at Penn reflect the university's and Mr. Hackney's tendency to restrict free speech whenever the voice is not and ought to be punished by codes that (unlike Penn's) specifically speaking correctly in their view. That ispolitically correct in their view. As prohibit such behavior. you probably already know, on Wednesday, January 13, I shouted "Shut up But the removal of these newspapers has become secondary to the you waterbuffalo!" at a group of sorority women who were stomping their feet, effort to get Hackney. In what has become the most famous statement shouting and screaming outside my dormitory window at approximately 11:30 by a university president in recent memory, Hackney declared after the p.m. I later learned that because of this truly innocent response to disruptive incident, "two important university values now stand in conflict... noise, racial harassment charges had been filed against me. I was in complete shock that anyone had taken my words racially, and I made it clear diversity and open expression." While not an inaccurate description of to the university's judicial officers and to Dr. Hackney that the race of the the problem, this statement seemed to support the idea that Hackney women was of total indifference to me. I explained that as an Israeli-born was a weak-willed president. orthodox Jew raised on Hebrew, the term "water buffalo" derived from the But in a display of sloppy journalism all too typical of the coverage Hebrew word "behemet," which translates literally into "water oxen" and simply means "foolish person" in Hebrew slang. I do not understand how a on political correctness, every one of the dozens of stories in the university which prides itself on diversity, did not accept my culture.... mainstream media about the incident omitted what else Hackney said. I would like to make it clearthat the real issue here is not racial harassment. As Hackney wrote to the New York Times (une 16), "After saying that The real issue is freedom of speech. I established my innocence from the diversity and open expression seemed to be in conflict, I mad: it clear beginning. The reason this case was able to drag on so long is because the that 'there can be no compromise regarding the First Amendment university has a speech code limiting the Constitutional rights of students. By right of an independent publication to express whatever views it the standards of that speech code, I should have been found innocent. But because it was in the hands of incompetent and cruel judicial officers and an chooses.' I also reaffirmed a ban on such confiscations that I promul- apathetic University President, my future was almost ruined. gated four years earlier." While Hackney should have been more explicit in condemning the "Taking Newspapers Is Wrong" behavior (as he admitted in the hearing on his nomination), it is Hackney's statement of April 22, 1993 to the University of Pennsylvania understandable for a university president to take a conciliatory ap- Freedom of expression is essential to academic life. At Penn it is foremost proach in order to defuse tensions and ensure that the "protest" does among our core values, and we are committed to upholding it. The University not happen again. In contrast, there is no excuse for the misleading has long-established policies to protect it. Taking newspapers is wrong, as I madeclear ina policy statement four reporting ofhis statement, which has been widely disseminated as fact. years ago and reiterated at the time of last week's events and restated again Senator Dan Coates told Hackney, "you became a symbol" of this week. political correctness. But like the attacks on political correctness, the Those who are accused of violations of University policies will be subject criticisms of Hackney have been vicious distortions of the truth. It is to theprovisionsof the University's judicial system: Due process in determin- worth noting that when Hackney had the opportunity to explain what ing the guilt or innocence of any accused party is essential. We shall not take shortcuts. really happened, in front of the Senate Labor and Human Resources I recognize that the concerns of members of Penn's minority community Committee, it supported him unanimously. Even Stephen Balch, that gave rise to last week's protest are serious and legitimate. We have president of the NAS, called Hackney "an intelligent, open-minded worked hard to make Penn a place in which everyone could feel full man of integrity" and "a figu re ofgen uine stature in higher education." membership. The University is, and will remain, committed to that goal, and Unfortunately, the media distortions ofwhat happened at the Univer- it is working diligently to achieve it. In the final analysis, the aim of a diverse and free forum for ideas in which sity of Pennsylvania will haunt Hackney during his tenure at the NEH. all are welcome and able to participate will be achieved only when all It is a foregone conclusion that the biased stories, in willful ignorance of members of the community listen more carefully to the views and concerns the facts, will be repeated in the dozens of conservative articles and hooks of others. I urge the Daily Pennsylvanian's staff and editors and those who which appear annually. As always, the truth will be less important than object to its editorial, reportorial and staffing practices to work together to perpetuating the story about the evils of political correctness. resolve their common concerns.... A modern university is the focus for all of the tensions that exist in our If there is a silver lining to this dark cloud of had journalism, it is society. As such, it must remain steadfast in its commitment to all of its core Hackney's reaction to these events. At his hearing, Hackney spoke up values, especially when those tensions produce conflicts that we must work for freedom of expression and declared, "The NEH should not have to resolve. We shall not do less. a social agenda...It is not a social laboratory." Hackney also has commented that since he would he criticized no matter what he did, "Orwellian Truisms" "I might as well do what I think is right." He added, "If that leads to Senator Joseph Lieberman, August 2, 1993 Instead of condemning that act in unequivocal terms for what it wasan controversy, I hope it is a productive controversy." While this may be outrageous assault on freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and a a vain hope, it suggests that the NEH may have a leader who is criminal act, namely, the theft of newspapers that did not belong to them determined not to manipulate the agency to serve his ideological aims, instead of doing that, Dr. Hackney's immediate reaction was to express who is not afraid of controversy, and who can deal with the inevitable sympathy with the students' frustration that led them to steal the newspapers. That is nonsense.... attacks from conservatives. Dr. Hackney did pay tribute in his statement to the preeminence of free John K. Wilson is a graduate student in the Committee on Social speech in our society. But as I read that statement, that elevation of free Thought at the University of Chicago. Statements excerpted here can be speech was smothered in a statement that was otherwise loaded with the kind found in the August 2, 1993 Congressional Record. of Orwellian truisms on the so-called conflict between free speech and diversity that also have become too common on our campuses. Page 12Democratic Culture The Function of NEH in an Age of Conflict (This statement has been sent to the National Endowment for the Humanities) Gerald Graffand Gregory Jay AS WE ALL know, the last decade has seen humanities. transforming them from unpro-NEH would now be seeking to improve the an unprecedented degree cf public con- ductive name-calling bouts into debates thatand clarify the terms of the debate.... Creating flict over the nature and function of the aca- help Americans understand the issues at hand. a more useful and illuminating public debate demic humanities, and this conflict has inevi- This is a policy that could be carried out, could also be an aim of some NEH - sponsored tably engulfed the National Endowment. Since for example, by a series of NEH-sponsoredresearch projects and seminars, and of state traditionally the NEH has sought to remainnational conferences that focus on key hu- humanities council activities. above controversy, if only to avoid favoring manities controversies. The conferences might If we have learned anything from recent some interest groups over others, this state oftak,: up such contentious topics as recent skirmishes, it seems, it is that, paradoxically, affairs poses serious problems. How shouldrevisions in the humanities canon, political the more NEH seeks to insulate itself from the NEH respond when the humanities be- correctness, the place of class, race, and gender controversy the uglier the resulting contro- comes a battleground in a larger "culture war" in humanities scholarship, and the extent toversy will tend to be. By facilitating reasoned over such issues as multiculturalism, political which political advocacy is or is not legitimate controversy, N EH can help make the national correctness, and the direction of American in the classroom. debate less arvy and antagonistic. education? The conferences, in other words, would In our view, such changed conditions re- address precisely those questions that have 1994 TDC Conference quire a rethinking of NEH's traditional atti-preoccupied NEH reports such as "To Re- A TDC national conference is being planned for tude toward controversy. We believe that oneclaim a Legacy," "Humanities in America," Fall, 1994, on the topic, "The Politics and Ethics of the most useful functions that can he played and "Telling the Truth." Instead of of Teaching." We encourage members to send by the NEH at the present time is to nourish polemicizing for a partisan view of the issues, us ideas. and advance the present controversies over the however, as those reports tended to do, the The Case for Speech Codes John K Wilson C HELDON HACKNEY reflected a common sen- charges against the students. have, at the very least, the same rights and free- timent when he told the Senate Labor and The answer is not to abolish all speech codes doms of choice as their working peers who take Human Resources Committee, "I think that a and leave us with the intellectual equivalent of a jobs away from home." Nadine Strossen admits, speech code, caught up in punishments through Wild West shootout where anything goes. Nor is "The Supreme Court never has held, and civil judicial procedure, is wrong. We proved that this the answer to go back to vague and arbitrary libertarians never have argued, that harassing, spring." The Wall Street Journal declares: "No conduct codes which are even more easily abused intimidating, or assaultive conduct should be im- overhauling can fix what is wrong with university than the current speech codes. Instead, we must munized simply because it consists in part of harassment codes, which deserve to be con- adopt specific and narrow speech codes which words." And even free speech absolutist Nat Hentoff signed to oblivion along with their bizarre 'legal' can regulate certain kinds of abusive speech and states, "Any systematic, repeated verbal harass- machinery." The Washington Post, attacking behaviorsuch as threats, harassment, and the ment that substantially interferes with the target's "Speech Code Silliness," editorialized against "the mass theft of newspaperswithout endangering functioning is not protected speech." misuse and basic unfairness of speech codes" and the free expression of offensive ideas. Some speech codes, such as at the University "their ineffectiveness in dealing with the real prob- This is not a radical idea. Conservative oppo- of Michigan, have been written too broadly and lems raised by student clashes of a racial nature." nents of speech codes support regulation of cer- interpreted poorly, which led to their being de- However, speech codes, if properly written and tain kinds of speech. Former Solicitor General clared unconstitutional. But other speech codes, enforced, need not be discarded. On the contrary, Charles Fried has suggested banning "unwanted such as at Stanford, are narrowly Zailored and speech codes can serve to broaden freedom of invective" because there is a right "to be in a public have been unfairly accused of censorship by op- speech and intellectual inquiry by preventing the or private place in relative tranquility." Dinesh ponents. These na low speech codes, when they abuse and harassment which inhibits free ex- D'Souza declares, "I'm not a free speech absolut- prohibit only abusive speech specifically directed change of ideas. ist" and suggests as a code: "Students shall not yell at an individual with hateful intent, ran protect Ironically, the same people who attack the racial epithets at each other." Columnist George students from harassment withoutndangering University of Pennsylvania for having a speech Will notes that an academic community "requires a the expression of ideas. Henry Louis Gates notes code also criticize it for failing to punish a group of particular atmosphere of civility that can bo incom- that the Stanford rules "have rightly been taken as black students who took the entire press run of the patible with unrestricted expression." The National a model of such careful delimitation." Although student newspaper. But how do they propose to Association of Scholars proclaims: "Tolerance is a Gates claims that the Stanford rule "won't do much punish these student, if not by a code which limits core value of academic life, as is civility. College good," speech codes, when well-written, can im- student behavior? However deplorable their ac- authorities should ensure that these values pre- prove the campus climate for everyone by punish- tions, the paper-snatchers are right about the law: vail." ing egregious acts of intimidation and censorship. Without a specific rule against it, students can take Alan Charles Kors, who defended Eden No one believes that a speech code alone can as many copies of a free newspaper as they wish. Jacobowitz, says that a university "should have a create racial harmony on campus. But narrowly Attempts to twist the moaning of existing codes to code of behavior that specifies punishments for tailored speech codes can help protect students deal with this kind of censorship are clearly uncon- physical violence, threats, and intimidations, and against the worst abuses, and itis foolish to stitutionai, and it was wise for Penn to drop the breachesof academic integrity; its students should dismiss them out of hand. Democratic CulturePage 13 Join TEACHERS FOR A DEMOCRATIC CULTURE (The following is excerpted from the 1991 TDC statement of purpose)

COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES in theUnited States haveopinions as if they were established facts, the picture the public has lately begun to serve the majority of Americans better thanreceived of recent academic developments has come almost entirely ever before. Whereas a few short years ago, institutions offrom the most strident detractors of these developments.... higher education were exclusive citadels often closed to women, It is time for those who believe in the values of dernocraticeducation minorities and the disadvantaged, today efforts arc being made to giveand reasoned dialogue to join together in an organization that can fight a far richer diversity of Americans access to a college education.such powerful forms of intolerance and answer mischievous misrepre- Reforms in the content of the curriculum have also begun to make our sentations. We support the right of scholars and teachers to raise classrooms more representative of our nation's diverse peoples andquestions about the relations of culture, scholarship and education to beliefs and to provide a more truthful account of our history andpoliticsnot in order to shut down debate on such issues but to open cultural heritage. Much remains to be done, but we can be proud of theit. It is such a debate that is prevented by discussion-stopping slogans progress of democratization in higher education. like "political correctness." A vociferous band of critics has arisen, however, who decry these What does the notion of a "democratic culture" mean and how does changes and seek to reverse them. These critics have painted anit relate to education? In our view, a democratic culture is one in which alarming picture of the state of contemporary education as a cata-criteria of value in art are not permanently fixed by tradition and strophic collapse. This picture rests on a number offalse claims: that the authority but are subject to constant revision. It is a culture in which classics of Western civilization are tieing eliminated from the curricu- terms such as "canon," "literature," "tradition," "artistic value," "com- lum in order to make race, gender or political affiliation the solemon culture" and even "truth" are seen as disputed rather than given. measure of a text's or subject's worthiness to be taught; that teachersThis means not that standards for judging art and scholarship must he across the land are being silenced and politicallyintimidated; that thediscarded but that such standards should evolve out of democratic very concepts of reason, truth and artisticstandards are beingsubverted processes in which they can be thoughtfully challenged. in favor of a crude ideological agenda. We understand the problems in any organization claiming to speak Itis our view that recent curricular reforms influenced byfor a very diverse, heterogeneous group of teachers who may sharply multiculturalism and feminism have greatly enriched education ratherdisagree on many issues, including that of the politics of culture. What than corrupted it. It is our view as well that the controversies that havewe envision is a coalition of very different individuals and groups, been provoked over admissions and hiring practices, the social func-bound together by the belief that recent attacks on new forms of tions of teaching and scholarship, and the status of such concepts as scholarship and teaching must be answered in a spirit of principled objectivity and ideology are signs of educational health, not decline. discussion. We think the very formation of such a group will be an Contrary to media reports, it is the National Association of Schol-important step in gaining influence over the public representations of ars, their co rprate foundation supporters and like-minded writers in us and our work. the press who are endangering education with a campaign of harass- It will also be a way to take responsibility for the task of clarifying ment and misrepresentation. Largely ignorant of the academic workour ideas and practices to the wider publicsomething, it must be they attack (often not even claiming to have read it), these critics make admitted, that we have not done as well as we should. We need an no distinction between extremists among their opposition and thoseorganization that can not only refute malicious distortions but also who are raising legitimate questions about the relations of culture andeducate the interested public about matters that still to often remain society. And though these critics loudly invoke the values of rationalshrouded in mysterynew literary theories and movements such as debate and open discussion, they present the current debate overdeconstructionism, feminism, multiculturalism and the new histori- education not as a legitimate conflict in which reasonable disagreementcism, and their actual effects on classroom practice. is possible but as a simple choice between civilization and barbarism. We therefore propose the formation of Teachers for a Democratic Yet because the mainstream media have reported misinformedCulture. MEMBERSHIP REGISTRATION JOIN TEACHERS FORA DEMOCRATIC CULTURE WITH THIS FORM The continuing growth and success of TDC depends on your involvement and your contributions. We ask all current TDC members to renew their memberships by returning this form io cover calendar year 1994. We also encourage non-members who have received this newsletter to join us. Please mail this membership form to: Teachers for a Democratic Culture, P.O. Box 6405, Evanston IL 60204.

_Yes, I want to become a member of TDC _Yes, I want to renew my membership in TDC Enclosed is my 1994 contribution of: $50 _$25 $5 (students) Name Department School or Affiliation City State Zip Home Address (it preferred) Phone Numbers: Business FAX Home E-mail

Page 14Democratic Culture Critique the teacher must be. In picturing the classroom, Freire and other proponer rs of critical pedagogy N EWSCIfl PS continued from front page seemingly envisage a teacher who is already com- rather than breaking with the "banking" model of mitted to social transformation and simply lacks The MLA's education in which knowledge is seen as a kind of the lesson plan for translating the commitment "Deceptive" deposit that the student receives from an authori- into practice. The question never arises of what Survey tative teacher. Instead of imposing their own role will he played in a radical curriculum by John K. Wilson "thematics" on the people, from the top down, teachers who do not go along with the lesson plan. A 1991 MLA survey of college pro- Freirean educators must "re-present to the people The premise seems to be that radical pedagogy fessors concluded there was little evi- their own thematics in systematized and amplified isfor those teachers who have already been dence that "English faculty members form. The thematics which have come from the radicalizedor have decided they wish to be. have jettisoned traditional texts and people return to themnot as contents to be depos- Presumably, those who decline to join the move- teaching methods in their upper-divi- ited but as problems to be solved." Freire says that ment will mind their own business, recognizing sion literature courses." The MLA data libertarian education "starts with the conviction that like good academics that "it's not my field." The suggested that literature courses are it cannot present its own program but must search for recent uproar over political correctness suggests being modified to introduce new views of literature, but the major works and this program dialogically with the people." that, on the contrary, these teachers will strenu- authors remain preeminent. It is an ate active program in principle, but does ously object, and often with good reason. The Will Morrisey, Norman Fruman, and Freire remain faithful to it? How real can the failure to take seriously the objections of the Thomas Sho rt argue in Acader liC Ques- Freirean dialogue be, when Frei re clearly presumes unpersuaded seems to us a serious limitation of tion s (Spring 1993) that "the MLA's own he knows in advance what the authen tic"will of the critical pedagogy both on ethical and strategic survey proves that the classics have people" is or should be? However much Freire may grounds. It means that critical pedagogy is usually been displaced. For the MLA survey insist on teaching "problem-posing" rather than a business of preaching to the converted, leaving results are indeed surprising: on closer examination they show that things are top-down solutions, the goal of teaching for Freire the unpersuaded overlooked, alienated, and recep- much worse than the academy's critics is to move the student toward "a critical perception tive to the counterpropaganda of conservatives. have believed." But these writers, not of the world," and this critical perception "implies Of course, radical pedagogy has no problem the MLA, are the ones who distort the a correct method of approaching reality..." It is, as construing such resistance as further evidence of evidence. he puts it, "a comprehension oftotalreality." complicity in the dominant culture, a response First, Morrisey, Fruman, and Short Though Freirean pedagogy claims to give the that further exempts the radical teacher from hay:: claim that the MLA survey was decep- oppressed the autonomy to decide for themselves ing -to criticize his or her own position;.Tl3telf tive because it selected older, full pro- fessors who would favor a "traditional- what their transformation will look like, it is clearcongratulatory tacticifyou criticize me you must ist" result. But contrary to what they obviously be a reactionaryis conspicuous among that for Freire the oppressed are free to decide only assert, the MLA survey actually exag- within limits. Suppose a student ends up decidingexponents of so-called "oppositional pedagogy" gerates the extent to which new literary that he or she isnotoppressed, or is not oppressed such as Donald Morton and Mas'ud Zavarzadch. texts and approaches are being used. in the way or for the reasons Frei re supposes? What Like Freirean pedagogy of the oppressed, opposi- Although they are right that the survey if, after a Freirean dialogue, the student embraces tional pedagogy offers itself as training in critique slightly overrepresented full professors, Rush Limbaugh, or decides that for him or her rather than as indoctrination, with "critique" de- they neglect to point out that assistant professors were even more overrepre- authentic liberation means joining a corporation fined as "an investigation of the enabling condi- sented and the respondents were more and making a lot of money? Freire can only count tions of discursive practices. It subjects thegrounds likely than the average faculty member such decisions as the result of the student's having of the seemingly self-evident discourse to inspec- to be under 40, to have received their been brainwashed by the dominant culture.... tion and reveals that what appears to be rational Ph.D. since 1980, and to teach in a In any case, whether the student is positioned as and universal is actually a situated discourse." This Ph.D.-granting program. Thus, the MLA the oppressed or the oppressor, the outcome of version of "cri tique" is a poststructuralist updating survey overemphasized, rather than critical pedagogy is already predetermined. Freire of the notion of ideology articulated by Marx.... underemphasized, the degree to which new texts are being taught and new assumes that we know from the outset the identity Oppositional pedagogy claims to go beyond approaches used. of the "oppressed" and their "oppressors." He also the pedagogy of the oppressed, however, by posi- Morrisey, Fruman, and Short con- assumes a student body that will readily accept a tioning the teacher in a frankly "adversarial role in clude that reading lists have been "di- description of themselves as the oppressed. This relation to the student," challenging students' luted" and traditional authors discarded assumption may be understandable in the original presumed complacency about their position in the in favor of inferior books. But in re- context of Freire's work with Latin American dominant culture. The teacher is not only' au- sponse to a question asking teachersof peasants. But Freire's model encounters serious thoritatively right ab,)ut the issues, but is also justi- early 19th century American literature to name "up to three works among those problems when it is transplanted to a North Ameri- fied in assuming the inauthenticity of the student's that they consistently teach that they opinions. The teacher "helps reveal the student to can campus, where not all students are obviously considerparticularly important," the most members of an oppressed class, and where even himself by showing him how his ideas and positions frequently named authors were many of those who might plausibly fit that desig- are the effects of larger discourses (of class, race, and Hawthome, Thoreau, Melville, Emer- nation refuse to accept it. gender, for example), rather than simple, natural son, and Whitman, with these canonical If Frei re assumes a predetermined outcome for manifestations of his consciousness or mind." writers comprising 75% of all the re- the student, he is equally sure what the politics of Here the helpful oppositional pedagogue is not sponses. They respond to this over- Democratic Ca IturePage 15 40 content to offer his own position as just one among that respects their claims as much as possible. Nf\WS.C.LIPS a number of possible conclusions. More frankly We grant tha' citical pedagogy has its place at whelmingly conventional result by com- than the Freirean teacher, though ultimately re-the level of individual teaching practices, at least plaining that "43.7 percent of teachers peating the same gesture, he or she treats eachwhen itis willing to respect the resistance of of America do not consider Hawthorne student viewpoint as merely another case of Falsestudents. But as long as education is an institution to be one of the three most significant American authors in the first sixty-five consciousness to he demystified.... in an overlapping system of democratic processes, years of the nineteenth century." In our view, the definirion of categories such as the school cannot and should not enforce a pro- The MLA survey also found that the disenfranchised and the dominant, oppressedgram that commits everyone to a predetermined 61.7% of respondents wanted students and oppressor, should beaproductof the pedagogi- worldview, however just we may believe itis. to understand the influence of race, cal process, not its unquestionedpremise.So must Theorizing the practice of entire institutions of class, and gender on literature, while the way these categories are described, theorized, higher education means thinking from the view- 5t% believed it was important for stu- and historicimd. The premise that the classroom, point of conservatives, liberals, and others with dents to "understand the enduring ideas and values of Western civiNzation." Re- like society, is constituted by a readily identifiablewhom we work, not just from the viewpoint of markably, 36% of all respondents es- hierarchy of the disenfranchised and the dominant radicals. This calls for a model of education in poused both goals. Nevertheless, is not unreasonable or indefensible, but itisa which we engage with those who hold the "wrong" Morrisey, Fruman, and Short see only premise and one that should be as open to criticism politics and will not take our assumptions for conspiracies here, suggesting first that as any traditional axiom.... granted, that is, a model in which ideological the survey reveals "confusion or a de- It is difficult to imagine how the students in an opponents not only coexist but cooperate. sire to deceive" and finally concluding oppositional classroom arc to form a bond with each We are not urging radical teachers to back that politicized professors would want students to understand Western civili- other, much less with those whoopposethcirpoint ofdown from their political commitments, but to zation solely in order to attack it. view. Critique can succeed only by resorting to put these commitments into dialogue with those Morrisey. Fruman, and Short also persuasion, and persuasion has no chance unless it is who would oppose and test them. Since such a seek to twist the results of the question willing to respect the resistances of chase who are not dialogue would include countervoices, it would asked about which of twelve "theoreti- yet converted. At some point critique has to turn into actually enable radical teachers to takestronger cal approaches" influenced their teach- a positive program that those not yet persuaded will positions with less danger ofcoercingstudents, and ing. Among the leading theories were find intellectually satisfying, emotionally desirable,more chance of persuading those not already pre- history of ideas (76.2%), New Criticism (6.,.4%), and feminist approaches and ethically acceptable. In the end, then, an ethical disposed their way. And it would in turn help (60.9%). Disregarding the fact that tra- pedagogy, which poses questions about the relation- students better understand what is at stake in using ditional approaches are at the top of the ship between individual good and social good, and gender, race, and class as terms of literary and list, they declare that it is "astounding between personal character and political action, will philosophical analysis. that the feminist and other politically be more helpful in orienting a way through and The university we envision, then, would not tendentious approaches to literature beyond opposition. propagandize for a particular politics, but it would have gained so much ground." They Persuasion is political because it aims to address a not claim to be simply neutral and above politics. conclude, "we have here proof positive that a large majority of English profes- community about problems and interests that are It would dramatize and bring into open discussion sors have been influenced by the cur- vital to how people conduct themselves towards each the actual political conflicts between agents of rent popular social/political agenda." other. Persuasion recognizes the social nature ofintellectual and institutional power. It would bring Celeste Colgan, one of the leading human life and the necessity of attending to the to public light their arguments, values, and preju- figures in Cheney's NEH, also noted improvement of the organization of society. Persua- dices, thereby serving the purposes of democratic that 62% of teachers used feminist ap- sion accepts the plurality of goods, that is, theeducation. Political conflict is essential in this proaches and 28% Marxist approaches existence of many different notions of the good life vision of education, but rather than prescribing a and concluded, "Students exposed to single, polemic approaches to literature among its audience. Politics is not the implementa- predetermined outcome, it makes the question of are deprived of their freedom to learn." tion ofasingle truth but the process ofstructuring the what politics is, what politics does, and where Strangely, the fact that many profes- negotiation between differing truths in a mannerpolitics is going part of the process of education. sors use different approaches to litera- ture is taken by conservatives as a sign The Agora of Opinion Is Largely a Men's Club of repression, while their refusal to dis- cuss feminist or Marxist ideas is hailed CC Is there an unconsciousor consciousedito- often unwitting bias. They are welching on their as evidence of open-mindedness. It rial bias against women's opinions? Or are opinions commitment to inform citizens of a real range of should be obvious that the way to avoid themselves somehow gende red maledoes female views, leaving half the population ill-prepared to "single, polemic approaches" is to teach socialization conspire against many women's ability pursue their interests within the democratic process. feminist or Marxist approaches along or desire to generate a strong public voice?... They are also shortchanging us as a nation. " with other methods. But because pro- The authoritative female voice asserting judg- Naomi Wolf, New Republic, November 29, 1993 fessors use a wide variety of approaches ments about the real world is an unseemly voice. The TDC regrets that this issue of Democratic Culture (4.67 on average), they are condemned globalizing tone that the conventions of opinion jour- without any consideration of how they replicates the phenomenon of male-dominated nalism or T.V. debate require involves an assump- opinion pieces described by Wolf, and we vow to do may teach these ideas. tion of authority that women are actively dissuaded better in the future. TDC strongly encourages hear- Yet Colgan believes that universities from claiming.... ing from a wide variety of voices so that our readers should be subject to the same censor- Editors and producers must root out their own can be informed by these diverse opinions. Page I 6Demorratir Culture 41 Excellence, Advocacy, and Disciplinarity NEWSCLIPS. Michael Berube ship imposed at the NEH: "Why should parents have to pay for soapbox ora- tory? Frau dent scholarship. Why TFIND IT difficult to frame anopeningstate- tellectually and aesthetically inferior materials. But should our fine research institutions harbor the bogus scholarship that some- ment to the question posed"Is Advocacy I have yet to sec the demonstration that the works times goes by the name of feminist because of the of Mina Loy or Charles Chesnutt arc aesthetically Replacing Excellence ? "' theory?" Colgan and other conserva- or i.stellectually inferior to those of D. H. Lawrence; multivalence of the topic: When conservatives or tives do not want to debate feminist traditionalists charge that education ha, become when it comes to arguing that inferior works have theory; they want to abolish it. politicized, they could be saying that entire disci- replaced the classics, all our critics have been able In one respect, Morrisey, Fruman, plines arc illegitimate (such as women's studies), or to come up with are factually inaccurate descrip- and Short are right: New approaches they could he saying that the process of peer review tions of the Stanford curriculum, liberally spiced are becoming more common, espe- cially among younger professors. But has been corrupted by tenured radicals who hire with ridicule of Frantz Fallon or Rigoberta Menchti. these critics fail to explain why is it so and promote only those scholars like themselves, So in the debates over curricular reform, I tend to wrong to teach feminist interpretations get frustrated at having to dignify these claims with or they could be inveighing against curricular in a class where a broad range of theo- innovations which they see as evidence ofdeclining a response. ries are considered, perhaps because it scholarly standards, or they could he referring to Nevertheless, here's my response. Survey cou rses would be embarrassing for them to say affirmative action in faculty hiring or student in literaturewhere most curriculum change is explicitly that teachers should stop dis- admissions. Often, they're doing all of these things happening in my fieldhave never been reposito- cussing approaches which conserva- tives dislike. Instead, they malign any- at once. ries of aesthetic excellence to the exclusion of all ,ne who mentions a feminist idea in But I'm not going to respond to all of these other considerations. Nor should they be. Survey class, even for the sake of argument, as courses in Renaissance or American literature and possibilities. I take the charge of "politicization" a "politicized" extremist devoted to the most seriously when it comes to discussions of peer culture are rightly supposed to he representative of destruction of Western civilization. Evi- review, because peer review is a relatively recent America or the Renaissance, and I use "representa- dently, such critics will not be satisfied phenomenon in the academic professions, and has tive" here in the broad sense in which such surveys until Marxist and feminist approaches had a liberating etfect on the production of newuse it: these courses present works that many are banned from college classrooms in and innovative research: itis the basis of the professional critics consider to be works of high order to stop "politicized" teaching. "academic revolution" ofwhich Christopher Jencks aesthetic merit, but they also present works, like and David Ricsman wrote in their 1968 book.Everyman, Robinson Crusoe, The Last of the Borking Clinton's Moreover, it's by means of peer review that intel- Mohicans,orWomen in Love,which may not be Nominees great literature but do give students some idea of lectual orthodoxies get enforced or challenged in John K. Wilson the temper of the age, the urge to national self- hiring and promotion. For the past year, an unprecedented Peer review is our most crucial means of disci- definition, or that amorphous category known as number of smears and distorted state- plinary self-reproduction, our guarantor of profes- "influential," "historically important," or "cultur- ments have been made against Clinton sional credentialism, and we must confront seri- ally significant" works of art. Most canon revision, nominees. As Bruce Shapiro observes ously the charges that today's academic radicals particularly the kind in American literature that in the Nation, "Anyone who wants to sink a Clinton nomination plays the radi- have closed the doors of disciplinary access behind proceeds by way of the idea of demographic repre- cal card and Clinton folds." themas John Patrick Diggins, for one, has claimed sentation, has fallen under this second heading, The attacks began even before where it has pointed out that if you want to teach in his recent hook,The Riseand Fall ofthe American Clinton was inaugurated, as conserva- Left.I think those charges are unsubstantiated, but works of great historical interest, you might do as tives stopped consideration ofJohnnetta I don't think they can he dismissed. well to assignUncle Tom's Cabinas to assignThe Cole for Secretary of Education by ac- I want to focus on curriculum reform and theScarlet Letter,or, in late medieval literature, to cusing her of associations with radical competing claims of different disciplines to "ob- assignThe Book of Margery Kempe asto assign groups (see the Spring 1993 Demo- jective," noncontingent, universal knowledge. My Everyman. cratic Culture). With this precedent, con- servative groups stout to malign every case for curriculum reform is simple: the kinds of Now, such revisions do not leave everything one of Clinton's nominees who had any else about the survey unchanged. When in my own curricular changes we've seen over the past twenty hint of a "radical" past. years in the humanities constitute a raisingand American literature classes I assign James Weldon The height of the witchhunt against wideningrather than a lowering of standards. Johnson'sThe Autobiography of an Ev-Colored Clinton's nominees was reached with Conservatives have claimed that excellent works or Man,I find that the class does have to discuss Lani Guinier. President Clinton's with- subjects have been abandoned by people like my- lynching, which it usually doesn't have to do when drawal of Guinier's nomination as as- sistant attorney general was a sad sight self,in favor of demographic representation of I assignThe Turn of the Screw. Isthis political? I to watch, as an experienced civil rights "marginalized" groups, by the substitution of in- think so: I have never yet met a student who knew litigator was vilified because of misrep- that in this country, for twenty years preceding the resentations of her academic writings. "An earlier version of this essay was delivered at a publication of Johnson's Look in 1912, we aver- Clint Bolick's Wall StreetJoumalarticle conference on "Is Advocacy Replacing Excellence ?" aged something like 50 to 60 lynchings a year. which accused Guinierof being a "quota held at the University of Chicago in May, 1993. That's not something I feel comfortable in troduc- queen" was full of errors, as when he Democratic CulturePage 17 4 BEST COPY AVAILABLE ing my studentsto, and it's not something they like bring insight to a major author, work, genre, or knowing, and I don't assign the book to makecritical method." And, of course, until very recently quoted Guinier's summary of another them feel guilty or outraged. I assign it because it African-American literature was simply not consid- author's views as if they were her own. is a work of recognized aesthetic merit that is also ered a "major" scholarly subject (the PMLA standard George Will claimed, "An implication of of great historical interest; it is also as representa- now reads "a PM LA essay exemplifies the best of its her writings is that only blacks can prop- tive of American literature and culture as Mobykind, whatever the kind"). Morrisey has inadvert- erly represent blacks." But Guinier ac- ently made my point: the politics that dominated the tually wrote, "Authentic representatives Dick or The Education of Henry Adams. However, need not be black as long as the source I must admit this: I occasionally get some students profession in 1930 or 1940 or 1950 was so pervasive of their authority, legitimacy, and power who think the NAACP is as racist an organization and so unspoken as to go without saying. base is the black community. White as the KKK, and they thin k so because they have no But Idon't want to leave matters at that, candidates elected from majority-black idea of the history of either organization. Now ifbecause that's still a pretty predictable rejoinder. constituencies may therefore be con- these students leave my class with an aesthetic And it doesn't address the more intractable prob- sidered 'black' representatives." appreciation of Johnson's achievement that alsolems of adjudicating the claims of excellence and Her suggestions for increasing mi- advocacy across disciplines. I'll explain by way of nority power by mechanismssuer.as bridges some of the chasms of their ignorance on cumulative voting we re depicted as radi- this score, then I think I have engaged in a peda- an anecdote. At the "Higher Education in Crisis" cal and anti-democratic, even though gogy that is responsible to my profession, to myconference at the University of Illinois in April they are widely used and had been students, to the history ofAmerican literature, and 1993, Jeffrey Herr challenged I.isa Duggan's paper supported by the Bush and Reagan maybe to my country, too. And ifiny students wind on queer theory, saying he didn't see what it had to Administrations. Her speculative law up being able to compare Johnson's achievementsdo with higher education and calling it a "political review articles were interpreted as if to, say, those of Robert Frost on a variety of axes,speech." Now, Jeffrey had a case and he didn't: they were policies to be enforced on the Lisa's talk had focused on the future of queer entire country, even though she explic- so much the better. The point is that they are asked itly wrote, "I am not articulating a grand to consider the relation between literary achieve- politics, not on gay and lesbian studies in higher moral theory of politics. Nor do I argue ments and the culture they and we inhabit, and I education, but as she replied to Jeffrey: that these proposals are statutorily or think that any course in which you're asked to do What I was talking about was what queer stud- constitutionally required." that is in fact intellectually superior to a course in ies has to do both with the politics of higher Guinier's ideas are not radical. But which students are simply introduced to a row of education and with a public political discourse, even if they were, why should that dis- masterpieces, one after the other, when those qualify her from public service? Public the two of which are really quite related. In masterpieces are not culturally contextualized. discourse will be endangered unless order to defend queer studies, to defend our individuals are given the opportunity to confess thatIalso like assigning lesser-known pedagogical practices, we need to defend our- works, whether they're Harriet Jacobs' Incidents in express provocative ideas. As Michael selves broadly in the public arena because that's Kinsley put it, "Guinier was doomed for the Life of a Slave Girl or Henry Roth's twice- where the attacks on us in the university are her thinking, not for anything she might forgotten classic, Gill It Sleep, because these works coming from, and they are not separable. have done in the joba classic p.c. still have no Cliffs Notes: but that's another matter. exercise." Maybe what I'm doing is just politicizing my I take this to be an unproblematic answer about While the criticisms of Guinier led to the responsibility of intellectuals, as did Jeffrey, her removal, not all of the attacks on discipline. A recent article in the NAS journal, nominees have succeeded. Donna Academic Questions, says precisely that: Will Herf himself. But what this answer doesn't imag- Shalala became Secretary of Health Morrisey conducted a study of articles publishedine is an interlocutor hostile to the idea of queer and Human Services despite accusa- in PMLA from 1930 to 1990, and found that thestudies on the grounds that no "studies" are legiti- tions that she was the "high priestess of profession of English has been politicized, because mate if they depend to such an extent on the political correctness" The conservative he found a higher number of articles in 1990 than construction of their investigators' identities. Few journal HumanEventsaccu sed Shalala in 1930 in which he could glean the author'sof us in the humanities are prepared to go this of having a leftist agenda" because distance, perhaps because we cannot imagine in- she criticized Ronald Reagan and re- political perspective. Now I found this article fused to denounce "homosexual kiss- fascinating, partly because I published an article in terdisciplinary "conflict" with colleagues so anti- ing and hugging." PMLA in 1990, and partly because Morrisey was hermeneutic as to disallow the theoretical investi- Laura Tyson was named to head the unwittingly duplicating some of my own research. gation of human subjectivity and its attendant Council of Economic Advisors in spite What he was trying to do was to take away from us (contingent) interpretive paradigms. But the very of complaints by leading male econo- the to quoque argument that says the professiondifference between the sciences and the "human mists that she was not qualified be- was always already political, by pointing to thissciences" depends in part on this distinction be- cause she was insufficiently theoretical tween fields in which the investigation of the in her analysis. She has proven to be manifest apoliticality in our past. Bur I happen to one of the most effective appointees have done my own headcounting in PMLA, and I investigators is relevant (and, indeed, licensed and ever to hold that post. But R. Emmett can tell you that the journal published precisely authorized by the field itself) and fields in which Tyrrell accuses Tyson (and also Shalala Five articles on African-American literature before such self-investigation seems not to constitute and Labor Secretary Robert Reich) of 1990. In fact, the PMLA used to have a standard authentic, objective "scholarship." being "estcamed members of that for submissions that said a PMLA essay takes on "a But this distinction cannot so easily be mapped dreadful American subculture of philis- broad subject or theme," "a major author or work" onto the opposition between sciences and human tines and charlatans known as the uni- sciences. For there arc some disciplines in the versity left." Tyrrell adds that Shalala is or "a minor author or work in such a way as to Page 18Democratic Culture 43 human sciences, as well, where the identity ofjeers, but that claim does not prove, demonstrate, NEWSCLIPS subjects and investigators is integral to projectsor even argue that the "advocacy" practiced in(say) (however these are construed), and disciplines African-American studies is qualitatively different "rude and uncouth" and that Reich was from, and more intransigent than, the "advocacy" "an anti-war activist in the 1960s" where it isn't. To make matters more complicated, Roberta Achtenberg was confirmed there are also disciplines like sociology or psychol- practiced in cell biology. as assistant secretary for fair housing at ogy or anthropology where you can findtradition- Although some fields do, more than others, HUD by a 58 to 31 vote after she was alists who believe that it doesn't really matter who depend on theorizations of human subjectivity in condemned by Jesse Helms because does the investigating or what kind of languagewhich the theorizer is deeply implicated in the "she's not your garden-variety lesbian. they use, and "postmodernists" who believe that construction of the theorized, still, all fields have She's a militant activist mean lesbian, working her whole career to advance the positional; ry and language games o investiga- orthodoxies that constitute them as fields, and the homosexual agenda" Even when the those orthodoxies usually have to bump up against tors are in fact constitutive of the norms of these malicious attacks and misinfor- field. Finally, there are newer fields like feminist something hard in other fields before they are mation failed to derail a nomination, theory or history of science that do make claims challenged. Any field in which it becomes impos- they have nevertheless contributed to a about the constitution of other fields. and fields sible to say, "I disagree with the premises of this climate of fear and intimidation that like metallurgy that do not have reciprocal claims work, but it's very good work," has closed itself off creates, in Guinier's words, "a new in- on women's studies or history. "Advocacy."there- from the possibility of substantive self-review and tellectual orthodoxy in which thought- fore, is a radically different matter for different internal disciplinary change. But this closing-off is ful people can no longer debate pro- no less likely' to happen in the hard sciences than in vocative ideas without denying the coun- fields, especially in the intersections between fields try their talents as public servants." the humanities; on the contrary', intellectual or- that do challenge other fields' self-understandings The borking of the Clinton Adminis- and fields that don't. thodoxies are often all the more impervious to tration also succeeded in preventing To say this is not to say that we should allow for challenge in the so-called objective fields of knowl- fair treatment of Stanley Katz for the advocacy in English but not in economics. Thoughedge, precisely because those fields claim, when post of National Archivist. Although Katz there's a sense in which all scholarly work is advo- they are challenged, that they're simply' describing was a leading contender for the posi- cacy (at bottom, all scholarly work containsthe the given world, not "constructing" it by means of tion, the Wall Street Journal declared some human interpretive paradigm. that "the Katz choice would suggest a implicit claim that the thing under study actually White House arrogance that borders on exists and should be studied in such and such a Fields like queer theory, by contrast, which the delusional." This is because Katz way), I want to point out that the relation between depend heavily and explicitly, on their practitio- was lead prosecutor in the celebrated advocacy and simple propositionality is constructed ners' construction of their own identities and 1991 campaign against Carol lannone's differently in different disciplines, so that bio- various histories of sexuality', should in practice nomination to the advisory board of the chemistry or neurophartnacology, for instance, and in principle be (though are not always) more NEH" and because Katz had "insulted" Senator Moynihan by writing a letter may consider themselves value-neutral until they likely to recognize legitimate challenges to their critical of Moynihan. Katz's name quickly gender interpretive orthodoxies because they' know that are challenged by feminists who point up di;appoared from consideration for their orthodoxies are interpretive. They should be bias in the testing and marketing of drugs. Like- National Archivist. wise, fields such as astrophysics, whose self-under- more rather than less likely to recognize the intel- In recent months, the attacks have standings tell them that their knowledges are nei- lectual and scholarly excellence of disparate forms grown even more absurd and virulent. ther historically contingent nor socially constructed, of disciplinary advocacy. Our recent history shows Tara O'Toole, nominee for Assistant find it difficult to conceive of themselves as any- that the human sciences have in fact been more Secretary for Energy, has been attacked because she belongs to the Northeast thing but objective, empirical sciences. They there- readily open to internal and external challenge Feminist Scholars, a study group that than twentieth-century astrophysics. fore tend to construe challenges to their self-under- had once been called (before O'Toole standings or disciplinary histories as the work of So my answer is no, advocacy is not replacing joined it) the Marxist Feminist Group I. arrogant interlopers from the humanities trying to excellence. What we have instead are curricular Senator Herten Mathews charged that remake all knowledge in the image dale humani- reform and canon revision, which can degenerate O'Toole was "inimical" to American val- ties, just as they tend to countercharge that they into mere tokenism but which usually' introduce ues, while Senator Malcolm Wallop proceed by value-neutral standards of evidence or new populations into the curriculum in order to accused her of coming "from America's technical excertise, whereas the people in women's question the relation between academic disciplines radical left fringe." and civil society' at large. And we find this process Faced with this abuse, William White, studies aren't really doing scholarship at all. the Deputy Energy Secretary, felt writ large in the construction of new fields orga- But this is also why it's hard to say, from any one obliged to declare: "This Administration disciplinary location, which forms of disciplinary nized around forms of human identity (race, gen- and this department do not embrace orthodoxy are productive and which ones tend to der, nationality, sexual orientation), and fields that any Marxist ideology. According to Dr. militate against the intellectual desideratum in directly or indirectly challenge the institutional O'Toole, she does not, either." As which we're all equally at risk to challenges from and social processes by which knowledges are Michael Kinsfey wrote, "Why the politi- inside and outside the field. You can try to claim produced in supposedly value-neutral fields. Those cal beliefs of other members ot a three- times-a-yeardiscussion group attended that the proliferation of "studies" programs hears challenges produce intellectual and political con- by an Energy Department official are witness to the substitution of advocacy for schol- flict in the academy, as well they should. any of the Senate's business is cer- arly excellence, or to say that such programs are Michael Berub, teaches English at the University tainly a mystery." But the accusation of "political" insofar as they already know their oh- of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "radical" is being effectively used by Democratic CulturePage 19 44 NEWSCLI PS. Reading & Its Discontents: conservatives to attack Clinton nomi- Another Look at Multiculturalism nees and the Clinton Administration. Raymond June Dick Armey, the chair of the House Republican Conference, even claimed T T IS IRONIC that the often acrimonious debates African-Americans (there were two Asian-Ameri- that Hillary Rodham Clinton "hangs which have surrounded multicultural education cans and one white), most of whom were initially around with a lot of Marxists. All her over the past decade have revealed very little about excited over this comprehensive, handsomely pro- friends are Marxists." what actually occurs when students study multicul- duced textbook (among its contributors are Arnold Thomas Payzant, recently confirmed tural literature. On the one hand, wehear thecultural Rampersad and Henry Louis Gates, Jr.). Despite as Assistant Secretary for the Office of left demanding inclusion, diversity and pluralism in the well-documented failures of Chicago's public Elementary and Secondary Education, was attacked by Jesse Helms for hav- the curriculum while on the other hand, we have the schools in recent years, this particular school did ing led a "successful effort to kick the conservatives propounding tradition, coherence and not suffer from the extreme monetary and scholas- [Boy) Scouts out of San Diego's truth inherent in the Western canon. From thetic deprivations that inhibit effective learning, schools." Helms accused Payzant, the groves of academia to the pages ofNewsweek,the making the school a good test case for my study. superintendent of San Diego schools, multicultural "canon wars" continue to relegate stu- At first, students showed a proprietary interest of having "abused the public trust to dents to the margins of the very debates which center towardsAfrican-American Literature.Many ex- discriminate against the Boy Scouts and evolve around them. pressed appreciation that a textbook finally fo- because they do accept the assump- tion, as do their parents and the majority One critic guilty of such negligence is Dianecused on their literary and cultural tradition (what of Americans, that homosexuals pose a Ravitch, a well-respected historian of education Gates has called a potential form of "self-identifi- greater than average threat to young and conservative crusader. In her oft-cited essay, cation" that provides the conditions for social people. The statistics prove it." Helms "Multiculturalism:E Pluribus Mures,"Ravitch change and agency). Students laudedAfrican- claimed, "If confirmed, Mr. Payzant can makes this dire observation of a multiculturalAmerican Literatureover the traditional textbook use his office, and the power of Federal history course that was recently endorsed in some for various reasons: "I didn't know there were so funding, to assert to parents all across American public high-schools: "Perhaps the most many African-American writers," observed one the country, as he did to parents in San Diego, that having the Boy Scouts orga- dangerous aspect of school history is its tendency student; others characterized the textbook as sur- nization working with young people to become Official History, a sanctified version of prisingly "modern" since the literature related to should not be tolerated. To that I say, the Truth taught by the state tocaptive audienceseveryday life and concerns; many wished the text- 'horsefeathers'." and embedded in beautiful mass-market textbooks book could have included other literary traditions. Payzant, a former Boy Scout whose as holy writ. When Official History is written by Nevertheless,African-American Literatureelicited son is a Boy Scout, had decla red: "Since committees responding to political pressures, rather uniformly positive responses among students. the Boy Scouts have a national policy than by scholars synthesizing the best available Much of their enthusiasm quickly waned, how- which forbids homosexuals from being in leadership positions, it would be a research, then the errors of the past are rep,ced by ever, when they were required to read selected texts violation of district policy... to allow them the politically fashionable errors of the present" from African-American Literature.Many failed to to continue with sponsorship of pro- (my emphasis). Ravitch's facile use of "political bring it to class or even take it out of their bags. grams during the regular school day." pressure" is upstaged only by her view of (high-Their rapid attitudinal change coincided with the Because of a Board of Education non- school) students as "captive audiences"; teach- increasing amount of assigned readings from the discrimination policy, Payzant con- ersespecially high-school teachersmay not textbook as the days progressed. When it became cluded (with the unanimous support of recognize their students from this characteriza- apparent that many students were not reading, the the Board of Education) that Boy Scout programs could not be allowed during don, perhaps a result of the tendency among student teacher warned them of a surprise quiz. At the school day when there was compul- conservative and liberal critics to remove students one point, she quietly but firmly lectured them sory attendance, butthat the Boy Scouts from controversies and render them abstract enti- about the importance of reading and doing their could continue their afterschool pro- ties. If the ostensible battle, then, continues to homework, clearly frustrated that class discussion grams. Aftermaking otherfalse charges, focus on why the curriculum should he diversified was stymied by her students' failure to read. And Helms concluded: "the bottom line is rather than howstuden ts actually interact with and because the usual class period of fifty minutes was that Mr. Payzant's chief interest is not in learn from multicultural texts, what other issuesoften truncated by ten minutes due to tardy stu- educating our children, but rather in imposing upon the Nation's schools his might he obscured under the heated multicultural dents or administrative reasons, valuable class time own leftwing extremist social agenda." and "PC" rhetoric? was often lost. In short, many students demon- Duke law professor Walter Dellinger's Recently, I conducted a highly focused ethno- strated apathyeven antipathytowards read- nomination to head the Justice graphic micro-analysis ofone Chicago public high- ing, which naturally preventedAfrican- American Department's Office of Legal Counsel school in part to address this blind-spot -nd con- Literaturefrom achieving its full impact. was delayed by North Carolina Sena- cen trate on actual student reactions to a The students' own comments on reading rein- tors Helms and Lauch Faircloth be- multicultural textbook. During a two-week pe- forced my in-class observations. One revealing cause, according to Helms, Dellinger riod, "assisted in the recruitment of law school I observed and intervivwed students who statement came from this articulate and thought- deans and professors to oppose the used African-American Literature: Voices in a Tra-ful student: dition (19 92) in three tenth-grade American litera- Bork nomination" and, according to I particularly don't like to read. I would not just Faircloth, he "is going to be a force for ture survey courses. A majority of students were pick up a book and read don't think that Page 20Democratic Culture 4 I could ever pick up a hook and just read....whatwilling to answer the teacher's periodic questions. NEWSCLIPS it is is that if I pick up a letter from one of myThough reading the play aloud could have bored relatives from Arizona say, if that letter's ten them just as easily as reading alone, the students' the same liberal status quo that prevails in Congressmore spending, more lib- dramatic role-playing suggested otherwise. Research pages long, I put it back down (laughs). Any- eral theories that say school prayer is thing in print I usually don't read, unless thehas shown how African-Americans bring with them wrong and flag burning is okay." Helms, subtitle catches my eye like very much so. It has unique critical responsessignification--to Afri- with the support of Senate Republi- to be so interesting that it's like that I can'thelp can-American literary texts which reflect their oral cans, led a one-day filibuster against but read the title....if I read the first couple ofculture. While this is an important point, we should Dellinger's nomination. sentences that it'll keep on linking, it mightlink not forget that this activity allowed students to enter Janet Napolitano, nominated by President Clinton to be U.S. Attorney me to the rest. It depends on how it is. a social community. As the role-playingexercise demonstrated in part, students need somehow to be for Arizona, has been attacked by David I think the other students are interested in Brock and some Senate Republicans initiated into a critical community of readers, or a the textbook....but like I said, I cannot stand because she was the lawyer who talked reading. If there was another way for me to get "discourse community," in order for them to re- with Susan Hoe rchner during a break in that information from the textbook, I'll use that spond fruitfully to a text. questioning about the sexual harass- other way. Reading, then, does not take place in a vacuum. ment of Anita Hill, Although their con- Books do not just teach themselves because no- versation cannot be disclosed under attorney-client privilege, as Anthony What I find most striking here is the student's body "just" reads (as Allan Bloom and other con- servatives have misleadingly asserted). The quar- Lewis writes in the New York Times, deeply entrenched dislike towards reading itself, "right-wing Republicans are demand- whether it is African-American Literature or a ten- rels over multiculturalism remain irrelevant if stu- ing that she violate legal ethics and page letter. Although this student, in alater con-dents are not initiated into a reading community. disclose it." versation, appreciated and applauded the idea ofThe goals of secondary-school multicultural edu- Morton Halperin had his nomination African-American Literature for its unique focus on cation cannot he met adequately if educators do to be Assistant Secretary of Defense for her ethnic and cultural heritage, the full impact ofnot respond to students' resistance to reading, Democracy and Peacekeeping returned to President Clinton by the Senate after the textbook could not be gauged adequately be- which is surely one of the biggest factors inhibiting being attacked by conservatives for his read. In other effective learning. Their resistance is further rein- cause of her extreme reluctance to past views and associations. The New words, her appreciation for African-American Lit- forced by such cultural factors as America's anti- York Times reported, "Mr. Halperin's erature did not make reading more inviting or intellectualism. This is not to say that all students opponents seem to have no quarrel with "natural." The student's closing remark suggests were affected monolithically(there were many the nominee's views on contemporary that she could be a prime candidate for Cliffs Notes, discrete instances of students who read on their issues. Instead, they contend that Mr. these guides, as Gerald Graff has pointed out own and consistently did their homework);rather, Halperin's past writings on such cold- war topics as arms control, covert op- elsewhere, at least provide "a context of discussion" this resistance appeared to affect students among a wide segment of the student population. I do not erations and the Vietnam War make for new readers to engage with a text. And it him unfit to work at the Pentagon." Sena- appears as if this context was found wantingin thewant to suggest that this problem separates more tor Strom Thurmond declared, "He has student's experience. "fundamental" skills from multicultural concerns. a long history of extreme views on na- Many of her classmates also expressed similar, Any such division is clearly' artificial and obviates tional security which put him well out- though less passionate, sentiments. One studentthe importance and necessity of multicultural edu- side the acceptabie mainstream of de- told me, "I won't just...take a hook and read it. Ifcation. Instead, our inquiry needs to be broadened fense policy, even among Democrats." Yet Senator David Boren noted, 'We we have a story or assignment to readthat's inter- so that other issues may be illuminatedand found that [Halperin] brought to the foregrounded in the raucous culture wars. est:ng, I might read it. But usually I read other issues a determination to solve difficult things. I like to read comic hooks or the sports If, therefore, the "disappearance of reading" problems in a nonideological manner section of the paper." This student shows howamong literature students is an issue that should that reflected commitments not only to rarely he is exposed to a cultural conversation concern us, itis not because literary theory has the defense of individual liberty but also which stimulates him to read and discuss issues replaced the Great Books, but because many (high- the requirements of national security." pertaining to the text. As the student himselfschool) students apparently refuse to read at all. By Halpenn's"extreme" statements include admits, picking up a hook and reading it is anext, ion, literary theory on the college level should this sentence from a 1976 book he co- seen as usurping but as supplementing wrote: "Using secretintelligence agents unnatural activity; somehow it has to interest him. to defend a constitutional republic is are, serving as a frame of reference for stu- Not all approaches were unsuccessful in stimulat- lit.. akin to the ancient medical practice of ingstudents to read. For August Wilson's"The Piano dents often confused or frustrated with literary employing leeches to take blood from Player," now taught by the regular teacher, students texts read in isolation (a common experience among feverish patients." But in McCarthy were told to read aloud in class.She asked for many college students). I suspect that this problem osque attacks on "radicals," innocuous volunteers to role play and was greeted enthusiasti- exists in many secondary schools and colleges statements from 17-year-old books are taken as proof of incompetence to serve cally. During the four days I spent observing studentspublic or privateat least, more than we care to admit. It is the more pressing crisis we face in as a public official. interacting with the play, 1 was struck by the differ- As Senator John Danforth wrote in American secondary and higher education. ence in the classroom ethos. Instead of excusing the Washington Post, "The carnage of themselves from reading, (most) students were thor- Raymond June is a graduate student in Education presidential nominations now litters the oughly engrossed with "The Piano Player" and wereat the University of Chicago. landscape of Washington." Danforth Democratic CulturePage 21 4 NEWSCLIPS What's Left? added, "If there is to be some minimum Michael Sprinker standard of decency we accord presi- dential nominees, it will arise from an expression of disgust by the American READING MY FRIEND and colleague Tim who don't support strikes by graduate students or people for what we are doing to nomi- Brennan's article in Democratic Culture clerical workers. Radicalism in the authentically nees who previously have lived exem- (Spring 1993) provoked me to some reflection on political sense of the term exacts costs because the plary lives." what it means to be "on the left" and in thestakes are a good bit higher than those in attaining Some conservatives might assert that what is being done to the Clinton nomi- academy. One of Brennan's points is that whatprofessional dominance. nees is no different from what hap- passes for radicalism in colleges and universities Let me presume for a moment that the majority pened to Robert Bork, Clarence Tho- often enough betrays principles and programs that of Democratic C'ulture's readers are at least broadly mas, and Oarol lannone. But there is a an older generation would have considered funda- sympathetic to the left in this second sense. How difference. The opposition to Bork rested mental to any radical politics worthy of the name.ought we, as left;sts, act towards our colleagues on the fact that he would hold a powerful Moreover, Brennan believes that this newer brand who remain radical only in the first sense of the lifetime position where his views would of academic radicalism is rather less embattledterm? In my view, we need to ally ourselves with be the iaw of the land, whereas the Clinton nominees would serve under than it may sometimes feel when the likes of Roger them inside departments and throughout our in- the authority of the President and Con- Kimball takeout after it. Ifnot precisely hegemonic, stitutions, aiding them in their promotion and gress. Thomas was investigated be- radicalism of the cultural avant-gardist sort is nowtenure battles, in their efforts to hire more women cause of highly believable charges of very powerful, with a profile well outstripping that and people of color, and in their attempts to serious misconduct. lannone was op- of its conservative opponents among the professo- change curricula. We also need to cultivate a posed by some for her conservative riate. certain tolerance for their writing, recognizing views, but also for her lack of scholarly I have no reason to quarrel with Brennan's those aspects of it that are, in a narrow disciplinary qualifications and because of the ideo- logical stacking of the nonpartisan N E H general assessment, but I wish to maintain thesense, progressive or even radical. At the same time, Council. None of these three nominees utility of discriminating between two quite differ- I do think we need to push them further than they faced the kind of guilt by association ent senses of the terms "radical" and "left" as these are at present willing to go, demanding that they attacks and gross misrepresentations are applied to academic intellectuals. live up to the principles of progressive gender, race, of their views which a large number of On the one hand, cultural avant-gardists haveand class politics to which their work not infre- the Clinton nominees have experienced. waged a genuine struggle to break down olderquently pays lip service. And we might press them No one doubts that nominees for conceptions of curriculum and research. Theirto extend their radicalism beyond the wa,:s of public office should be questioned, criti- cized, and held accountable for their achievement to date must certainly, on balance, be academe, and support movements and organiza- actions. But this criticism must be accu- judged progressive. No one who supports -1-Dctions which work daily to mitigate the plight of the rate and relevant, and in the case of should wish a return to a curriculum featuring poor and the powerless in a capitalist society whose most Clinton nominees it has been nei- pritmrily courses like "The Age of Dryden" or vicious inequities have increased exponentially ther. The use of guilt by association and "The Novel as a Literary Form," or to articlesduring the very period when university intellectu- the distortion of a nominee's views di- entitled "The Organic Unity of Shakespeare's als have transformed the face of many disciplines. minishes public debate by creating Sonnets." Insofar as literary study now finds its One could say that such has been the left's witchhunts against anyone with the slightest hint of "radicalism." center of gravity in post-structuralism, new his- perennial task in societies enjoying a minimum of toricism, deconstruction and so on, the discipline democratic rights: to forge alliances with liberal Supreme has demonstrably henefitted. On this level, the elements against the massed forces of capital and its cultural avant-garde has much reason to congratu- political and ideological lackeys. Some of my "co- Hypocrisy late itselfif no grounds for complacency. religionists" on the Marxist left will doubtless dub John K. Wilson On the other hand, Brennan is quite right to this strategy " reformist." I fully confess my betrayal On May 22nd, Chief Justice William draw our attention to another way of thinkingof strict revolutionary principles, while insisting Rehnquist gave the commencement about the terms "left" and "radical" that wouldthat in the current conjuncture, popular frontism address at George Mason University. lead us to judge the contemporary scene ratherprobably constitutes the outer horizon of progres- Rehnquistdeclared that students should more harshly. To he a left or radical intellectualsive politics in the United States. Socialism, which leave college feeling that their "hori- zons have been expanding" by the "mar- entails more than changing the substance of one's I take to be synonymous with radical politics, is ketplace of ideas." But, Rehnquist noted courses and the direction of one's research. Itunlikely to arrive punctually at the call of left ominously, some universities promote requires a serious commitment to substantive so- intellectuals. But when capitalist crisis does finally "an orthodoxy or sort of party line from cial change and progressive social goals. Brennan is occur, it will he of no little consequence to the which one departs at one's peril," rather correct: disciplinary or methodological radicalismprospects of revolution if the left has been swelled than educating their students without is, at the end of the day, a pretty thin veneerin numbers by cadres ofcultural radicals who have indoctrination. Rehnquist added,"Ideas covering more basic-- and less honorablecom- discovered that their disciplinary identity overlaps with which we disagreeso long as mitments to intellectual and material privilege. they remain ideas and not conduct which significantly with the political program of the left. interferes with the rights of others One knows too many colleagues who can teach Michael Sprinkel- teaches English at SUNY-Stony should be confronted with argument courses that deconstruct "the great tradition," but Brook. Page 22 Democratic Culture 4 7 Teaching and Research N EWSCLI PS and persuasion, not suppression." Ted Underwood Noble words, indeed. But Rehnquist's opinions on the Su- preme Court have shown much loss WAS PLEASED, on the whole, with the most teaching and to fostering dialogue in the commu- devotion to the free exchange of ideas. recent issue of Democratic Culture. Irealize that nity, all denied tenure while others were pro- I In the Flag Burning case, Rehnquist moted. In The Informal Curriculum, talking about TDC faces a difficult job in attempting to provide wrote: "Surely one of the high purposes a common front for liberal andleft-liberal academ- her experience as a new professor, Susan Wolfson of a democratic society is to legislate ics, and I think you're doing the job well. But I do writes, "The chief, and quite stunning, revelation against conduct that is regarded as evil want to register concern over a matter ofemphasis. for me and for others in many places was how little and profoundly offensive to the majority In the Newsclips, when the issue of research/ dedicated teaching counts in the big picture." Of of peoplewhether it be murder, em- bezzlement, pollution, or flag burning." teaching balance came up, it was almost always in course there are many people, and manyinstitu- He added: "flag burning is the equiva- order to identify teaching as a potential smokescreen tional communities, who put a great deal of effort into countering this, but they're swimming up- lent of an inarticulate grunt or roar that, for a conservative agenda. To he fair to John it seems fair to say, is most likely to be education Wilson, he didn't leave it that. He was careful to stream, because on the whole graduate indulged in not to express any particular point out that there's a valid issue involved, and he socializes us to he researchers, and our institutions idea, but to antagonize others." identified some badly needed reformslike mak- of dialogue focus on research. Rehnquist rejected the idea that flag ing clear communication a criterion for evaluating Our traditional way of responding to this is to burning could be a political statement: "The flag is not simply another 'idea' or research, and fostering a climate where professors argue, as John Wilson paraphrases it,that "re- search and teaching needn't he framed as oppo- 'point of view competing for recognition might feel more comfortable visiting each other's in the marketplace of ideas. Millions sites. On the contrary, good research and good classes. and millions of Americans regard it with teaching can go together, and usually do." This is But I remain concerned, because I think there's an almost mystical reverence regard- a real danger of unnecessarypolarization on this both true and disingenuous. While it's quite true less of what sort of social, political, or issue. It's true that many conservatives have been that research can and should fuel teaching, that philosophicalbeliefsthey may happy to leap on the teaching bandwagon because doesn't in the least show that the two activities have."( Texas v. Johnson, 1989) In the "gag rule" case preventing it offers them an acceptable sort of leverage. Per- aren't also in conflict. There are only twenty-four hours in a professor's day. Hours spent doing doctors in public health clinics from haps, as Wilson suggests, "many conservatives talking about abortion, Rehnquist ex- research are not spent teaching. To me, that looks want to limit research in the humanities inorder to plicitly declared the right of the govern- prevent the `politicization' of the university."But like a conflict, or at least a potential problem of ment to censor anyone it sponsors: if so, those are shortsighted conservatives, because balance. "The Gove mment can, without violating there's no reason why teaching should be any less In the long run I think it's both more honest, the Constitution, selectively fund a pro- politically effective than research, or why a re- and a better strategy, for us to acknowledge the gram to encourage certain activities it believes to be in the public interest, newed commitment to teaching should limit the necessity of reform, because the best defense we without at the same time funding an intellectual or political rigor of research, though it have against outside criticism of the university on alternative program which attempts to this issue is to steal its thunder. A movement that might reduce the number of articles published. deal with the problem in another way. In likely Likewise, there's no reason for the academic left starts from inside the academy is much more doing so, the Government has not dis- to look for ulterior motives every time someone to preserve respect for research and Foracademic criminated on the basis of viewpoint; it suggests shifting the research/teachingbalance a freedomand much more likely to workthan has merely chosen to fund one activity little toward teaching. The truth is that we all have one imposed by administrators. to the exclusion of the other."(Rust v. Sullivan, 1991) By this reasoning, any an interest in exposingstudents to new ideas, The problem isn't a lack of good will or of government-fundedentity, from schools sharpening their dialectical faculties, and encour- talent, but the way our institutions of dialogue and to libraries to the National Endowment promotion are set up. With some notable excep- aging them to think for themselves. "Teaching," as for the Arts, could censor unpopular such, need not belong to any one constituency. tions (especially writing-across-the-curriculum views. Nor has Rehnquist objected in I'm afraid there is a real danger that our main- programs), they simply don't encourage commu- the past to the regulation of student stream professional organizations may gothe way nication, collegiality, or innovation on our pri- behavior at public universities: "The of the N N.A. In part because we're feeling besieged, mary enterprise, teaching. Surely we couldchange government as employer or school ad- ministrator may impose upon employ- in part out of self-interest and inertia, it's possible this.I can't believe there arc any obstacles (of ees and students reasonable regula- that academics themselves could become the great- logistics, or of tact) that would prove intractable, if we took this problem as seriously as wetake tions that would be impermissible if est obstacles to educational reform. imposed by the government upon all It seems to me impossible to deny that there has everything else. Many people on "TUC's steering citizens." (Healy v. James, 1972) long been a problem in the balance between re- committee have written extensively and thought- Homilies about the greatness of free search and teaching in the academy. The imbal- fully about this question, and it should he possible speech are common, but willingness to ance is there, and it doesn't just affectlarge research to organize a panel discussion or special issueof follow these principles consistently 'salt universities. I went to a liberal arts college not very Democratic Culture featuring them. too rare. long ago, and while I was there I saw the three Ted Underwood is a graduate student in English professors who Ifelt were most committed to at Cornell University. Democratic CulturePage 2,3

4 6 RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP! JOIN TEACHERS FOR A DEMOCRATIC CULTURE WITH THISFORM The continuing growth and success of TDC depends on your involvement and your contributions. We askall current TDC members to renew their memberships by returning this form to cover calendar year 1994. We also encourage non-members who havereceived this newsletter to join us. Please mail this membership form to: Teachers for a DemocraticCulture, P.O. Box 6405, Evanston IL 60204.

._Yes, I want to become a member of TDC _Yes, I want to renew my membership in TDC Enclosed is my 1994 contribution of: _$50 _$25 _$5 (students) Name Department School or Affiliation City State Zip Home Address (if preferred) Phone Numbers: Business FAX Home E-mail democratic Cli e

Teachers for a Democratic Culture BULK RATE P.O. Box 6405 U.S. POSTAGE Evanston, IL 60204 PAID CHICAGO, IL PERMIT NO. 7706 The University Is Popular Culture by Gerald Graff, p. 28; Letters on Critical Pedagogy, pp. 31-34; and The Sexual CorrectnessControversy

Volume 3 Newsletter of Number 1 Teachers for a Democratic Culture democratic Spring1 9 94 P.O. Box 6405 Evanston, IL 60204

(312) 743-3662 FAX: (312) 743-4548 e-mail: [email protected] WV '

. Uncovering the Right on Campus Barbara Gold Dominick LaCapra .;"'X413 by Dalya Massachi and Rich Cowan PC Administrators at Vassar: Power and Ideology Amy Lang V Donald Lazere . by Richard Wolff 0 Ellen Messer-Davidow to if :g, The Future of Lesbian and Gay Studies Patricia Ramsey by Christopher Lane 0 David Shumway Q. 4, James Slevin Censoring Sex at the University of Iowa _.,4, Judith Stacey C40 N''...i..cts by Jean Fallow Dan Tompkins Mark Tushnet (1.) ,/, The Legend of Camille Paglia v Richard Yarborough z essays by Curtis Perry and Ana Coxle = Newsletter Editor. John Silber: The Man Behind the Mouth I-4 0 QV John K. Wilson 4 by Bob Dahlgren Newsletter Layout: The Real Story of Goya'sNaked Maja ) Reid Huntsinger by Nancy Stumhofer 74$4 . .T. Re-Thinking the University ..... 0 -, by David Simpson GO en Race and Free Speech at Iowa State HELP ""all 0 by Jacqueline Smetak Q .Popularizing the Humanities ,..... by Gerald Graff TDC! Yes, You Are Reactionaries: A Letter In order to continue producing by Donald Morton and Mas'ud Zavarzadeh Democratic Culture and coor- Buddha's Critical Pedagogy: A Letter to the G's r4 dinating the other activities of by Amitava Kumar CI 5.4 TDC, we need renewals from IVIIII4 0.4 e's") Leftist Indoctrination? An Exchange "ask .....,.....I. our current members and new by Elizabeth Powers and Michael Schwalbe 461 00 ...."4 memberships from those re- PLUS: News onDiversity & Accreditation, Sexual Correctness, ceiving Democratic Culturefor Saul Bellow's Zulus, Selling PC, Misusing the SAT, and more. byJohn k Wilson the first time. Use the form on JACKIE NSW nritetne. Ipage 3 or the back page to join TDC and keep receiving this POMMY INCORECT 1 V newsletter. And encourage your 11 .6:11137Co friends to become members. ineti t Without your support, we won't r.n1:1be able to continue our work. A Politically Correct Letter Uncovering the Right on Campus Rich Cowan and Dalya Massachi to the Newspaper Exaggerated stones of "political correctness" on college campuses run Wayne Booth rampant today. Massively funded private organizations have attempted to I have just completed a statistical study showing that the expres- discredit and eliminate student and faculty involvement in any "political" sions "politically correct," "politically incorrect" and "PC" are appear- issue. Significant academic inclusion of historically disenfranchised groups, ing in newspapers these days more often than "and," "but," "Michael environmental responsibility, cooperative methods for resolving conflicts, Jordan," and "Tonya Harding." Are the computers used by reporters and non-Western ideas are precisely the kinds of issues which are under fire and columnists programmed to deliver the expressions at the touch of as being "PC." Some of the key fallacies we have noticed about the PC-scare a key, whenever their minds go blank? are: I wonder whether your newspaper might hire some careful reporter "PC" Liberalism is totalitarianism. This is classic Orwellian doublespeak. to trace the innumerable, puzzling, and often contradictory meanings Using gender-neutral pronouns, for example, cannot possibly be compared that the catch-phrases are used to obscure. I admit that about once a to the fascism or Nazism which made mass murder, racism, and the abolition month I find the PC ploy used to attack something that actually of dissent official state dogma. deserves attack: self-righteous, smug or repressive (and thus morally Campuses are "hotbeds of the Left" The millions of corporate and inconsistent) impositions of "tolerance" or "civility." But more often military dollars poured into universities for research contracts and endowed I find the expressions a mere coverup for positions authors prefer not professorships hardly indicate an abundance of 'leftist" activity. As long as to express openly. this "bottom line" is covered, universities can afford to make a few changes May I suggest that you reprogram your computers? Instead of to include more socially-relevant topics and perspectives. Besides, why is it supplying the PC expressions when thought fails, program them to surprising if institutions touting the 'liberal arts" look beyond the status quo? ring bells and flash the following whenever any of these expressions is Political Correctness represents a "crisis in education." The real crisis typed in: "PHRASE OUTWORN AND MEANINGLESS! CAN- is budget-slashing. Programs and scholarships to make highsr education NOT CONTINUE UNTIL YOU CHOOSE FROM THE FOL- relevant and accessible to people of color and lower income students are LOWING THE SYNONYM CLOSEST TO THE VIRTUE YOU becoming a thing of the past. By insisting that changes in the universities WANT TO MOCK: have made them "PC," the Right tries to reinforce the economic stratification (1) decency; (2) legality; (3) moral or ethical standards; (4) justice, and institutionalized racism of academia. fairness, equality of opportunity; (5) tact, courtesy, concern about Right-wing campus newspapers tend to be more "rational." Claiming hurting people's feelings unnecessarily; (6) generosity; (7) kindness; to have cornered the market on "rationality," these papers often blatantly (8) courage in defending the underdog; (9) anti-bigotry; (10) anti- manipulate shady facts and out-of-context quotes. Some of the papers are racism; (11) anti-anti-Semitism; (12) anti-fascism; (13) anti-sexism; used as personal slam-sheets and self-promotion tools for the careers of (14) refusal to kneel to mammon; (15) sympathetic support for the writers seeking a job with a New Right think-tank after college. jobless, the homeless, the impoverished, or the abused; (16) preserva- Freedom of speech automatically protects hate-mongers. Legally tion of an environment in which human life might survive; (17) speaking, freedom of speech is not an absolute right. The issues are complex openness to the possibility that certain popular right-wing dogmas just when people use demeaning or harassing language against others. Expo- might be erroneous. sure to "non - traditional" viewpoints, which may cause people to question the "PLACE YOUR CURSOR ON THE NUMBER OF THE thought and speech o' themselves and others, is not the equivalent of VIRTUE YOU ARE OPPOSED TO, PRESS THE `ENTER' KEY brainwashing or censorship. AND THEN GIVE YOUR REASONS OR START OVER." With the end of the Cold War, the Right has demobilized. Energy No doubt some of your better writers will occasionally find, as they directed by conservative groups has been redeployed domestically, with the think through the list of virtues, that their target is indeed the vice universities as the primary target. So far the Right has not developed a mass mentioned in the second paragraph. They can then search for attack following on campus, but there are signs they may be starting to succeed. language that will convey, unlike "politically correct," some meaning A final fallacy is that progressives shouldn't "waste their time" by paying other than, "I 'm both politically neutral and on the right sidein both attention to the Right Wing. The Right's actions affect the response of the senses of the word 'right.'" campus constituency to our organizing. Knowledge of their strategies and Wayne Booth is professor emeritus ofEnglish at the University of Chi- their origin can be enormously helpful. Exposing the funding and true agenda cago. His letter appeared in the February 14, 1994 Chicago Tribune. of Right-wing groups helps us get beyond the coached tactics and glossy brochures extolling "freedom," and reveals the Right's true undemocratic Political Correctness in the Media intentions. Articles referring to "political correctness" on the NFXIS database: Dalya Massachi and Rich Cowan are staff members of the University Conversion Project. This essay is excerpted from the 52- 1985 0 1990 66 page UCP "Guide to Uncovering the Right on Campus," with articles 1986 7 19911553 on the PC scare, conservative foundations, and organizing resis- 1987 7 19922672 tance, which is available from the University Conversion Project, 1988 7 19934643 Box 748, Cambridge, MA 02142 (617-354-9363). Annual member- 1989 15 1994'1427 ship, which includes the UCP Guide and upcoming issues of the UCP *(through 3131) quarterlyStudy War No More, is $25 ($20 student, $10 low-income). Page 2Democratic Culture Spring 1994 Join TEACHERS FOR A DEMOCRATIC CULTURE (The following is excerpted from the original statement of purpose of Teachers for a Democratic Culture.)

COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES in the United States have Yet because the mainstream media have reported misinformed lately begun to serve the majority of Americans better than ever opinions as if they were established facts, the picture the public has before. Whereas a few short years ago, institutions of higher education received of recent academic developments has come almost entirely were exclusive citadels often closed to women, minorities and the from the most strident detractors of these developments.... disadvantaged, today efforts are being made to give a far richer it is time for those who believe in the values of democratic diversity of Americans access to a college education. Reforms in the education and reasoned dialogue to join together in an organization content of the curriculum have also begun to make our classrooms that can fight such powerful forms of intolerance and answer mischie- more representative of our nation's diverse peoples and beliefs and to vous misrepresentations. We support the right ofscholars and teachers provide a more truthful account of our history and cultural heritage. to raise questions about the relations of culture, scholarship and Much remains to be done, but we can be proud of the progress of education to politicsnot in order to shut down debate on such issues democratization in higher education. but to open it. It is such a debate that is prevented by discussion- A vociferous band of critics has arisen, however, who decry these stopping slogans like "political correctness." changes and seek to reverse them. These critics have painted an What does the notion of a "democratic culture" mean and how alarming picture of the state of contemporary education as a cata- does it relate to education? In our view, a democratic culture is one in strophic collapse. This picture rests on a number of false claims: that which criteria ofvalue in art are not permanently fixed by tradition and the classics of Western civilization are being eliminated from the authority but are subject to constant revision. It is a culture in which curriculum in order to make race, gender or political affiliation thesole terms such as "canon," "literature," "tradition," "artistic value," measure of a text's or subject's worthiness to be taught; that teachers "common culture" and even "truth" are seen as disputed rather than across the land are being silenced and politically intimidated; that the given. This means not that standards for judging art and scholarship very concepts of reason, truth and artistic standards are being sub- must be discarded but that such standards should evolve out of verted in favor of a crude ideological agenda. democratic processes in which they can be thoughtfully challenged. It is our view that recent curricular reforms influenced by multicul- We understand the problems in any organization claiming to speak turalism and feminism have greatly enriched education rather than for a very diverse, heterogeneous group of teachers who may sharply corrupted it. It is our view as well that the controversies that have been disagree on many issues, including that of the politics of culture. What provoked over admissions and hiring practices, the social functions of we envision is a coalition of very different individuals and groups, teaching and scholarship, and the status ofsuch concepts as objectivity bound together by the belief that recent attacks on new forms of and ideology are signs of educational health, not decline. scholarship and teaching must he answered in a spirit of principled Contrary to media reports, itis the National Association of discussion. We think the very formation of such a group will be an Scholars, their corporate foundation supporters and like-minded important step in gaining influence over the public representations of writers in the press who are endangering education with a campaign us and our work. of harassment and misrepresentation. Largely ignorant of the aca- It will also he a way to take responsibility for the task of clarifying demic work they attack (often not even claiming to have read it), these our ideas and practices to the wider publicsomething, it must be critics make no distinction between extremists among their opposi- admitted, that we have not done as well as we should. We need an tion and those who arc raising legitimate questions about the relations organization that can not only refute malicious distortions but also of culture and society. And though these critics loudly invoke the educate the interested public about matters that still to often remain values of rational debate and open discussion, they present the current shrouded in mysterynew literary theories and movements such as debate over education not as a legitimate conflict in which reasonable deconstructionism, feminism, multiculturalism and the new histori- disagreement is possible but as a simple choice between civilization cism, and theit actual effects on classroom practice. and barbarism. We therefore propose the formation of Teachers for a 1 kmocratic Culture. MEMBERSHIP REGISTRATION JOIN TEACH ERS FORA DEMOCRATIC CULTURE WITH el'H ISFORM The continuing growth and success of TDC depends your involvement and your contributions. We ask all current TDC members who have not renewed their membership to return this form to cover calendar year 1994. We also encourage non-members who have received this newsletter to join us. Please mail this membership form to: Teachers for a Democratic Culture, P.O. Box 6405, Evanston IL 60204.

Yes, I want to become a member of TDC _Yes, I want to renew my membership in TDC Enclosed is my 1994 contribution of: $50 _$25 _$5 (students) Name Department School or Affiliation City State Zip Home Address(ifpreferred) Phone Numbers: Business FAX Home E-mail Spring 1994 Democratic CulturePage 3 0 4 NEWSCLIPS Repression in the Guise of Sensitivity: The Nobel Prize The Vassar Example for Abuse Richard D. Wolff One of the most disturbing trends in recent years has been the vicious at- THIS TIME IT was Vassar Collegesmall,homophobic phone call which was recorded on the tacks on African-American writers by rich, elite, and "liberal"that made aca-accusing student's answering machine. Max was conservatives who believe that their demic history of the worst sort. In three weeks last informed that he would face an official Vassar honors and awards are based on racial November, it drove a junior with an impeccable"hearing" the following Wednesday, November 3, preferences rather than literary merit. record (and liberal-radical inclinations) to leavewhere he would have to defend himself. If found Attacks on the abilities of African-Ameri- and never return. The Vassar administration exer-guilty, he faced penalties including possible expul- can writers have been common since cised virtually absolute power to force this student, sion from the school. Carol lannone declared that Alice Walker's National Book Award for The falsely accused, to defend himself with three days Max called us for help but also for an explana- Color Purple "seemed less a recogni- notice at a trial whose outcome might lead to histion of how this could happen. He never made a tion of literary achievement than some expulsion. In that trial, Vassar denied the studenthomophobic phone call to anyone; he hardly knew official act of reparation." even minimal rights of due process or fairness or the accusing student. It was midterms week and he The New Criterion recently claimed the presumption of innocence accorded elsewhere had studying to do. How in the wort] could he that Toni Morrison received the Nobel in society. Finally, when the trial nonetheless failed mount a defense in so few days? Yet his entire PrizeinLiterature because she is black, to find the student guilty of anything, a Vassaracademic career was at stake, not to mention his female, and a "subscriber to academic political correctness." The New Crite- administrator Lclared to the student that he wasemotional equilibrium. rionalso attacked Morrison for"the poor not found innocent, that if and when new or Appeals to the Vassar administrators that this quality" of her writing, which it said is additional charges were brought, hewould be tried was a monstrous error fell on wholly uninterested left-wing sermonizing and sentimen- again. This entire wielding of unrestricted, dicta-ears. Before the hearing, Max, his mother, and I tality" and "saturated with divisive racial torial power was justified as an exercise in "sensitiv- having consulted lawyersexplained to Vassar's animus." ity" to the "problem of homophobia." Dean of Student Life, Colton Johnson, and also to There will always be disagreements I was no dispassionate observer of these events; his two subordinates most involved in the case, about whether an author deserves to receive the Nobel Prize. But it is strange the student is my son, Max Fraad-Wolff. I am aPamela Neimeth and Faith Nichols, that a simple that when these disagreements con- TDC member who teaches economics at a majormechanism was available to resolve the issue. A cern an African-American woman, con- state university. Max's mother, Harriet Fraad, is amachine is used in courtrooms across the country servatives always assume that the prize psychotherapist in private practice. All of us have whenever there is need to identify a voice on a tape must have been given for racial rea- been long-time, active supporters of gay rights recording (human recognition of recorded voices sons, and not because anyone genu- alongside the rights of other marginalized groups. is notoriously unreliable). Many firms conduct inely believes she is a good writer. A In 1991, Max chose Vassar over the University of these "voice print tests." We suggested that this was literary difference of opinion is used to attack affirmative action. Chicago, Johns Hopkins, and several other univer- an appropriate step to take before subjecting any- Heather MacDonald wrote in a Wall sities. He did so because he liked Vassar's stated one to a life-disrupting hearing about an issue that StreetJournaloolumn, "to claim, as Ms. commitments to multiculturalism, liberal values, is highly charged on the Vassar campus. Max Morrison does, that race is the primary interdisciplinary studies, and maximum freedom expressed his eagerness to take such a test to referent of all American culture is a for students to find their own areas of study. As a demonstrate his innocence. All the Vassar officials reckless exaggeration." Indeed, this radical of sorts, he feltand was encouraged by refused. statement is an exaggeration, but the Vassar officials to believethat it was the right Insteaj, the Vassar officials chose to rely on sourceoftherecklessnessis MacDonald's imagination, not place for him. students' inions about whose voices they recog- Morrison's writing. Morrison writes, for His first and second years at Vassar went well. nized on the ...-sswering machine tape. Prior to example, that examining the Africanist While maintaining a consistent 3.7 average, he charging Max, Vassar ho,l arranged for the tape to presence will "supplement our reading constructed his own major around economics andhe played in student dormitories and dining halls. of Huckleberry Finn, expand it"not geography with a special focus on southeast Asia. Students were urged to come forward to report the dominate it to the point of making race He found a supportive group of friends, was well names of other students whose taped voices they the exclusive focus of every interpreta- liked, and experienced no difficulties with admin- thought they recognized. One official told us that tion. Simply because Morrison wants to end the silence about race in most istrators or teachers. Quite the contraryhe ac-40 names of Vassar students had been gathered in discussions of American literature,it cepted a research assistantship offered by a faculty this bizarre manner. does not mean that she wants race to member and was nominated by the school admin- Max was extremely upset, but despite the in- become the sole basis of literary criti- istration for a responsible post overseeing the tense time pressure, he found student and faculty cism. distribution of student activity funds. witnesses who testified that he was neither The only politics involved here was Then, on October 29, 1993, the Vassar admin- homophobic nor had made any phone call to the MacDonald's fear thatawarding a Nobel istration turned on Max without warning. He was accusing student on any occasion. But as he pre- Prize to someone "working busily to dismantletheidealofcolor- told that a Vassar student had charged him (to-pared, it quickly became clear that the Vassar blindness...bodes poorly for racial har- gether with another student) with making aadministration was no more interested in a re- Page 4Democratic Culture Spring 1994 motely fair hearing than it was in using an objective and submit it as evidence. Once again, the presid- NEWSCLI PS voice test. Max was to be forced through a "show ing Vassar official, Faith Nichols, refused to allow trial" orchestrated by 1'1:: mr to demonstrate pub- the letter to be read or submitted as evidence even mony." Apparently MacDonald believes Nobel prizes should not be awarded for "sensitive"it was to though the letter's author was present at the hear- licly and punitively bo literary merit, but according to one's ing as was the letter's recipient, who was scheduled homophobia. political adherence to the ideal of color- Max was denied the right to have a lawyer at his to testify for Max as one of his witnesses; both blindness. hearing; he was denied the right to have his parents could readily have verified the letter and the inci- Nor is Morrlson the only target of present. When he requested to tape the proceed- dent of false accusation. these smears. Robert Brustein wrote ingsto enable him to prepare an appeal in the The list of Vassar oF. cials' acts of disrespect for an essay in Partisan Review (reprinted event he was found guiltythe Vassar official in even the most minimal concepts of due process is as the cover story for the January 16th Chicagoribune Magazine) asserting charge of the hearing, Faith Nichols, refused. When too long to belabor here. Official "sensitivity" to that the Clinton administration wasucom- the certainly important issue of homophobia he requested a copy of the tape that Nichols said missioning an inaugural poem by a write r she would make of the proceedings, she refused. seemed to excuse, in Vassar's official mind, a gross of modest talents, obviously chosen Max's "hearing" began on November 3, 1993 insensitivity to the presumption of innocence and because she is an African-American at 6 p.m., and lasted until 1:30 the next morning. simple fairness. woman, and otherwise behaving less Max, the accused, had to act as his own lawyer, Max might still have stayed at Vassar had the like an appointments agency examin- ing qualifications than a casting agency keeping his own notes. He finally persuaded Nichols hearing found him not guilty, and apologized for looking for types (`Get me a black fe- to allow him to have a student friend sit by his side the damage to his studies and reputation. How- male lawyer for the part of assistant ever, although the hearing's verdict had been prom- to take notes of the events since he could have no attorney general!')." tape of them. However, at the conclusion of this ised for "the next day," Max heard nothing official When Bru stein claims that a fine poet "hearing," Nichols confiscated all of Max's notes. She until Faith Nichols called him into her office at 10 like Maya Angelou was chosen solely also confiscated all the notes of his student friend. p.m. the following Monday nightwhen college because of her race, he is not merely Despite repeated requests, these notes were never offices are normally closedto tell him that de- being insensitivehe is lying. Angelou is probably America's most popular poet, returned. spite his having been found not guilty, further "hearings" might be imposed on him at any time, a status reflected by the huge crowds During the hearing, Pamela Neimeth, another which attend her college lectures and Vassar official, testified in place of two students if his accuser brought forth new information. her best-selling books. Brustein's at- witnesses who, she stated, were "afraid" to con- Max had had enough. At this point, he decided tack on Lani Guinier is equally baffling, front Max. In any normal courtroom proceeding, to leave and complete his college education else- since even her fiercest opponents did this would have been considered hearsay and dis- where. He could not remain and be held, in effect, not challenge her high qualifications for allowed. Neimeth had earlier assured Max and us a hostage by an administration that had revealed the post. in her office that she was a purely investigative itselfwilling to sacrifice him to its own self-promo- I doubt if any racial animus motivates tion as "sensitive to homophobia." He had been these individuals. Rather, this is a racial officialwhose job was only to determine if prejudicean assumption, before any homophobic harassment had occurredand that forced out of Vassar and withdrew formally on consideration of the facts, that any she had "absolutely no role whatsoever in deter- November 15. achievement by an African-American is mining anyone's guilt or innocence." The producers of CBS's 48 Hours, hearing undeserved and motivated purely by The flavor of these star chamber proceedings about the case, approached Max and Vassar shortly affirmative action. But worst of all is the may best be conveyed by an event that occurred after the hearing. Max agreed to talk to them, but fact that these conservatives have used their own ignorant prejudices to attack during the hearing. As Max rushed about organiz- every request CBS made to interview Vassar offi- affirmative action. They often claim that ing his defense, he was approached by another cials was refused. At one point, a CBS camera crew racial preferencesare bad because they Vassar student whom he did not know. She told was asked to leave the campus. Eventually CBS cause people to doubt the abilities of Max that she was moved by his plight because she, itself offered, at CBS's expense, to arrange a voice African-Americans and other minori- too, had been accused by the same student ofprint test. Max gladly agreed. Vassar once again tiesand then they try to prove it by having made or arranged the same homophobic refused. Vassar apparently decided that stonewall- doubting the achievements of all Afri- telephone call. That student had accused her be- ing CBS was less damaging than permitting a test can-Americans. Conservatives would do a great deal fore he had accused Max. which would establish that they had victimized a for racial equality if they would consider totally innocent student. CBS made Max's case the However, when her parents got lawyers to the possibility that the African-Ameri- lead segment of the 48 Hours program broadcast threaten suit over these accusations, the accuser cans who receive awards might actu- had written her a letter of apology, admitting that on January 5, 1994. ally deserve them, and that the people his accusation was false. Max obtained a copy of Why did all this happen? Why would Vassar who read the writings of African-Ameri- this signed letter. Max felt that it was crucial pillory one student in a show-trial, when the accusa- cans do so not out of group solidarity or evidence since it showed (1) that his accuser was a tion could have lien early verified or falsified by white guilt, but because they actually enjoy reading them and feel they are self-admitted false accuser, and (2) that the Vassar means of a readily available test? Part oldie answer is worthy of study. Until then, we will have administration knew that he had falsely accused that the details of truth, falsity, due process, fairness, more vicious attacks by conservatives and presumption of innocence were of no weight to others, and yet nonetheless refused to make a voice who make African-American writers the print toi before proceeding on his next accusation. Vassar officials when compared to the value of scapegoats for their resentment at affir- Max asked to read the letter to the hearing panel demonstrating "sensitivity to" and "swift vigilance mative action.

Spring 1994 Democratic Culture Page 5

BEST COPY AVAILABLE against" homophobia.This was something demanded or imagined that the Vassar administration would NEWSCLIPS by the most organized and vociferous groups cur- pander to part of its gay community in such Accreditation rently active on the Vassar campus, namely those illegitimate and repressive ways. concerned with gay rights. Had anyone even suggested then the possibility Nazis Another part of the answer lies in a nakedof what has now transpired, we would have re- The recent attacks on the Western power grab. The homophobic phone call offeredjected the idea. Such behavior, we would have Association of Schools and Colleges' Vassar an ideological pretense for a demonstration reasoned, threatens the loss of sympathies and (WASC) diversity standard are almost of absolute, unrestrained administrative power. creates a backlash that would be at least as danger- comical in theirparanoia. The Wall Street ous to gays as to others. Joumaiinvokes the specter of "diversity Vassar administrators could, in two weeks, trans- shock troops" who will soon be "looking form a student's life, subject him to enormous Still another factor is today's political climate. for grievances among women or minor- pressure, and drive him out of college. Activism around broad, inclusive issues like social ity groups," and the California Associa- In the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, students won democracy and class transformation is at a low ebb. tion of Scholars produced a lengthy some powers from administrators, including cur- More narrowly focused kinds of politics emerge. report which concludes, "With the cap- ricular initiatives and political freedoms. What has Indeed, the struggle to include the plight and rights ture of the accrediting agencies by a been happening for the past few years is the academic of oppressed sub-cultures on the agenda for social politically correct orthodoxy, a powerful lever has beet IA available to enforce parallel of the Reagan-Bush political backlash. Col-change has an importance I recognizeas does that orthodoxythe threatened loss of lege administrations want to reverse the flow ofMax. Here, Max's experience at Vassar crosses the accreditation, and even the loss of eligi- power away from students. But to do so explicitly is debates over the positive and negative aspects of bility forfederal funding." Richard Ferrier, not possible. It would rouse students and risk further "identity politics," and the struggles over whether who led Aquinas College's heroic fight loss of administrative authority. gay politics will go in progressive or regressive against WASC, declares: "Just because Instead, administrators disguise power grabs as directions. Max's experience shows that the struggle the Nazis didn't take Switzerland didn't commitments to good causes. Here, the administra- for gay inclusion can become exclusive and oppres- mean they didn't intend to take all of Europe as soon as they could." Yet tive power grab crosses the path of"political correct-sive when allied to or managed by a group with a highly traditional Aquinas College, which ness." The right-wing attack on efforts to diversify verydifferent agenda. Vassar is an institution deeply refused to arrange a meeting with the curricula, faculties and students as "authoritarian PCcommitted to the status quo. Its interests are to WASC team to address grievances by campaigns" is handed invaluable ammunition bysubsume the campus movement for gay rights to its minority students, was nevertheless re- college administrations like Vassar. Conservatives, traditional, elitist commitments to hierarchical accredited. who can and do mobilize those appalled by the authority and the maintenance of most other exist- The reaction to WASC's policy is all assault on campus civil liberties and freedoms, are ing social and economic structures. the more strange because it explicitly in Letting administrations like Vassar's get away declares that it will seek dive rsity by "the able to link that assault with multiculturalism route of education, evaluation and con- general.Vassar's linkage of multiculturalism and with gross abuses of minimal democratic rights structive advice rather than the route of oppressive disregard for civil liberties and fairness as in Max's casethreatens democratic values sanctions" and allow each institution to holds great dangers for all these democratic values,everywhere. As I sift through reactions to this case pursue "these goals as it sees fit." As inside as well as beyond the college. and the CBS coverage, I am becoming aware of WASC chair Donald Gerth notes: "The After interviewing many members of the Vassar how widespread the problem may he across cam- document dearly states that accredita- community, I doubt that Vassar administrators puses in the country. Caught between the attacks tion will not be denied any college that is thoughtfully considering the matter of think or care much about "political correctness." from the right on "PC" and attacks from funda- diversity in the context of its own institu- They do care about accumulating more power, mentally conservative college administrations, are tional mission and values." prestige, and prerogatives. Covering that accumu- campus( s now becoming bastions of reaction? is The problem with the accreditation lation with verbiage about the latest "correct" there a set of rightward shifts underway that demo- process is that its main functionto thing to doin Max's case, combating crats everywhere need to address analytically and certify minimal standards forcolleges homophobiais just good public relationson politically, both in theory and in practice? Perhaps makes it largely irrelevant for the vast campusfor them. the readers ofDemocratic Culturehave answers to majority of colleges which clearly meet offer and could begin a debate from which all of us these basic requirements. For this rea- Vassar is clearly determined to be maximally son, accreditation agencies have gen- "gay-friendly." Indeed, Max knew that when hewould benefit. erally expanded their mission to be- decided to attend Vassar; it was a positive factor in Richa,c1Wolffteaches economics at the University come external critics of colleges who his mind and in ours. However, none of us foresaw of Massachusetts at Amherst. can examine the strengths and weak- nesses of these institutions and sug- TDC is helping support the 4th Annual Convention of the Sisters of Color International, to be gest reforms. Gerhard Casper, presi- dent of Stanford, attacks WASC for held May 6-8 at the University of WisconsinLaCrosse. Conference organizer Sondra O'Neale daring to make "broad pronouncements of the Women's Studios program at LaCrosse states that "in addition to artists and scholars, we on educational policy that go beyond will have prominent Women of Color who have achieved success in the fields of politics and higher the accreditation standards them- education." Panel and workshop topics include: Cross-Racial/Ethnic Relations Among Women of selves." But Stephen Weiner, an ex- Color, The Intersections Between Academia and Racial/Ethnic Communities, and Immigrant vs. ecutive director of WASC, notes that Ethnic Perspectives. For registration information contact Kay Robinson, Office of Continuing "The fundamental issue is whether the Education, 227 Main Hall, University of Wisconsin, LaCrosse, WI 54601 (608-785-6510). accrediting associations will continue Page 6Democratic Culture Spring 1994 Controversies of the Sexual NEWSCLIPS simply to ensure minimum standards" Christopher Lane or will also "ensure real educational quality." F LESBIAN AND Gay Studies is to fully live up academy's fantasy that it can control the desires If the diversity standard is used to ITto its name, it cannot simply examinethe lives, and antagonisms that circulate within it, Lesbian force colleges into doing whatever difficulties, and identities of lesbians and gay men;and Gay Studies has attracted some of the contro- WASC demands, then it will be wrong. versy and notoriety that accompanies anypublic But there is no evidence that this will it may be the closest we have yet come to an ever happen. Instead, WASC is doing impossible field of study. I write this in full knowl- discussion of sexuality. Add to this caution and suspicion a palp-,ble embarrassment about the exactly what it should dohelping col- edge of a dramatic and exciting explosion of inter- leges examine their policies. And until est in the subject and a burgeoningfield of journals taboo elements of homosexuality, and the entire the diversity shock troops start shutting and publications from colleges and universities field of Lesbian and Gay Studies looks as through down colleges, the threat of political across the country. Manyhumanities departments it is sitting on a time-bomb. correctness posed by WASC will be the are now anxious, as neverbefore, to add openlygay Strange as it may seem, I think there may be a imaginary one it has always been. and lesbian professors to their ranks (althoughgrain of truth to this institutional anxiety. Forif many are not); someadministrations are almost Lesbian and Gay Studies takes upon itself the task of May I Look At Your falling over each other in an effort to he the first to counseling students through the various conflicts Policy? and vicissitudes of their identity, it will inevitably change domestic partnership policies. A recent article in Newsweek (March Because of these changes, it may be useful to come aground on the terrain of thepersonal. We may 7) depicts Antioch College as a sexual consider the role of Lesbian and Gay Studies in the need to ask whether Lesbian and Gay Studies can paradise with nude dancing and coed academy, and particularly to ask whether the desire interpret the personal without personalizing its field shower orgies in the dorms. It's a far cry by many institutions to hire lesbians and gay nen is of study. How, For example, does a discussion of from the "Sexual Correctness" heterosexuality avoid the anger or rejection ofhetero- Newsweek, which six months earlier quite the same as their desire to see the introuuction declared ominously, "The much-publi- of a new field of study. It may be one thing to worksexuals in the room (always assuming that they want question, it seems cized rules governing sexual intimacy alongside lesbians and gay men in a department; it to be there)? In the light of this at Antioch College seem to stultify rela- may be quite another to havethe subject of homo- expedient to ask anothernamely, how does a dis- tions between men and women on the sexuality constantly recur in this pedagogical setting. cipline that actively recognizes the conflicts of its cusp of adulthood." "What is the true object of Lesbian and Gaystudents avoid a shift from teaching to therapy? Antioch's sexual offense policy at- tracted so much attention last year be- Studies?" is a question which I must address, since I Inevitably, this raises a question about transference, and the role that gay and lesbian professors either cause it declares: "Verbal consent have recently been appointed coordinator of a new should be obtained with each new level assume or are asked toperform in the classroom and Certificate Program in Lesbian and Gay Studies. of physical and/or sexual contact or institution, because Lesbian and Gay Studies con- Having "passed" several committee hurdles atthe conduct in any given interaction, re- University of WisconsinMilwaukee, whose prin- sciously engages with public and private fantasies gardless of who initiates it." The Antioch cipal concern was to ensure our program's academicabout writers, governments, policies, and professors. policy was often ridiculed because it "rigor," the other proposers and I were keen to Ironically, it seems that the attempt by institu- included rather excessive provisions emphasize our certainty about its various compo-tions to hire open gay and lesbian professors as role like, "Asking 'Do you want to have sex obvious: literary and models has an inevitable propensity for failure. It with me?' is notenough. The request for nents. The list seemed quite consent must be specific to each act." may be that the very insistence orassumption that cultural studies; history, political science, and sociol- However, the Antioch policy applied lesbians and gay men automatically identify with ogy; psychology and healthsciences. But these proce- only to someone who wanted to initiate dural questions left unasked and unanswered pre- each other leads to a bewildered set of antagonisms sexual contact, and mutually and simul- cisely what we consider to be the aim of I esbian and and personality conflicts that invariably hinge on taneously initiated conduct was not pro- Gay Studies. What, indeed, would c ritute its the idea of betrayal and disappointment. "What hibited in any way. The policy also placed responsibility on both partners: "The academic "success"? Now that the pressure ofjustify- have you done for us?" or, more painfully, "you are person .with whom sexual contact/con- Mg ourselves to the administration is over, weface not what we wanted," arc some ofthe statements and demands that accompany this assumption. duct is initiated is responsible to ex- another challengenot so much from hostile stu- press verbally and/or physically her/his The problem of di fferen ce and overidentification dents and faculty (though that is surely never far willingness or lack of willingness when away). but From our own students, who arc anxious is nor the sole property of Lesbian and Gay Studies. reasonably possible." But these provi- to learn more about the conceptualbasis of the It can and does accompany any discipline that is sions were never mentioned in the program, and who arclooking for more than a founded on identity politics. But Lesbian and Gay media, which was determined to fit Antioch's policy into the "sexual cor- validation of their own sexual identity. Studies has a way of intensifying this problem by rectness" hype regardless of what the Despite its insistence that eros informs all cul- insisting that the psychical, in addition to the per- truth was. Lesbian sonal, is a necessary field of interpretation. 'Me very tures, institutions, and gender structures, The NewYorkTimesaccused Antioch subtlety of its pedagogical boundaries may demon- and Gay Studies has tendedperhaps more than of legislating kisses"andclaimed,"Wor- become "in- Women's Studiesto bear the brunt of an accusa- strate how quickly "interpretation" can tying about worst-case scenarios is don that it sexualizes unnecessary or "inappropri- vestigation." This shift nee( not he intended or appropriate since, as one disgruntled ate" aspects of the curriculum. Disrupting the openly articulated; the very search for a sexual truth student put it: 'This is a real policy. I can DemocraticCulture Page 7 Spring 1994 N S C 1,1 may elicit this fantasy as an unconscious response. the ingredients of a farce: demonstrate howsuc- Itis possible that this response is formally cessfully your students have come to identify get kicked out overthis.'" But theveorst- introduced to Lesbian and Gay Studies by a kind heterosexism; evaluate their grasp of the common case" scenarios were irrational fears of investigative criticism that considers itsown about a policy that, if property adminis- sites of homophobia. We need to have a clearer success to be intimately tied to the disclosure of a tered, posed no th rest to anyone. Antioch recognition of the procedural aim id practices of Dean Marian Jensen says that students character's sexual identity. Many critics tend to ask Lesbian and Gay Studies, and that entails examin- are abiding by the policy "to the extent "Is there a homosexual in this text?" in order to ing the complex and occasionally difficult relation that they feel comfortable," which hardly verify, first, whether the book is worth teaching, between gay teachers and students inside and out- sounds like "Sexual Correctness" po- and second, whether it will have something obvi- side the classroom, as well as the relations between lice prowling around campus. Despite ous and relevant to say about same-sex desire. It isgay students and straight students, lesbians and gay its flaws, the Antioch sexual offense not surprising that this kind of investigation places men, andperhaps most fundamentallybetween policy stated a simple and unobjection- so much emphasis on certainty that it soon be- able rule for proper conduct: it's wrong everyone's fantasy relation to Gay and Lesbian to touch someone in a sexual way comes intolerant of doubt and indeterminacy. Studies and the unconscious of this discipline. against their will. Leaping to the conclusion that "there is a homo- If the unconscious of a discipline by definition However, the Antioch policy was a sexual in this text!" critics turn their declaration cannot be spoken, it is still possible to read it in its public relations disaster for the move- into an answer to all preceding textual enigmas and effects. Certainly, I am not advocatinga kind of ment against date rape. Antioch's policy narrative obscurity. Add a little biography, simmer public confession in which everyone articulates was effectively ridiculed on Saturday gently for ten minutes, and voila! the homo- their fantasy of what Lesbian and Gay Studies Night Live, which featured a game show can sexual text is served! skit, "Is it data rape?" with Shannon and should be, but it may be necessary to acknowl- Doherty playing Ariel, an Antioch major This pursuit of homosexual "secrets" is obvi- edge that various demands and expectationsare in Victimization Studies. The contes- ously not the sole province of Lesbian and Gaybeing placed on Lesbian and Gay Studies that it tants had various incidents acted out for Studies, though the fact that it flourishes in this cannot hope to fulfill. One of these is surely that it them and concluded whether they were discipline may indicate some ofits conceptual andcan resolve a level of indecision or discomfort with date rape or not. Ariel said that every- ideological underpinning. It is obviously a smallsexual identity and that the student shouldsee the thing was date rape, without waiting to (and therefore interesting) step from the enigma ofclass and teacher as an appropriate vehicle for this hear what happened. (In one case where a text to that of its writer, but it may be harder than a mart asked "Would you mind having undertaking. The other is simply the common sexual intercourse?" and the woman we think to stop a corresponding shift from text to but often unchallengedassumption that Lesbian replied "No," Ariel declared that it was teacher or writer to class. and Gay Studies is reducible to the thoughts and date rape because "No always means In the light of all our own disputes and difficul- lifestyle of its teachers. Maintaining the impossi- no.") The official Antioch idea of ro- ties, it should not surprise us that Lesbian and Gay bility of either demand is one of the first and mance was played out by a man asking Studies Firs so many fierce opponents. Some of this fundamental responsibilities of anyone teaching in a woman, "May I compliment you on opposition is clearly connected to Lesbian and Gaythis field. Refusing to be a role-model would also your halter top?" and, having received Studies' challenge to the literary canon and aca- consent to do so, moving on to "May I seem to represent the best chance for creating a kiss you?" and "May I touch your but- demic curriculum; the remainder seems to derive relationship of trust and support between lesbian tocks?" from questions about its "rigor" and legitimacy.or gay faculty and their students. Antioch's policy has opened itself up Advocates of Lesbian and Gay Studies arc thus There may be something important to learn here to ridicule and hurt efforts to stop ac- asked to define its goals, but itis not alwaysfrom the pedagogic practice of Women's Studies. quaintance rape. But conservatives possible or desirable to formulate them so sche-The justifiable feminist argument that "the personal have seized upon these rules and ex- matically. A recent demand by the Board of Re- is political" has often paradoxically created a form of aggerated their importance as part of gents at the University of Wisconsin asking all the backlash against the anti-rape move- criticism in which the political is nothing but the ment. However silly Antioch's policy departments that offer majors to declare theirpersonal. (This, of course, is not the entirety of may seem, students are not being sus- criteria for undergraduate study left most profes- feminist argument.) Although this argument ispre- pended for failing to get explicit permis- sors in the humanities understandably bewildered sented to the student as an attempt to engage their sion before they kiss. The Newsweek and angry. How you summarize a student's ability perspective on the political, it often stymies discus- article points out that the handful of to theorize literary meaning? How, indeed, do yousion beyond the most basic and fundamental con- complaints under the policy have been evaluate the kind of critical acuity undergraduates stituents of i den ti tynamely gender, race, ethnicity, mediated by Dean Jensen. No one has must reach before they can be awarded a degree? appeared before a hearing board, let and sexuality. It is equally possible for Lesbian and alone punished. Place these kinds of institutional demands on Gay Studies to flounder on the same set of concerns, The real "sexual correctness" ideol- Lesbian and Gay Studies and the scenario has all and to find itself unable to shift discussion beyond the ogy which reigns on college campuses is not Puritanical feminism, but the be- AIDS in the Classroom The things that happen in my classroom aren't going to be just about what the most theoretically lief that sexual harassment and ac- illuminating way totalk about AIDS and representation is, but also whatcan quaintance rape are minor, isolated I do to make sure that everyone in my class has talked about safer sex, and everyone I teach, to the degree that I have any problems deserving little attention. This control over it atall, has at least heard is the "sexual correctness" ',Mich stops a bunch of language that begins with the premise of the value of queer lives. And the validity of any decisions they women from reporting the very real can make to take care of their lives and preserve them. We also just talk practically about safer sex, whenever we can do it. incidents of harassment and rape on I know I should make it happen even more. Eve Kosotsky Sedgwick,interviewed in Minnesota Review (1994). Page 8Democratic Culture Spring1994 JI personal stake of its students. Yet it may be worth the writing, signification, and (for want of a better NEWSCLIPS asking, in this regard, how successfully "sexuality" word) the "inhabiting" of homosexuality. However, can become a part of "identity." Is there not some- it may be impossible to operate within Leshi m and campus. Gay Studies from a position of interpretive confi- As with Newsweek's infamous thing fundamentally oppositional about these two "Thought Police" cover story on political terms that Lesbian and Gay Studies must interpretdence when the real subject of study has already correctness, its "Sexual Correctness" and not repress? eluded the discussion. story depicts an intolerant leftist ortho- This argument asks us to relinquish some of the For these reasons, we may need to rethink doxy: "Like political correctness on cam- attractionand banalityof critical and peda- popular accounts of subjectivity that extend only puses, there's pitifully little room for gogical certainty. In the place of stable procedures to the "construction" of desire, personality, or debate or diverse points of view." But and diagnostic confidence about texts and teach- identity. For they assume that the subject either like political correctness, "sexual cor- acts according to its "choice," or that it is con- rectness" is a media invention with no ing, we would find a level of unreliability that is basis in reality, a soundbite which dis- versely acted upon by forces that take this choice disconcerting for a discipline already beset with courages debate by the false claim that external questions about its validity and concep-away. Instead, we may need to consider the rel- a new feminist Puritan orthodoxy ha. tual rigor. In other words, we would have to evance of identification at this point, especially the seized control of college campuses. consider the importance and prevalence of doubtargument by psychoanalysis that one's "choice" is that informs, surrounds, and sometimes interro-already compromised by internal constraints, Denying Rape gates, Lesbian and Gay Studies. By insisting that psychical history, and an ineluctable resistance to For the past few years, Berkeley so- sexuality lies beyond the security ofstable reference speech and self-knowledge. ciologist Neil Gilbert has been waging and knowledge, we cannot produce a discipline Retaining this paradox about identity, speech, war against Mary Koss' survey of col- that draws on, or endeavors to promote, condi- and certainty may illustrate part of what is at stake in lege women which found that 27% had tions of certainty. Paradoxically, we must also the academic controversies over the sexual. For al- been victims of rape or attempted rape. Gilbert has repeatedly accused Koss of engage in daily battle with the contrary insistence though this paradox tends to engender discomfort biased, "advocacy research" which is and anxiety, the cru'ial issue here is that it divests by our culture that sexuality is something we can serious exaggeration of the problem." know, master, and consciously manipulate. both homosexuality and heterosexuality of the abil- Now, in an article on "fraud" in the This difficult strategy is often unattractive to ity to represent themselves as stable and separate March/April 1994 issue of Society, Gil- lesbian and gay students and teachers because it is phenomena. This paradox also avoids the assump- bert even accuses Koss of "a misrepre- interpreted as an attack on everyone's identity--e.g., tion that homosexuality is organized solely by exter- sentation of findings to the public." I know what I am, I know who we are, and, in the nal impositions of discourse and mandates of power. Neil Gilbert has three objections to Koss' study. First, he points out that words of the title from a recent hook, there is Proust, None of these ideas gives us a hard and fast policy on how to create and sustain Lesbian and 73% of the women who Koss identified Cole Porter, and Guys Like Me. But if psychoanalysis as victims of rape did not say they had and critical theory have taught us anything, it is to Gay Studies. Instead, I offer these thoughts as an been raped. Overall, 27% said it was recognize that every identity "leans" upon absence, indication of the challenge that awaits this field of "rape," 14% called a "crime, but not enigma, and doubt. We may not be able to build study. As Lesbian and Gay Studies progresses ever rape," 49% thought it was a "miscom- strategies and communities of unfaltering affirma- onward to the heady heights of academic respect- munication," and 11% felt "they don't tion when we consider that these identities engage ability, we must somehow find a way to emphasize feel victimized." Gilbert concludes that since many of the women didn't say with the constant shift and reformulation ofsexuality that the discipline is not reducible to its teachers, they were raped, it couldn't have been that the personal is not always personalizable (or from external and interior demands. rape. Gilberts second argument is that If this disjuncture between the "inside" and the personable), and that there will always he some- the women surveyed could not have "outside" of sexual identity is unavoidable, the dis- thing about sexuality that engenders discomfort been raped because 42% had sex again crepancy it creates between uncertainty and affirma- and eludes interpretation. with the men who raped them. tion in Lesbian and Gay Studies is also quite intrac- Christopher Lane teaches English and Compara- But Gilbert fails to deal with Koss' table. In particular, it rebounds in unexpected and tive Literature at the University of Wisconsin data. In addition to the 27.1% who had been victims of rape or attempted rape, often un gratifying ways for any lesbian and gay critic Milwaukee. This essay is excerpted from an article Koss also found that 11.2% suffered which will appear in we spring 1995 GLQ. who wants to consider the troubled interface between sexual coercion, and 14.5% unwanted sexual contact as the highest levels of The Purposes of Lesbian and Gay Studies sexual victimization. Since those sur- We might ask ourselves, where is a forum for working-class, nonacademized lesbians andgays? Are we veyed had the opportunity to describe in te rested in creating such a forum? Ho w are un ive rsi tie s com plici t with a near-feudal economicsystem that divides what happened to them as merely un- and conquers rural communities? What is the relationship between urban-defined universityelitism and rural wanted sexual conduct, it would be strange for them to select a more ex- poverty? Are queer academics from metropolitan cultures interested in including rural lesbians and gays(the ones treme category for something which who don't contort themselves to fit urban molds) in their "groundbreaking" work% Does a lesbian and gaystudies was not rape. Gilbert ignores another desire for systemic agenda need to address such questions? ' believe that it must. Judging from the sincere part of Koss' data, which shows that transformation expressed in the work of many lesbian and gay scholars, it seems to me that a lesbian and gay 84% of the women who were raped program should exist not only to replicate itself in the closed system of academiabut to open a crack to the outside tried to reason with the attacker and world that will allow less privileged people to contnbute to and define the "quee ries" brought to thefore in this vibrant 70% put up some form of physical resis- area of studious politics. tance. If it was a "miscommunication" Julie Wilson."The Pink Tower: Thoughts on Lesbian and Gay Studies," Sojourner, January 1994. rather than rape, why did women react Spring 1994 Democratic Culture Page 9 NMSCLI PS Unusual and Unexpected Censorship: as they did in "rear rapes? The University of Iowa's Classroom Materials Policy Gilbert's sole criticism of the survey itself comes.when he contends, "two of Jean Fallow the five items Koss used to define inci- dents of rape and attempted rape were TUDENTS, FACULTY AND staff at the assistant in the American Studies department the vaguely worded questions. 'Have SUniversity of Iowa have been engaged since showed Paris is Burning to an American Family you had a man attempt sexual inter- last September in a battle with the State Board ofValues class. The film, an award-winning docu- course when you didn't want to by giv- Regents and the university administration over a mentary about transvestites and the cultural prac- ing you alcohol or drugs, butintercourse classroom materials policy which imposes a warn- tice of"voguing," contains no graphic sex scenes at did not occur? Have you had sexual ing requirement for "unusual or unexpected" course all. However, when a student objected, Dean Judith intercourse when you didn't want to content. At their February meeting in Iowa City, because a man gave you alcohol or Aikin of the College of Liberal Arts responded by drugs?'" Gilbert may be right to contend the Regents found their lunch and afternoon ses- officially reprimanding the instructor. Although that some incidents reported in response sion disrupted by an angry crowd of 100 people the TA, who to this day prefers to remain anony- to this question might not legally be chanting "Freedom to teach, freedom to learn" mous, fought back and ultimately succeeded in [ape (although they are still interesting and "Repeal the policy now!" Regents President having a letter rescinding the reprimand placed in survey questions). But even if we ac- Marvin Berenstein was so shaken by the peaceful his file, the official rebuke had a chilling effect, cept Gilberts challenge to the "alcohol but spirited protest that he suggested he would be alerting other instructors that dealing with similar or drugs" question, it only reduces the willing to have a "dialogue" about re-arming cam- material in class could bring the long arm of the proportion of women who had been raped from 15.3% to about 12%not pus security officersbut not about reconsideringinstitution down on their heads. This episode the 44% decline which Gilbert asserts. the policy. clearly demonstrates that it was not representa- It is bad enough that Gilbert's so- The UI policy is a response to three incidents tions of sexual acts in general that the administra- called "refutation" of the Koss study has over a twc.-year period where a handful of students tion sought to quash, but rather of non-hetero- been widely reported without criticism complained about viewing materials dealing withsexual orientation in particular. No public contro- in the media. Now Gilbert has gone homosexuality. The first occurred in Septemberversy has arisen over similarly explicit class content beyond mere disagreement with Koss 1991, when TaxizumK1o, an acclaimed film about of a heterosexual nature. to maliciously and falsely accuse her of committing fraud. Gilbert's "evidence" the cruising experiences of a gay teacher, was After these three incidents, where complaints for these charges is simply ludicrous. screened for several German language courses.were made by a total of five students, the State He complains that Koss wrote in a Los Although the showing was not mandatory and a Board of Regents called on the Faculty Senates of Angeles Daily Journal article about the posted flier warned, "Don't come near this film if the the three state universitiesthe University of Iowa, rape victims, "One quarter thought it world of homosexuality upsets you in any way," Iowa State Un iversity, and the University ofNorth- was rape, one quarter thought it was several students complained and the next morning's ern Iowato implement policies regulating the some kind of crime but did not believe it Des Moines Register ran a banner headline reading "U presentation of sexually explicit materials in class. qualified as rape, one quarter thought it was sexual abuse but did not think it of I language students irate over graphic gay film." The Senates of ISU and UNI complied, and their qualified as a crime, and one quarter did Before the controversy died down there was even talk versions were accepted by the Regents in October. not feel victimized." While Koss' gener- of firing the professors involved, but then-Regents However, at the University of Iowa students mo- alizations exaggerate the number who President Marvin Pomerantz decided against it only bilized quickly against the policy, arguing that it thought it was a crime but not rape because "it would be difficult to make the dismiss- sanctioned homophobia and violated academic (14%), she lowers the number who saw als stick" Ind there might be lawsuits. freedom. They successfully picketed and addressed it as rape (27%) and her greatest exag- The next incident was in February 1993, when the September 28 Faculty Senate meeting, which geration is the number who did not feel victimized (11%), which contradicts her Teaching Assistant Megan O'Connell showed avoted to table the motion indefinitely. thesis. It is absurd to call this a "breath- video by Graduate Fellow Franklin Evans to an Art In retribution, the Regents imposed their own taking disregard for the facts" in order to Colloquium class. The video included approxi- policy on the UI in October, stipulating that it "make them more compatible with the mately 15 seconds of electronically- altered footagewould remain in place until and unless the Faculty author's conclusion." of oral sex between two men. Public controversySenate passed an acceptable alternative version. All Like any survey on a controversial erupted when undergraduate Melissa Chase com- seven people who addressed the Regents about topic, Koss' study deserves criticism plained to her mother, who in turn called the UI and debate. But Gilbert's attempt to their policyincluding four students, the Presi- depict his opponent as an academic administration and the media. The established com- dent of the University, the President of the Faculty fraud is simply dishonest and unworthy plaint procedures, which stipulate that complaints Senate, and the UI General Legal Counselspoke of a public debate about this issue. should first be taken to the instructor, were not strongly against it. A proposed compromise policy observed in this or in any of the other incidents. was approved by the Faculty Senate in November, Academic O'Connell was subsequently required to apologize but was rejected by the Regents at their December Sexuality to her students and to attend a Board of Regents meeting. meeting, where she was not allowed to speak in her Tired of the ongoing controversy, President The careful reader of this issue of own defense. Democratic Culture may note what ap- Hunter Rawlings drafted a substitute text over pears to be an inconsistency among The third incident occurred when a teachingwinter break, while most students were conve-

Page 10Democratic Culture Spring 1994 r-j niently off campus. Instead of submitting it to acontext in which the policy mandate has arisen, NEWSCLIPS democratic vote of the Faculty Senate, he con-that the intent is to suppress one form of expres- sulted individually with "about 20" senators before sion in the classroomade factoprior restraint. some of the articles with regard to the Moreover, the policy sets a dangerous precedent question of sexuality in the classroom. presenting it to the Regents, who approved it at On the one hand, Jean Fallow ar- for subsequent restriction of other academic dis- their January meeting. Although touted as a corn. gues forcefully against the Sexually promise, Rawlings' policy goes even further than course; the control of one form of exp ressionbased Explicit Materials policy imposed on the the Regents' October version. It requires advance upon content implies the power to control any or University of Iowa which required teach- warning not only for materials with sexual content, all academic discourse." ers to warn students about any possibly but also for those deemed "unusual or unex- Surely most ideas that have changed human offensive materials, a policy inspired by pected" without specifying by whom or accord- history have at one time been considered "unusual conservative complaints about films concerning homosexuality. ing to what criteria. Given the context in which theor unexpected," and a university's functionshould be to encourage scrutiny and debate of a wide On the other hand, Nancy Stumhofer policy arose, it is clear that the words "unusual or argues with equal passion that women unexpected" are merely the new code words forvariety of ideasnot to squelch them. Students students should not be subjected to a anything dealing with homosexuality. However,who have problems with materials presented in chilly classroom climate, as occurred the policy's domain is now much Isroader than class are free to voice their objections and argue because of male student comments that: it could be used to discipline instructors for their opinions, but for the institution to step in and about a painting of a nude woman hung presen ti ng any ideas or classroom materialsdeemed paternally shield them from ideas that make them in her classroom. To sex or not to sex, is that the undesirable by the Administration or the Board ofuncomfortable does a disservice both to their edu- question? Not quite. There is a differ- cation and to the cause of free speech in general. As Regents. Rawlings' policy constitutes a powerful ence between the use of explicit mate- addition to the arsenal of those who are mounting, undergraduate and CAF co-chair Brian Smith told rials in an academic discussion of sexu- under the guise of the "anti-political correctness" the Regents at their October meeting, "I am an ality and the permanent display of a movement, a backlash against the discussionofadult and I do not want or need you to protect painting of a nude woman in a class nontraditional lifestyles, ethnic minorities and dis- me....W_ need to preserve academic freedom to which has nothing to do with art. There senting political viewpoints in the classroom. assure that the boundaries of knowledge are not is a difference between opening up a sealed for future generations." dialogue about issues of sexuality and The ad hoc student opposition evolved into the silencing students by permitting offen- Since Iowa is the first state to pass such a policy, Campaign for Academic Freedom (CAF), a united sive comments to permeate the class- group of students, staff, faculty, andcommunity allowing it to stand would set an extremely danger- room environment. members. Throughout fall semester CAF orga- ous precedent for the rest of the countryespe- Nancy Stumhofer, I think. would nized rallies, literature tables, a petition drive which cially in the context of current efforts nationwide agree with this distinction. She had no garnered 1400 signatures, and a well-attended by reactionary groups like the Christian Coalition objection to Goya's painting itself. She "Canned Film Festival" where the films that hadto limit classroom content to materials that fit their had no objection to discussions of sexu- ality (including pictures of naked elicited reprimands were screened and discussed. own peculiar definition of morality. Although the women) when appropriate, and one of policy may seem laughable now, aslight shift in the CAF adopted the slogan "There's no policy like no the more bizarre attacks on her was a policy" and argued that no restrictions on aca- political winds could make it the instrument for ludicrous charge of sexual harassment demic freedom were acceptable. ideologically-based purges. Controlling academic by two men because she had distrib- The group is not alone in suggesting that the discourse has often been a first strike in attacks on uted an article analyzing the use of warning requirement chills academic freedom. wider freedoms, as the history of Nazism in the women's bodies in art. Jean Fallow. I Robert O'Neil of the American Association of1930s and McCarthyism in the 1950s clearly think, would likewise agree that the imposition of sexual elements irrelevant University Professors wrote to Regents President shows. Although the forces favoring the policy are to a class and against the wishes of the Berenstein in a November 3, 1993 letter, "Our teacher and students is inappropriate. concern is not only with academicfreedom threats powerful, the prospects for repealing it are far from Recently, the National Association posLd by banning what may be said or taught in the hopeless. The October version was publicly con- of Scholars published its "Statementon classroom, but also from rules that constrain or demned by the American Association of Univer- Sexual Harassment and Academic inhibit, or which single out a special class ofsity Professors, the Iowa Civil Liberties Union, Freedom," which declares that "a chill teaching material." Similarly, Cryss Faddy of the Noam Chomsky, the Association of Big Ten Stu- has descended on academic discus- sions of sensitive but legitimate topics, Iowa Civil Liberties Union wrote to Berenstein on dents, the UI Graduate Student Senate, Teachers for a Democratic Culture, and the Des Moines such as human sexuality, sex differ- December 1, "Pre-censorship is the most danger- ences, and sexual roles." Jean Fallow ous of all curtailments of freedomof expression. Register.CAF is currently seeking statements of could tell them that the chill on discus- The imposition by the Regents of a policy singling opposition to the new policy from concerned sions of sexuality is coming from the out one category of instructional materialfor par- individuals and groups. same place it always hasconserva- ticularized rulemaking imposes a dangerous form Jean Fallow is a member of the Campaign for tives who want to protect students from of discrimination against selected ideas and dis- Academic Freedom and a graduate student in Com- "offensive" material. While the Killparative Literature at the University of Iowa. For The NAS contends that sexual ha- course in the academic setting. rassment policies have been used for more infirmation, please write or call the Campaign recognizes that the policy imposed by the Board of "ideological persecution" and make #2, Regents does not prohibit the use of expli ci t mate-for Academic Freedom at 315 Brown Street sexual harassment into "a ubiquitous rials in the classroom, it is only too clear, given the Iowa City, IA 52245; (319) 339-5481. 'thought c rim e."' But beyond these base-

Page 11 Spring 1994 Democratic Culture Letter to a Friend Who Attended a Paglia Lecture less generalizations (and the inaccu- Curtis Perry rate claim that some policies use "a wholly subjective test"), the NAS offers DEAR Correctness" and "empty academic jarg(": there no way to "define sexual harassment CAM ILLE PAGLIA IS interested in sexuality are knee-jerk radicals out there (just as urere are precisely." The NAS wants sexual ha- as a primitive, tempestuous, aggressive force knee-jerk everything-elses), and there are certainly rassment confined to behavior "that is which shapes everything, like it or not. It is, for her, plenty of professional academics who just try to manifestly sexual and that clearly vio- at the base of all great art, since great artists become cash in on the latest professional trends (this has lates the rights of others,"a more vague great by trying to come to grips with its power. always been true). However, I think are attacks are and arbitrary standard than any current Since she sees sexual aggression as basic and natu- sexual harassment policy. What is really overstated: most academics are just honestly "manifestly sexual"? What are these ral, she pooh-poohs liberal policies that act as if it trying to figure something out, and are doing it in rights? While a better understanding of were somehow controllable. She likes people whoa more careful maimer than Paglia herself. sexual harassment is needed, the NAS aggressively stake their claim to something, and One of the most common attacks Paglia levels doesn't begin to specify anything. aggressively fashion a sexual identity; she doesn't at academics is to describe them as abstract, empty The recent publicity about harass- like people who pretend that the Fundamentalthinkers who know nothing real and pragmatic ment cases across the country is due to sexual tensions of nature can be legislated away. about anything that matters (i.e. sex). Because the fact that accused individuals are When she says that a woman in a mini-skirt is using the media to protest against the academic books are aimed only at other academics, unfair procedures and arbitrary deci- asking to be raped, then, she is saying not that rape the argument goes, they cannot be about anything sions which have always been a part of is "good" or "fun," but that it is an expression of a of common interest. Paglia, by contrast, is acces- college disciplinary hearings. The an- sexual aggression so basic as to he beyond thesible (sort of)and hence pragmatic, hands-on, swer is to c mate better procedu res which effective control of legislation. and true. This line of reasoning strikes me as being are fair to both the accused and ac- I imagine that this line of argument has some really dangerous, b,.cause it appeals powerfully to cuser, rather than the current system appeal: clearly there is in humans an instinctual America's basic distrust of intellectualism as which serves only public relations and desire that is repressed by and for society. Nobody, administrative power. "elitest." For too long, sexuality has been not even the feminists and French academics she We are living today in a world where very few treated as a taboo subject in academia. lampoons, would deny that. In factI think you people have either the time or the skills to think Andperhaps not coincidentally have to take my word on this oneher best points anything through for themselves. Television pack- sexual harassment and the chilly cli- (about the relationship between bodily morphol- ages news and information into small, clear stories; mate for women has been ignored. ogy and creativity, for example) are never original: political activism consists ofsloganeeri rig and media There is no double standard when we they are taken from Freud, from Freudian think-display. A lot of what passes for public debate is condemn sexual harassment and si- ers, and from some of the French philosophers that multaneously defend the study of sexu- really just an avalanche of conflicting images. The ality in the classroom. she attacks so mercilessly all the time. Again, this university, by contrast, has always been a place is ok, since not much is ever really original. Sincewhere people were supposed to be given the time, Grade Inflation she poses as a wildly original thinker, however, it is training, and support necessary to think things Hysteria at least ironic. What is unique in Paglia's argument through. is her baffling unwillingness to consider the good Academics do two separate things: teach, and The recent Doonesbury series de- of society at all: she looks for good art, individualwrite books which are read only by other academ- picting a student who sues his college self-expression, etc., without worrying too much ics. The importance of the former is clear, espe- because a professor gave him a low grade was a satire that many conserva- about the price paid. Why? She writes: "Sexualcially given the pace of information in our public tives apparently think is little different freedom, sexual liberation. A modern delusion. lives today. The importance of the latter is less from the truth. John Leo complains in We are hierarchical animals. Sweep one hierarchy obvious, but still has to do with the function of the U.S. News & World Report, "For what- away, and another will take its place." In otheruniversity. Academic books have a very powerful ever reasons (and the feel-good self- words, she says struggle is unavoidable, so why not influence on the ideas of professors. These profes- esteem movement is surely one), marks just go with it (interestingly, this parallels what sors teach a wide range of studen ts. These students have broken free of performance and men have said about rape for years: relax and enjoy leave the academy and go into all walks of life. become more and more unreal." Leo is not alone in his worries. Ac- it). I think this response is a cop out masquerading Consequently, even though academic books are cording to Arthur Levine, "When GPA's as intellectual strength. Why not try to figure out largely unread by non-specialists, they nevertheless are artificially high, evaluation of stu- what is best? have a role to play in the mental hygiene of society. dent performance loses its meaning." A lot of Paglia's lectures, book reviews, and Paglia's publicstyle, by contrast, is entertaining; it Levine advocates a"honors" "high pass" essays consist of generalizations about sexuality basically amisists of soundbites instead of careful, "pass" and "fair system because "the surrounded by really nasty pot-shots at other aca- linear reasoning; it fits with the hit-and-run skir- current system is too complex because demics. Clearly, she is more entertaining than mishes of public debate. However, the tyranny of the it offers too many optionsA, B, C, D, and F, with plus and minus variations." other academics (I happily include myself here!), soundhite is precisely what academics today must But even those who share Levine's and clearly she is reaching a wider audience thanfight against if the university is to fulfill its social belief in the dire threat of grade inflation almost anybody else. Also, I think that there is a function. Since the humanities are about detailed must recognize that his alternative grain of truth in many of her attacks on "Political interpretation and careful reasoning, they cannot

Page 12Democratic Culture Spring 1994 L1 always be effectively reproduced in a medium (the dem ic, it takes Paglia at her word and assumes that N EWSCLI PS public lecture, the talk show, etc.) that demandssome authoritativegroup ofscholarshas denounced solves nothing. Levine is mistaken if he pizzaz. A carefully thought out analysis wouldn't gothe professor in question (this is not the caseshe thinks "it is impossible for most faculty attacking is better respected than Paglia herself). Oddly, in over as well in the popular media. By members to discriminate that finely" academics whose style is less accessible than hers, the next breath, Paglia complains that Johns on the contrary, it is impossible for Paglia misses the point of academic writing. Those Hopkins, Princeton, and Harvard were in a bid- most faculty members to avoid making academics who attempt to respond to Paglia on herding war for the "fradulent" professor's services. those discriminations. The plus and own ground (in televised debates,say) find that Here the accusation becomes absurd: who is at the minus system, in a time of grade infla- their customary carefulnessat least arguably a"top" of the field if not the faculty of these kinds of tion, is a barrier to lowered standards virtue in the classroommakes them seem awk- institutions? Paglia herself, apparently. since it allows distinctions to be made Finally, a lot of Paglia's ranting is simple sour even when grades are inflated. ward in a public forum that demands the quick and William Cole, writing in the Chronicle grapes. Since her writing is not clearly reasoned pithy response. Moreover, since public debates ofHigherEducation, inaccurately (about "political correctness" and so on) help(and clear reasoning is what the academy at its best blames the humanities for the problem: shape public policy (i.e. money) and public opin- is supposed to be about) she had a notoriously "I believe that the existence of abso- ion, Paglia's slanders, although shoddy and mis- difficult time landing an academic job and getting lute, objective, and quantifiable mea- guided, have a real effect. her dissertation published (the "top" of the profes- sures of quality have somewhat sty- In addition to these big complaints, I've got asion has always seen her as a bit of a fraud, you mied grade inflation in the sciences. might say). Even now, she is known more as a loose Lacking such criteria, humanities in- seriesofsmaller hones to pick. For one thing, when structors could hold the line only with Paglia calls a colleague "corrupt" or "ignorant" in cannon than as a reputable scholar. Her attacks on toughness and rigorand they have a popular lecture or newspaperinterview itis the academy read like attempts at revenge. I feel not." fundamentally unfair since the audience will rarelystrongly about this because Paglia consistently, But a Journal of Economic Perspec- he able to judge the truth of the accusation. In one publicly, and maliciously misrepresents what I do tives(Winter 1991) study of grade infla- case, Paglia claimed that a professor(Judith Butler) for a living. tion from 1962 to 1985 found that the is considered a fraud by those at the top of her Curtis Perry is a Lecturer in the History and average grades increased from 2.38 to 2.91about one-half of a gradere- Literature Program at Harvard. profession. Since the audience here is not aca- gardless of the field. Contrary to Cole's assumption, large differences in grad- (ciSAW FIRSTHAND AN EXAM P LE of how the media distorts the presentation ing between departments existed even of feminists, and how feminist debate is inhibited in response. At an event at the in 1962, ranging from 2.19 (Chemistry) to 2.67 (Music). By 1985, virtually the Ninety-second Street YMHA in New York City in 1992, which included a range of same ranges existed, from 2.53 (Math) feminists, Camille Paglia's name came up and the audience hissed. Later, when to 3.16 (Music). The low-grading de- partments like Chemistry, Economics, an entirely unrelated subject was under discussion,the director of a segment for and Math experienced nearly the same 60 Minutes stood up and, with cameras rolling, asked us about Paglia. amount of grade inflation as the hu- manities and the social sciences (.457 At this, Gloria Steinem stood and demanded that the cameras stop. The vs. a .532 increase). (English was the director protested, but Steinem insisted, rightly pointing out that it is bad journalistic only exception, as it rose .80 points and ethics for a news team to shape an event that it is supposed to simply cover. She became a high-grading department.) While grade inflation remains a prob- told the producer that the audience had paid thirty dollars each to come raise their lem because outstanding students can issues; while the news team was welcome to film the event, it was the audience get high grades without much effort, it members' night and their agenda, not the TV crew's. is hardly a crisis. Even with grade infla- tion, there are differences in student Those moments were cut. Millions of Americans saw only Steinem shouting achievement and incentives for stu- to stop the cameras, followed by Paglia saying, in effect, "See?"The TV audience dents to do well. Harvard professor Harvey Mansfield claims, "professors never got to hear the discussion; all they got was more"evidence" that feminists have lost faith in the value of reason are thought police; 60 Minutes never apologized forits tactics; the important debate and hence lost faith in the value of their of Paglia's position in relation to the panelists' never took place.)) status. Their inability to give grades that reflect the standards of their pro- Naomi Wolf, Fire With Fire (Random House, 1993) cession is a sign of a serious loss of morale." This is sheer nonsense. The (( ANDBEAUTY, ACCORDING TO, UM, Miss, urn, Naomi Wolf, is a heterosexist old c ritics of grade inflation prophesized conspiracy by men in a room to keep feminism backand all that crapthat's going a corruption of higher education which never happened. Still harboring these on. I call her, by the way, 'Little Miss Pravda.'...Iwon't appear with her. Oprah's tried resentments, they now blame the fa- to get me on with her: I won't go on with her. A talk show in Italywanted to fly me miliar straw enemy of relativism for the over to appear with her. No. I always say, 'WouldCaruso appear with Tiny Tim?')) alleged corruption of the humanities and grades. Camille Paglia, Sex, Art, and American Culture (Vintage, 1992)

Page 13 Spring 1994 Democratic Culture NEWSCLIPS Textual Personae: Selling Political Camille Paglia and the Popular Press Correctness Ana Cox The attacks on "political correctness" aren't just used by conservatives to CAMILLE PAGLIA HOVERED at the edges become a media star? stifle opposing views. Now advertisers of my good liberal-intellectual consciousness In his discussion of celebri ty, Richard Dyer says are using the phrase "politically incor- for quite awhile before I took a more "profes-that individuals become stars because their image rect" as a marketing device. The Madi- sional" interest in her. I was amused by her Decem- contains or embodies certain conflicts that exist in son Center for Educational Affairs re- ber 1990 Op-Ed piece"MadonnaFinally, aa culture. Paglia's stardom stems as well from the cently publishedThe Common Sense Real Feminist"in the New York Times; and ideological tensions of contemporary American Guide to American Colleges,with "po- litically incorrect" proudly emblazoned while I was pulled by her "no doesn't always mean life. Paglia, as an anti-intellectual academic, as a on the top right-hand corner, while Berke no" essay on date rape in Newsday in the spring ofscholar who has written "on subjects from cultural Breathed's latest collection of cartoons 1991, I pretty much dismissed her. My hopes that antiquity to pop music" and, perhaps most impor- is titled.Politically,Fashionably, and she would disappear from the media world were tandy, as an "anti-feminist feminist," represents Aerodynamically Incorrect,and Rush bolstered by her appearance in Rolling Stone's May the cultural conflicts in late twentieth century Lim baugh' s newsletter is advertised as 1991 "Hot List" as a Hot Critic." But she bounced America over the role of women and the purpose of an "absolutely politically incorrect pub- back from that kiss of death, and by September academia, a confusion brought to a boiling point lication." A new National Reviewbook is titled 1991, Sexual Personae: Art and Decadence fromby the debate over "political correctness." As a thePolitically IncorrectReference Nefertiti to Emily Dickinson was a best- seller. convenient screen for these conflicts, Paglia func- Guide.A company advertises "politi- The publication of Sex, Art and American Cul- tions as Dyer argues other "star images" do: as an cally incorrect" bank checks printed with ture in November 1992, depicting Camille herselfimage which can be manipulated by the media to conservative cartoons. A mail-order as the main selling point on the cover, was what"manage or resolve" the "contradictions within business in Springfield, Virginia called really started me wondering about what exactlyand between ideologies" that the "star" contains. "The Right Stuff' was started "in re- would shoot a second-rate academic into fame of The connection between Paglia and PC is a vital sponse to the PC movement" and sells merchandise like Attila the Hun neck- such relatively stratospheric proportions. My curi- one, because the ubiquitous coverage of the politi- ties and Contra Coffee to those who are osity was further aroused by Paglia's appearance at cal correctness issue amplifies the same cultural "politically right...not politically correct." the University ofTexas last spring, where those not conflicts that Paglia's image as media star embod- Another company sells T-shirts with among the lucky 500 to get inside shouted "Camille, ies. To the critics of "political correctness," and "Politically Incorrect" on the front and Camille" from behind locked doors. much of the press, it seems that women, non- "Free Minds, Free Markets, Free Soci- While it seems that Paglia's stardom has faded whites and others of the PC sort have gained ety" on the back. from the fever pitch it reached at the end of 1992 The selling power of PC haseven control of higher education and used it to push reached into the mainstream, as a re- (when conservative talk-show host John their own culture at the expense of the Western cent radio commercial for AT&T fea- McLaughlin proclaimed her "thinker of the year"), tradition. Along these lines, the press welcomes tures a reference to the "PC police." she has indeed become, as Wired magazine pre- Paglia as a savior from "the feminist academic Now, there's even a movie called dicted, a "Marshall Mcl.uhan of the 1990s." She Establishment." An article in the Boston Globe P.C.U.,a weakAnimalHouse-imitator has attained "celebrity/expert" status: The Newstated: "Paglia has stepped in during a near-crisis in being sarcastically promoted as the York Times asked her, along with such other no- higher educationrecognizing the need for an movie "for those of you who are still tables as Robert Redford, to describe herself in oneindependent, alternative to group-think and ideol- politically correct." Perhaps the most amusing example word. More ominously, she was listed among the of how economically powerful the "100 members of the cultural elite" in Time maga- The explicit coverage of the so-called "PC de- phrase "politically incorrect" has be- zine last fall. bate" not only brings to the forefront certain come is a federal lawsuit filed on No- From December of 1990 to May of 1993, the traditional conflicts within American culture, but vember 2, 1993 in New York by the popular press put out an average of over twenty grounds them in a specifically gender-based lan- cable channel Comedy Central on be- articles a month on Paglia, in magazines ranging guage which attempts to split solid, upstanding half of its talk show,Politically Incor- from People to New Republic to Vanity Fair. Still,and useful education from faddish academia. The rect.Comedy Central is suing come- dian Jackie Mason because his theater despite the tidal wave of media attention, few in critique of the " poli tical ly correct," by scapegoating show was called, "Jackie Mason, Politi- the popular press have taken on the 700-page tome "academic feminism," makes gender central to cally Incorrect." According to Comedy of Sexual Personae itself. Rather, Paglia herself these issues. Central, "People could get confused. It became the principal interest. Paglia's success is Especially in its coverage of Paglia, the media tends to dilute the rights to the name often called a "rarity" or "remarkable." But asshows "political correctness" and the "feminist that we've built up and spent a lot of much as these articles point to the uniqueness ofacademic Establishment" as dominating cultural money on." her position, almost of all of them seem to beg the activity with new regulations. In this atmosphere question of "why?" Why has an "obscure," "un- of too many rules, Paglia becomes famous for

NEWSCLIPS CONTINUE ON PAGE 23 known professor" from University of the Arts, abreaking them. Paglia's stance as "anti-feminist "virtual academic exile to Ivy League elitists,"feminist" represents the cultural conflict over

Page 19Democratic Culture Spring 1994 women's roles, brought to a head once again by the "intellectuals," the press builds on and expands 7Ae coverage of political correctness. The portrayal ofPaglia's attacks on "the fashionable French Paglia's earlier lack of prominence as the fault ofphilosopher" and "the anxious academic personal- CAMILLE "narrow-minded," "mainstream academics and ity." They strengthen Paglia's attacks not simply feminists who couldn't handle her dissident views" by playing up intellectuals as weak, but also by PAGLIA links the public's resentment of higher education framing Paglia's criticisms a part of a "battle," a to resentment of feminism. The depiction of Paglia's contest of masculinity which Paglia always seems _27reoficz Xype 9uide role as an academic "outsider" and revolutionaryto be winning. Paglia is an "academic terrorist," relies heavily on the description of contemporary"come to wrest control of the ivory tower." She "A Scholar and a Not-So-Gentle academia as an effeminate and feminizing place. "likes to throw punches, both physical and verbal, Woman," Cosmopolitan, Novem- The press casts Paglia as masculine, with vivid against smug formulas and codes of political cor- ber 1991, 106-110. images ofbattle and violence: her book is a"scorched rectness" and "jousts with the Politically Correct." Caldwell, Gail. "Hurricane earth attack" and her lectures resemble "an auto-That Paglia "wrest [sl ... the ivory tower...from the The Boston Globe, May 2, 1991. matic weapon spitting out bullets." At the same Frenchified intellectuals" implies that the intellec- Chin, Paula. "Street Fighting time, Paglia's own persona is a strange mix of both tuals who build upon the ideas of Foucault, Derrida Woman," People Weekly, April 1, and Lacan have lost something of their masculinity 1992, 14-16. in the processindeed, the use of "ivory tower" During Paglia's appearance at the Duffy, Martha. "The Bête Noire of here seems to beg for a reading of Paglia as both Feminism," Time, January 13, University of Texas last spring, castrator and masquerader. 1992, 62-63. The descriptions of Paglia's "full blown assault Kakutani, Michiko. "On Men, those not among the lucky 500 on the intellectual and moral corruption of con- Women and One Maverick temporary academia" carry the implicit assump- Thinker," The New York Times, to get inside shouted "Camille, tion that Paglia's aggressiveness is unusual within September 15, 1992, B2. higher education. That Paglia's voice is at once Kalbecker, Walter. "20 Questions: Camille" from behind locked "distinctly non-U," and "a voice of machine-gun- Camille Paglia," Playboy, Octo- like frenzy" suggests that violence and energy are ber 1991, 133, 170-1. doors. inherently at conflict with the "U." This same Kimball, Roger. "Dragon Lady of assumption of passivity drives the description of Academe," The Wall Street Jour- Paglia as "The diminutive Ph.D. [who] drives a red masculine and feminine descriptions, emphasizing nal, September 17, 1992. to the point of ridicule her own claims to genderGrand Am. She loves Guns and Roses and foot- transgressions. The media turns this transgressionball. She's a student and fan of raw power," a Mooney, CarolynJ."Camille Paglia, into a source of derision, portraying her as aframing which suggests that such masculine pur- Academic Guerilla, Relishes Her Role as Feminist Scourge," The suits as cars, heavy metal and football are at odds "bisexual vampire," and as a woman whose Chronicle of Higher Education, with being a Ph.D. "ideas...are overshadowed by... [her] loud, irritat- April 1, 1992, A14-16. ing persona." The media's inability to characterize Paglia's star image encr;....lates the conflict Seavey, Todd. "A Crazy Man's Uto- her as essentially masculine or feminine, shown in between anti-intellectualism and education. The pia: Bisexual Vampire Women," the gender schizophrenia of the images used toportrayal of Paglia's success degrades the "politi- Reason, June 1992, 22. describe her, turns Paglia herself into a grotesque, cally correct" academy.and distances it from the flawed and ultimately non-threatening figure, ageneral public. The implication that academia is Stanfill, Francesca. "Woman War- woman done in by her own exhibitionism. effeminate allows Americans to resolve the conflict rior," New York, March 4, 1991, 23-30. In talking about Paglia's academic backgroundbetween "masculine" education and "Frenchified" in relation to her persistent denigration of academia, intellectualism in a way which reinforces existing Stillman, Deanne. "The Many the press enforces a dichotomy between conceptions of gender inequalities. Masks of Camille Paglia," Los "Frenchified intellectuals" in the "Academy" and Having characterized Paglia's attack on Angeles Times Magazine, Febru- "sensible proposals to improve" education. Thisacademia as a masculine "battle" and endowing ary 16, 1992, 28-33. separation, as portrayed in the press' retelling ofher threat to feminism with such power, the press Welty, Ellen. "Living Dangerously: Paglia's success story, allows Paglia, "a devout seems unable to agree on the picture of Paglia Confessions of an Ex-Good Girl," believer in classical education and in academic herself. She is described as "a mushroom-size li- Mademoiselle, August 1991, standards and discipline," to defeat the "Academy" brarian" and as having "the grip ola wrestler." Seen 120+. in a battle with the all high-tech trimmings which, in the light of this apparent gender schizophrenia, Winston, Diane. "Paglia: An 'Aca- coincidentally or not, mirrored the Gulf War describing her as "an angry nun trapped in Snow demic Terrorist,'" The Baltimore coverage that appeared around the same timeWhite's glass coffin" seems like an attempt to Sun, May 19, 1991. Paglia did. Memorably, it was Roger Kimball who negotiate this gender confusion by implying that Wolf, Naomi."Feminist Fatale,"The called Paglia's style "criticism as an exercise in Paglia may be trapped in her sex against her will. NewRepublic,March 19, 1992, saturation bombing." The media's eager reporting of Paglia's actual 23-25. In creating this war between l'aglia and the bisexuality, combined with this apparent con fu- Ana Cox

Spring /999 Demneratie Culture Page 15 sion over her gender, makes her seem more like an hermaphrodite witness" to some and a "prankster" or "jester" to others, and finally than an androgynous neuter. This confusion expresses an important "the Wicked Witch of the West," all descriptions which on one level "loss of boundaries" that is crucial in the ridicule of women who or another relate Paglia's persona to both performance and horrific or "make spectacles of themselves." Though the press portrays Paglia as comic repulsion. Even her feminist critics cannot escape comparing self-made, this message of self-determination loses its power as Paglia Paglia to grotesque imagery: Naomi Wolf called her the "nipple- becomes female spectacle. Cosmopolitan describes her rise to fame in pierced person's Phyllis Schlafly." the same terms one would apply to a starlet"she has posed...shown The media not only declare Paglia a threat to feminism, but make off...been featured in...created a stir"and Time notes that as a "new that threat more significant by representing the feminists as respond- media princess...[she] acts the part." Characterizing Paglia as "above ing excessively, frantically to that threat. Articles declare that Paglia's all a performer" allows the media to blame Paglia for the gender "theories have aroused profound displeasure among feminist au- contradictions she seems to exhibit and to call her style "a particularly thors" and that feminists "shudder at her statements." Playboy saw the distasteful form of literary exhibitionism." Seen in this light, Paglia's feminist reaction to Paglia as so violent that her body itself might be apparent self-determination equates female self-creation with cross- in danger: "You've received threats from feminists. Do you fear for ing gender boundaries and ultimately, grotesqueness. your personal safety?" The visual representations of Paglia that appear in the popular The label "anti-feminist feminist" neatly reflects how the media press make this combination of hermaphroditism and repulsiveness manages Paglia's sex with her success and apparent power. While explicit. Photojournalists repeatedly shoot her from a low angle, conservatives and a perhaps paranoid media find Paglia's ideas useful emphasizing her wrinkles and age while at the same time implying a in defeating the powerful feminist establishment, they see Paglia's domineering presence. She also frequently portrayed with her mouth character--"loud, irritating" and strangely masculineas exempli- open, arms flailing, the epitome of the unruly woman. The juxtapo- fying some of the negative characteristics that conservative have sition of her with weaponry seems to be another favorite trick attempted to place upon feminists for a long time. People illustrates "Street Fighting Woman" with a photo of Paglia and But after casting Paglia's ideas in masculine light, the press-ats a switchblade, and New York's "Woman Warrior" comes with a Paglia's star image in such a way that it separates her ideas (with their picture of Paglia wielding a antique sword. virile battle imagery) from her sex, a separation which reflects the The articles which call Paglia a "bisexual vampire woman" or "the conflict over female roles in society. Hence, conservatives can use and dragon lady of academe" show how the media reinforces a message celebrate her ideas as an "anti-feminist" even as they discourage other that women who create themselves create monstersself-determina- women, or anyone, from wanting or envying her power as a "femi- tion becomes grotesqueness. Journalists repeatedly compare Paglia to nist." Portrayed as a woman who, when given a chance to create the archetypal grotesque female image, the witch. They describe her herself, creates a monster, Paglia's image is indeed "a shiny new voice as "a grating pitch that comes perilously close to a cackle" and weapon in the hands of the right." her work as "weird...somewhat like eye of newt." She is a "demonic Ana Cox is a fourth-year studying history at the University ofChicago. Great Thoughts from Camille Paglia

"Male urination really is a kind of accomplishment, an arc "The two volumes of Sexual Personae, with the author as of transcendence." Amazon epic quester, may be the longest book yet written by "An erection is architectural, sky-pointing. Female tumes- a woman, exceeding in this respect even George Eliot's cence, through blood or water, is slow, gravitational, amor- hefty Middlemarch." phous. In the war for human identity, male tumescence is an 'Today's women students are meeting their oppressors in instrument, female tumescence an obstruction. The fatty dangerously seductive new form, as successful, congenial female body is a sponge." female professors who are themselveS victims of a rigid "An erection is a thought and the orgasm an act of foreign ideology." imagination." "We must smash women's studies. Drive them "We did not need French post-structuralism, whose pe- out....Women's studies people have shown their true dantic jargon, clumsy convolutions, and prissy abstractions Stalinism." have spread throughout academe and the arts anct are now 'This date rape thing is a crock." blighting the most promising minds of the next generation." "Many feminists define verbal sexual remarks as a form of "The American academics who went bananas over Gallic rape." theory were callow 90-pound weaklings, trying to pump 'There is one voice speaking about date rape from coast themselves up with powdered tiger's milk." to coast, one voice, one stupid, shrewish, puritanical, ser- "If civilization had been left in female hands, we would still monizing, hysterical voice." be living in grass huts." "Part of the sizzle of sex comes from the danger of sex." "Every month, it is woman's fate to face the abyss of time "What do you want? Do you want sex or not? If you don't and being, the abyss which is herself." want it, stay home and do your nails!" Page 16Democratic Culture Spring 1994 ,; JOHN SILBER'S Resisting Silber at Boston University (Familiar Bob Dahlgren F0 RTH E PAST few years conservative academ- letters to faculty activists nearing tenure review. Quotations ics and media pundits have been attacking the It is well documented that Silber has created an gamut of liberal and left thought in academia under atmosphere of fear among BU employees. Shortly "The academy must free itself of the rubric of "political correctness." PC as a code after leaving BU for Harvard in 1979, Helen enslavement by ideological license." phrase has indeed permeated much of the thinking of Vendler issued this statement: "Rational speech "In the English department and students and faculty at campuses across the country. with him (Silber] is impossible; he does not listen, the departments of literature, we The assault on PC has been useful in silencingand he resorts to vilification without provocation. have not allowed the structuralists discussion of racism, sexism, and anti-gay bigotry as [The Silber administration] has corrupted life and or the deconstructionists to take well as a variety of alternative political ideas. liberty on this campus." In 1982, Frances Fox over." Concrete evidence of this right-wing strategyPiven stated in an open letter to Silber, "your "We have refused to take on administration has created a situation where good dance therapy because we don't came last fall when Boston University President John Silber's annual report to the Board of Trust- academic work is no longer possible." understand the theory of it." Silber has along record ofdiscrimination against "We have resisted the fad of eeswas made public. In his report, Silber boasted women in particular. Perhaps the most infamous Afrocentrism. We have not fallen that his administration had successfully "resisted" intotheclutches ofthe what he termed "political correctness and ideologi- case of Silber's bullying behavior concerns former multiculturists." cal fads." Silber then listed "Afrocentrism," "radi- BU English professor Julia Brown. After receiving 'We have resisted the official dog- cal feminism," "critical legal studies," "multicul-an overwhelming vote of support from her col- mas of radical feminism. We have turalism," "relativism," "Gay and Lesbian libera- leagues. Brown was denied tenure by Silber. Brown done the same thing with regard to tion studies," and "animal liberation studies" as sued Silber and BU; in 1987 she was awarded gay and lesbian liberation and ani- among the schools of thought that have been $215,000 and a federal judge also ordered that mal liberation." officially "resisted" at Boston University. Brown be granted tenure at BU. During hearings, "There arenotvery many ::hil- Understandablyshocked by the implications ofthe court heard evidence that Silber had once dren who come from lesbian homes this admission, the BU Faculty Council responded referred to the English department as "a damned because lesbians don't produce chil- immediately with a statement requesting a "clari- matriarchy." dren and neither do gay people pro- fication" of Silber's declarations. Faculty Council The Silber administration has, however, con- duce children." chair James Iffland suggested that Silber's com- tinued to act in a demeaning manner toward 'We refuse to believe that stu- ments "appear to be in contradiction with the spirit women. For years it has rejected demands from dents at Boston University need a of the statemen t on academic freedom found in the student groups for a university-funded rape crisis college education in how to perform Faculty Handbook." In an ensuing period ofheated center, claiming that rape is not a problem on the sex act." debate, numerous former BU professors came for- campus. At the beginning of this semester Silber 'Why has Massachusetts sud- decided to show his contempt for women at BU by denly become so popular for people ward to testify about their experiences with the who are accustomed to living in the Silber administration. admitting Ewart Ycarwood, who had been sus- tropical climate? Amazing. There No one who is in the least bit familiar with the pended from Swarthmore College for stalking a has got to be a welfare magnet history of Silber's tyrannical regime at BU requires female student. going on here." any further "clarification" of his remarks. Over the The record is clear. Progressive students and "The voice of Adolf Hitler" (refer- past twenty-three years the Silber administration faculty do not have the power to fundamentally ring to Jesse Jackson). has systematically attempted to drive off campus influence academic life. It is right-wing ideologues 'There's no point in my making a those student groups and faculty members who like John Silber who make the decisions about speech on crime control to a bunch have dared to criticize its actions. There is no issues such as minority recruitment, curriculum of drug addicts" (refusing to cam- question that funding for student organizations revision, and university investments. They are paign in the predominantly black and faculty hiring and tenure decisions have been backed up by a large and well-funded movement of Roxbury neighborhood). conducted on an ideological basis. right-wing activists. This is the real "political cor- 'The racism of Jews is quite phe- Silber once declared on national television that rectness movement" that needs to be fought. nomenal." "the more democratic a university is, the lousier it Bob Dahlgren is a member of the BU Interna- "Your husband is a parachute" is." In its 1979 report, the Massachusetts chapter of tional Socialist Club's "Resist Silber" campaign (775 (explaining to a female professor the American Civil Liberties Union noted that it Commonwealth Ave., Boston MA 02215). why she didn't need job security). had "never, in memory, received such a large and "Henry the Eighth with tits" (de- sustained volume of complaints about a single scribing English professor Helen i nstitution."1'he BU s tu den t newspaper,The Daily Vendler). Press, has on many occasions reported inci- "I'm a lot closer to John Wayne Free than to Machiavelli." den ts where the un iversi ty adm in is tration has taken "I've been right so much of the photographs of campus demonstrations, main- time." tained files on student leaders, and sent harassing Spring 1994 Democratic CulturePage 17 Goya's Naked Maja and the Classroom Climate Nancy C. Stumhofer

/N NOVEMBER OF 1991, a reproduction of Goya's painting, originals or when they had been painted. The Naked Maja, along with four other reproductions of famous I didn't really notice the reproductions when I first entered the paintings, was removed from a classroom at Penn State's Schuylkill classroom because I was looking for a place to put my hooks and Campus and rehung in the TV/Reading Room in the Student notes. My attention was drawn to them when I heard someof the male Center. The event sparked a firestorm of controversy that was carried students laughing and making comments to each other as they stared around the world by newspapers, magazines, television specials, and at something directly behind me on the wall. The girls' faces had radio broadcasts. The media made a mockery of the Schuylkill turned red, and they looked down at their desks obviously embar- Campus and especially of me, the English professor who initiated the rassed. As I turned around, I came face to face with a picture of a naked relocation of the paintings. Everyone had an opinion about the issue, woman reclining on a couch with her hands behind her head but no one saw any responsibility to report the truth about what really displaying unabashedly all of her amply endowed female attributes. happened. People looked at the issue as censorship or sexual harass- later learned that the woman was Goya's mistress, the Duchess of ment. No one could understand the question of classroom climate Alba, Maria Cayetana, whom he had painted about 1800 and whose which was at the heart of the problem. portrait, referred to as The Naked Maja, had been the subject of Although I tried many times to explain my perspective on what controversy since its creation. happened to reporters who interviewed me for news stories, radio The first reaction as I stood there in front of this painting was shows, and a PBS Documentary called Campus Culture Wars, each embarrassment because in a way I identified with her as a woman. I time my comments were distorted or carefully edited to achieve some felt as though I were standing there naked, exposed and vulnerable, purpose of the editors or producers and not to present the truth to before my class.I certainly didn't feel very professional at that their readers or viewers. Now, two and a half years after the incident moment. I have always felt that when one woman is portrayed naked happened, it is even more difficult to make people understand what and ridiculed, we all areeven when the woman is naked of her own the issue was, but I must try or people will believe what the media has free will, and even ifshe dares people to object to her nakedness as the said. Duchess does. From the expressions on the faces of my female A few weeks ago 1 received a letter from a young woman in students, I wasn't alone in my response. After my initial embarrass- Calumet City, Illinois, who had just seen Campus Culture Wars. She ment passed, I became angry because I knew none of my male wrote to teP me she was disappointed that rather than attempting to colleagues would ever find themselves in a similar situation, nor discuss the painting openly to reduce ignorant "tittering," or simply would the male students in the class. moving it to the back of the room, I had taken the action of a weak For centuries males have had control over the bodies and represen- person and demonstrated a "lack of personal power" when I made the tations of women while they stood in the background fully clothed University fight my battle for me. She accused me of "running away and safe from comment, saying whatever they pleased to each other from an honest debate on the issue" and of "seeking shelter from about the women who appeared exposed nd vulnerable before them. offending ideas, words, and images rather than engaging in straight- Regardless of whether a famous artwork or a Playboy centerfold forward intellectual discussions about them." In short, I was a lousy elicited the sexist remarks and behavior, the results were the same: the role model for young women, and she had to write a letter to let me focus of everyone's attention had turned to women's bodies and the know that she was very disappointed in me for missing my opportu- young men's comments created a climate of disrespect for women. nity to enlighten my students. Her letter convinced me it was time to My female students already lacked confidence in themselves and tell my story. were reluctant to speak in class; they didn't need to be silenced further In Fall 1991, the campus experienced a surge in enrollment of by the rude comments of the young men in the class who far students needing developmental English courses, so the director of outnumbered them and were much more aggressive. I knew the academic affairs asked me to teach an extra section of English 4. Most women would not have the courage to confront the men about their. of the classrooms had already been assigned, so I had to teach this behavior. Even if they had the courage, they wouldn't do it in class, additional class in two different rooms. On Fridays we were assigned so I had to do something about it. I quickly' silenced the students and to room C203, which is usually used for music classes. The room is expressed my displeasure with their behavior, but the damage had long and narrow, and the students sit in five rows of chairs lined up already been done. The chilly climate had stifled the women. horizontally in front of the teacher making it necessary for the teacher After classItalked to other students about this concern.I to pan the room constantly to make eye contact with the students. discovered an older student who had taken a music class in this room When the students look at the teacher, they can not avoid seeing the and been embarrassed when her male classmates started making reproductions on the wall behind her. Since the Naked Maja was comments about how fat the Maja was and how big her "boobs" were. hung in the center of the collection, it was the center of attention and Since the woman was also overweight, the comments were especially hung directly above the teacher's head. Originally purchased for use hurtful. She complained to the male professor about the situation and in an art class, the reproductions had not been used for educational was ignored. While there are a number of women who don't mind purposes for quite some time and served only as unidentified wall looking at the body of a naked woman every time they come to class, decorations. Few people, if any, on campus knew who had created the there are a large number of women and some men who do mind. Since Page 18Democratic Culture Spring 1994 when I was it is impossible in that room not to see the womanwhen you look at and they had agreed that Maja would be taken down scheduled to use the room and put up again afterward. In casethe the teacher, it is impossible not to he distracted. supposed to The subtle and the overt sexist remarks and gestureswhich the music professor forgot to take the painting down, I was into a painting elicited from immature males created a climateof disrespect take "it" up with him. Suddenly the problem had turned and the English professor, for women and served to silence them. If women are evergoing to controversy between the music professor found pictures of have equal opportunity in education and at work,they must be and I was made to feel like a Victorian prude who had allowed to study and work in a democratic environmentfree of naked women shocking. My concern about classroom climate and mine sexism. As a teacher, it is my responsibility to providethat democratic been dismissed as unimportant. The problem was mine environment for everyone in my class. alone. My supervisor then asked the Faculty Affairs Committee tohelp I also spoke to several of my colleagues about myexperience with solve "my" problem, and they set out to find me another room to the painting. The German professor said that he hadhad a class in the teach in. One of the male faculty members offered to movehis class, room some time ago andobserved a similar situation which he agreed what happened in my classroom was not chilled the climate for women. The women professorsI spoke to also so I c iuld have his room. But female student in every class scheduled in believed that it was inappropriate to display paintings in aclassroom an isolated incident. Every The problem was where they would distract students and provoke sexist commentsthat that room would have to be subjected to the chill. been the only person affected, I probably would disadvantage the women. It was important to me todetermine not mine alone, and if I had whether my reaction to the situ- never would have brought theproblem to the administration's ation was only my own percep- attention. I refused to accept their solutions becausethey didn't solve It is not the painting tion or whether others shared my the problem. Commission, views. After speaking to teachers, At an October meeting of the University Women's agreed that which is offensiz; students, and staff, I discovered the response of the participants seemed unanimous. They and should be that many people shared my as- the painting created a chilly climate for women what is offensive is sessment of the situation. It is displayed elsewhere than in a classroom. The Universityaffirmative important to note that none of action officer was at that meeting and supported myposition. She the lack of respect told the other classrooms had any wall indicated that the situation might have legal ramifications and with the University's legal representatives. many menhave for decorations. me she would discuss it Several weeks went by before She later called to tell me there were legal precedentsthat would harassment. and I decided what I would do.I indicate this a e could be considered sexual women in art wanted the spoke with a sex equity specialist Personally,was concerned with the climate issucI in life. who carne to our campus to give young women to have an opportunity tolearn in an atmosphere free about a workshop forfaculty, and she of sexismbut I knew it would take more than a concern After contacting suggested the campus purchase a reproduction ofamale nude to hang climate to prompt the administration to take action. the affirmative action officer and discussing the issue, theCampus beside the Maja. I called my supervisor and expressed my concernthat the Diver- the reproduction was chilling the climatefor the women in my Executive Officer decided to take action. When he asked relocating the reproduc- classroom and distracting all the students. I offered two ways wecould sity Committee if anyone had objections to he had the repro- solve the problem: we could purchase a reproductionofa male nude tions, no one voiced an objection. Consequently, field for men and ductions taken down. The problem arose when the paintingsweren't and add it to the collection to level the playing them in relocate the paintings to an appropriate area rehung immediately. It was never anyone's intent to put women, or we could had decided where to put them which was not used for classes. He found mysuggestions somewhat storage; it just happened that no one before they were taken down. No one knew that the worldwould turn amusing and responded by saying that it wouldprobably be easierj ust upside down because a few cheap reproductions were outof sight for to take it down. I agreedbecause my goal was not to double the the music professor had taken the Naked distractions and embarrass both men and women,but rather to a few days. I was told that Maja home with him, possibly to protect her from somedark fate that provide a comfortable learning environmentfor everyone. I suggested that the Campus purchaseadditional paintings that he had imagined was in store for her. would show women in a greater variety of rolesthan just mistress or GOOSESTEPPING ON GOYA: THE MEDIA BLITZ mother and reveal men in roles other than thinker orreligious martyr. When the media became involved, the issue took on alife of its own (The other paintings in the collection includedMadonna Della Sedia and the story spread like wildfire to all corners of theworld. The local by Raphael, Portrait ofa Young Man by AngeloBronzini, Crucifixion Republican, was the first to break the story by Pietro Perugino, and Wheatfieldsby Jacob VanRuisdael.) To make newspaper, The Pottsville and my guess is that the person who leaked the story tothe press had the collection an educational tool, I suggestedeverything should be the classroom climate issue. This person labeled. I later wrote a grant to get money fromthe Enhancement never heard or understood the only issue, and newspapers Fund, so we could obtain additional works, butI was turned down- was convinced that censorship was love to dramatize censorship issues. It was hard for me tounderstand perhaps out of fear of what I might purchase. how anyone could construe moving paintings from alimited access I believed the problem had been solved since mysupervisor had classroom to an open access reading room in theStudent Center as agreed the reproduction should be relocated; however,he later called censorship, but then the reproductions were out of sightfor a short me hack to say he haddiscussed my concern with the music professor, Democratic CulturePage 19 Spring 1994 bo BEST COPY AVAILABLE time while administrators decided where to relocate them, and made me look ridiculous. He wrote, "Naked Maja, minding herown certain people panicked and expected the worst. business, had been on the wall of the classroom formore than 10 No one was concerned about the relocation of the other four years. Some say 15 years. No one has seemed to mind her presence paintings, only the painting of the naked woman. Since the reproduc- and some probably enjoyed the paintinguntil Professor Stumhofer tions were never labeled and the person who purchased them had long realized the danger it posed....As for the oppositionto the primitive since retired, newspaper reporters, teachers, students everyone displacement of the Goya, Professor Stumhofer sniffs: 'Ourstudents ran to the library searching for art books to identify the paintings. It probably perceive the removalas somehow a threat to their freedom. was the most active educational experience concerning art that I have But all that happened was that this sexually harassingpainting was ever seen at the campus. Even the two art experts who came down relocated to a place where people didn't haveto go.'" Hentoff from University Park couldn't identify all the paintings immediately. misrepresented and misquoted my comments,over and over again. Although the reporter who covered the story for the Republican Scott Simon from National Public Radio grilledme for an hour and tried to present a balanced account by quoting both sides, her efforts a half trying to get me rattled, badgering me about why I didn't givemy were quickly overshadowed by the headlines which read, "Penn State students an art lesson and get a discussion going about whya painting Removes Goya Nude" and "Famed `Maja' Painting Is Sex Harass- of a nude woman led certain members of the classto behave like ment, Complainant Says." (Interestingly enough, the article expos- schmucks (there is enough work to do ina remedial English class without ing the "censorship" problem at the Schuylkill Campus printed the teaching about art, especially since Iam not qualified to teach art) and clothed version of the Maya painting.) Student Government Associa- why the women in the class were silently embarrassediftheyactually tion president Jim Ford said, "We think it's ludicrous censorship. I were. The implication was made again and again that my concernwas find it hypocritical that the University strives for cultural diversity not legitimate and that I shouldn't have made my view public. and then removes culture from its classrooms." By the end of the The "Goosestepping on Goya" article in the New York Daily News article readers believed the issues were censorship and sexual harass- said, "Listen up, Penn State: Any professorso boorish as to complain ment because they were the issues that had been presented most that a painting by Goya is a form of sexual harassment shouldbe forcefully. The truth is that I never claimed I had been sexually encouraged to take up another line ofwork....Any feministtoo stupid harassed by the painting. The University lawyers simply stated there to realize this kind of idiocy trivializes the whole issue of sexual was a legal precedent by which someone could claim harassment. But harassment should be locked in a small, windowlessroom with the the end result was that the classroom climateargument became lost entire Senate Judiciary Committee...." quickly because people didn't understand the issue, and the topic I wasn't even safe at home. A womanreporter from a New York doesn't sell papers. radio station called and berated meon the air for trivializing sexual When the story broke, the media hao a field day ridiculing the harassment issues. Law firms from Delaware and Michiganwrote to campus administration and presenting me as a scapegoat on whom to let me know that they also believed Iwas trivializing sexual harass- heap all of their contempt. The personal abuse I experienced in the ment. A local lawyer wrote in an editorial to the Republican that I period sio e the story first broke is beyond belief. John Leo's "PC should make paper doll clothes and put themon the painting to cover Follies: The Year in Review" declared: "The offending picture had the naked woman, so she couldn't harassme anymore. hung on the same classroom wall for 10years before it began harassing As regional, national, and international expressions of derision Stumhofer. It has been exiled to a student center, where itis kept coming in to the University, the administration becamemore presumably on probation." Robert Hughwrote in The Culture of tense. Faculty and staff pushed to Lave an open forum where all sides Complaint, "American feminism has a large repressive fringe, self- of the issue could he presented to thestudents and the public.A forum caricaturing and often abysmally trivial, like the academic thought was planned and speakers were selected, but the forum never took police who recently managed to get a reproduction of Goya's Naked place because the administrationwas afraid the media would come Maja removed from a classroom at Penn State University." back and resume their reign of terror. Whatwe did get was a Speaker Nat Hentoff wrote at least three emotionally charged articles that Series devoted exclusively to issues of First Amendment rightsand Silencing Dissent The Siege of the Feminists The catchphrase "political correctness" is wonderfully Anyone who has spent time in a women's studiesdepart- efficient in discrediting (and trivializing) commitment to equality ment knows just how ridiculous is the currently fashionable of results. It converts all criticism of oppressive practices into notion that universities have been captured by feminist anti-democratic, even totalitarian, thought control, and inclu- scholars and their acolytes. I remember feeling besieged sive pedagogy encouraging critical thought about accepted but not by sympathizers. There were people who maderude wisdom into indoctrination for closed-mindedness. At the comments about women's studies at official faculty dinners, same time, minority activism against majoritarian "truths" women's studies majors who had difficulty getting into classes claiming universal appeal and neutral origins and impacts is in other departments, tussles with departments thatrefused converted from political dissent into a moralizing crusade. to tenure scholars who just happened to belongto the Sheila McIntyre, "Backlash Against Equality: The 'Tyr- Committee on Degrees in Women's Studies. anny' of the 'Politically Correct, 38 McGill Law Journal1 Deborah Cohen, "An intellectual home," Women's (April, 1993). Review of Books, February 1994. Page 20D inocratic Culture 6 Spring 1999 censorshipvery safe topics under the circumstanceswhich made interpretation of what happened and no other. us look as if we had indeed attempted censorship and were now trying When Imre Horvath approached me almost a year after the to redeem ourselves. incident and explained that Manifold Productions was working on a Students informed me that at least two of their teachers who had documentary for PBS investigating stories about "political correct- cried "censorship" from the beginning were lecturing their students ness" at several major universities, I thought that I had finally found about it and making no attempt to present the other side. They made the proper forum to express my viewpoints. He assured me and the it clear to students that I was personally responsible for what had Public Relations Office that the documentary would be objective and happened. Their emotionally charged lectures turned many students portray our side of the story in a sympathetic light, so I agreed to do against me, and I couldn't walk from one building to the next without the interview. I should have realized when Horvath said he was hearing people call me names. One day the English professor (who investigating "political correctness" that he had no intention of had also planned the lecture series) stood right outside the door to my presenting an objective view of what had happened. The result was a classroom as he ranted and raved about censorship within earshot of documentary called Campus Culture Wars. While the documentary my students. If reporters and learned scholars want to find "thought focused on several issues of racial and sexual discrimination, the police" activities, they should look no further than these two profes- producer's sympathyand consequently the viewers' sympathy sors. As far as I am concerned, any professor who uses his or her power was never with the people who had been the targets of the discrimi- in the classroom to brainwash students with his own slant on an issue nation. Alan Dershowitz was called upon to comment on several of does not belong in the classroom. Our job as teachers is to present all the stories, indicating that the producer considered him to be die sides of an issue, and if we don't understand all sides, we should resident expert through whose eyes everyone would understand the attempt to find out about them. dangers of "political correctness." He gave a conservative focus to the In an effort toexplain some nontraditional ways of seeing art to the documentary which was supposed to be objective. When he said, faculty at the campus, I distributed a portion of John Berger's book, "You have to he ready to deal with Goya's nude and other offensive Ways of Seeing, and invited people to read the article and discuss it material," he implied that I was unable to cope with pictures of naked with me. When Berger wrote this book in 1973, he began a revolution women, and that I found them offensive. It is not the painting which in the ways we analyze art, advertising and popular images in our is offensive; what is offensive is the lack of respect many men have for culture. Berger looks at representations of the female figure as the women in art and in life. The end result of this video was to inflame eternal object of the male gaze, and shows various paintings of naked people about issues deemed "politically correct" and to prevent or nude females. My attempts to increase people's awareness of how minorities and women from achieving equality. women are represented in art had an unexpected result. Two men on campusone faculty member and one maintenance personfiled a REVERBERATIONS complaint of sexual harassment with the Affirmative Action Office. In late fall of1992 I learned through the grapevine that two art history They claimed 1 was harassing them with pictures of nude women. I professors from University Park had received a grant from the College was amazed at how these men reacted to an attempt to start an of Arts and Architecture to organize a symposium to provide a forum intellectual discussion about art. Of course, there was no foundation where concerned individuals could explore the aesthetic, political, for their complaint and it was dismissed, but the unexpected backlash moral, social, and legal issues raised by the removal of the Naked Maja from these co-workers added to the stress of the experience. from the classthom. Discussion of the issues was supposed to serve as While there was a group ofstrong supporters who stood by my side a departure point for examining censorship, pornography, and gen- through the difficult times, they never really had an opportunity to der equality in the larger context of the arts in society. No doubt they make their views public. The reporter., weren't interested in inter- intended to salvage some of the University's reputation. viewing people who agreed with me, and the administration couldn't I was very interested in the symposium because I was still looking face having an open foruth. While a few people wrote letters to the for a forum in which to express my own ideas, so I called one of the editor of the local newspaper, and the Commission for Women sent men on the phone and asked him to send me information about it. a letter of support to the campus, for the most part I had to stand in At that time they had all their plans made, speakers lined up, title the media's spotligh , alone, the target of everyone's abuse. By singling selected, and program in place. It was clear to me by our conversation me out for derision, the media successfully silenced other voices, just that they had never considered asking anyone from the campus to as the males silenced the females in nay classroom with their sexist represent our views. When I received the tentative program and remarks. After people saw what had happened to me when I brought looked at the title, "Sex, Censorship, and the University Classroom: a touchy subject out of hiding, they knew the spotlight could quickly Goya's Maja Maligned?" and saw the words "Censored? Censored?" turn on them if they sided with me publicly. The few supporters across the top, I knew that there was no way the classroom climate whose voices did reach the media were given little time or space to topic would get a fair chance. explain their views, while the opposition seemed to have unlimited Someone from our campus attended the symposi urn and reported time and space. Because the media had distorted the truth and colored that Professor Anderson opened the session by quoting negative news the news with derision and opinions based on hearsay, it created a articles that were loaded with sarcasm and ridicule, and the audience climate of fear which silenced people rather than fostering open responded with giggles and laughter. A huge picture of the Naked discussion. While reporters berated the University for not providing Maja was projected on the wall behind the speakers. This is how the a forum of open discussion, they made it impossible to discuss ideas tone was set for an intellectual discussion of important issues. Dr. in any intelligent way. They wanted the public to understand di Garoian, a performance artist, ended the symposium with a 45-

Spring 1994 Democratic CulturePage 21 minute performance consisting of three segments. In the first scene, own purpose. By singling me out for ridicule, the media tried to a video of the slaughtering of a cow served as a metaphor to show how silence women's voices. The tragedy is that most people believe what Goya's painting has been butchered and how people slaughter each they read in newspapers or see on TV shows, especially PBS docu- other every day. The second part showed a naked woman posed as the mentaries. If the media won't treat a topic like the classroom climate subject of the Goya painting while words such as "cunt" flashed over issue as a subject for serious discussion, how will people ever learn her face as she told her sad tale. In the last segment, Garoian told of about such topics? When will the "teachable moment" come? his first childhood experience with pornography. Although there 3. While many men are reluctant to have male nudity displayed in were some very educational presentations made that day, the overall public for females to evaluate and comment on, they are adamant that tone of the symposium was not amenable to objective discussion of women must continually submit to this treatment. Most professional ideas about classroom climate. women want to be respected for their ideas, not accepted or rejected In a letter to the editor of the Collegian, some women graduate on the basis of appearance. When an educational process is derailed students at University Park wrote that the symposium by sexist comments, the atmosphere is polluted and learning stops. Women have the right to work and to learn in an atmosphere free of distorted the reasons why an English instructor asked that Goya's sex bias. Allowing male students to ridicule women's bodies dimin- Nude Maja be removed from her classroom. Since the incident first was made public, people have dismissed the validity of the ishes all women and prevents them from developing the self-respect instructor's complaint: That no one should have to teach in an and self-confidence that they need to succeed in a difficult world. 4. A professor should have the right to monitor the climate in nis environment that victimizes the instructor. The symposium con- or her classroom without interference from outside influences, just as tinued that dismissal by focusing on censorship, which once again silenced the discussion of the most important issuesthe class- she has the responsibility to ensure that all students have equal access to an education. While I have tremendous respect for art and get room climate for men and women, students and teachers, and the exploitation of women....Although there is nothing inherently considerable enjoyment from looking at it, as an English instructor I am more concerned in my developmental English classes that my wrong with the Nude Maja, there is something wrong with a society that sexually exploits women and then negates their students get the self-confidence that they need to succeed in college. 5. I believe in democracy for all. I am opposed to censorship. objections to the exploitation. And there is something wrong with Writers and artists should be able to express their views on any a university that tells women they are "imagining things" or in this subject. In my Women's Studies classes I often display and discuss case "censoring" Goya, instead of encouraging unrestricted dia- logue about gender issues. After all, the Maja incident is an issue much more controversial paintings than Goya's Maja Desnuda. I of gender, an issue of the power imbalance between men and don't find this painting offensive. I do believe that there is a proper women in our patriarchal societythat's what the symposium place to put artwork on display, and it is not in a general classroom. How many classrooms have you been in lately that have pictures of failed to address; that's how women's experiences are si len ced....We naked women on the wall? How many have pictures of naked men? will not be silenced. Through speaking out, our experiences must Could it be censorship that has kept pictures of nude men off the and will be validated and a crucial dialogue that failed can, once again, take place. walls? Just as artists should have the right to deal with whatever topics they want, viewers should have some choice about what they look at. This letter assured me that there were other people out there who Mygoal from the beginning was to expand the art collection and label understood the issue. It is young women like them who are our hope the paintings so they could serve an educational purpose. If there has for the future. They are brave enough to speak out in spite of the risks. been any censorship in this incident, it has been of my viewpoints- In closing, I would like to stress some important points that need to not of Goya's painting. be considered: Finally I would say to Jennifer from Calumet City, Illinois, if you 1. I never filed a formal complaint with the Affirmative Action think what I have done is the action of a weak woman, a victim, you Office claiming that I was a victim of sexual harassment. As a member are sadly mistaken. Women who speak out risk everything. It is much of the Liaison Committee of the Penn StateCommission for Women, easier to suffer in silence or just deal with the problem in the class and I expressed a concern about classroom climate to the Campus CEO; not disturb the world. Most women have been doing this for years. this concern was shared by a considerable number of faculty, staff, I personally have had enough of this double standard that won't go students, and administrators. The concern was delivered to the CEO away. I want to be respected as a professional teacher, and I want my by the committee, and the CEO responded promptly to our request. students to respect each other and themselves. If that makes me an 2. Certain individuals in the media have assumed the right to object for ridicule, then people will just have to laugh. My conscience define the issues and deliver the news with whatever slant or bias they is clear and if I had to, I would do it again. choose, pursuing people mercilessly and grilling them to get what Nancy Stumhofer teaches English at Pennsylvania State University's they want, and then selecting only those comments that serve their Schuylkill Campus. WRITE FOR DEMOCRATIC CULTURE! This newsletter needs your writing to exist. We want to create a debate and discussion of ideas which will interest our members. Tell us what'shappening on your campus. Give us your perspective on recent controversies. We're looking for essays, campus reports, media analyses, book reviews, letters, and thoughts about the future of TDC. Please send submissions to: Teachers for a Democratic Culture, P.O. Box 6405, Evanston, IL 60204. (For longer essays, please include a copy on disk saved in text/ASCII format.) To be a part of our next issue, please send your essay or contact usby August 30.

Page 22Democratic Culture Spring 1994 Figuring Out Our Public Spheres NEWSCLIPS David Simpson Deconstructing T THINK THAT WE might now be at the point academics in the hot seat, and in complete control. Lincoln 1 from which we look hack to the canon debates All of this does indeed interact with a public "Deconstruction" has become a label and the culture wars as the golden age of the latesphere, and every department has its stories show- used to dismiss any critical interpreta- 20th century (literary) academy in the United ing when and how. The battle over the Stanford tion, even when it bears little resem- States. Was this the last, best place to be? Banging humanities core curriculum made the national blance to the theories of Derrida or de away at our colleagues about which books wepress, and was variously replicated in different Man. A recent speech by David Lehman ought to teach (Milton or Morrison) and how weways in different places. My university experi- at Wittenberg University, described in an exchange in the Chicago Tribune ought to teach them (human spirit or humanist enced a local incident over the teaching of unfarnil- (February 11 and March 29), reveals ideology), it was very easy for us to behave as if we iar, "multicultural" books in a course titled "Mas- the dangers of Lehman's exclusively were still in control ofour collective fate, and even terpieces of American Literature," and another traditional approach to great works. to achieve some results that seemed to support this when the newspapers inquired whether a course In Lehman's book, Signs of the Times, belief. The presence on the scene of Lynne Cheney's titled "Madonna Undressed" was what parents he offered a mock-deconstructive read- NEH, with its melodramatic effort at the were happy to be paying for. We scholars love to be ing of the Gettysburg Address which micromanagement ofAmerican culture and higher or seem controversial, but we are serving two saw phrases like "our fathers brought forth" and "conceived in liberty" as a education, presented us with an almost Arthurian masters. We cannot resist the sexy course or paper patriarchal appropriation of female pro- moral clarity: it was the enemy, and we were the titles, the ones that get attention (as they do from creative power. "All men are created knights in shining armor. Suddenly, it seemedsomeone in the press at every MLA conference); equal," accordingtoLehman's possible to be sure of the differences between theand when they do, we promptly take refuge in the deconstructionist, "excludes women and progressives and the reactionaries. College profes- rhetoric of scholarly seriousness. other 'marginalized' figures" and "the sors were once again able to imagine themselves in But there is another dimension to the public document therefore promotes some- the front line for social change. First the classroom, sphere, and one to which we have paid little thing other than full equality." then the world. It was, perhaps, the last expression attention, and are not at all in control of Higher Lehman reports his surprise when "bea rded" "Be rke ley-trai neWittenbu rg of what we often refer to, in shorthand, as "sixties"education in general is under inspection if not English professor Robert Leigh Davis activism. attack; and the research mission in particular and defended this "deconstructive" ap- And, indeed, the world seemed interested. The above all in the public sector is its most scrutinized proach. Lehman reports about Davis, National Association of Scholars played its role to component. Here in Colorado, we have demo- "Why, he wanted to know, was it all right the max, always willing to come up with the graphic and economic growth (around 6% this for me to deconstruct Paul de Man's hysterical headline. Our side, of course, looked year), unemployment running at around 5% and pro-Nazi journalismand why wasn't it much better, and when the histories are written the thus significantly below the national average, and, all right for others to do the same to the Gettysburg Address? I asked the pro- patience of Gerald Graff and others in providing a especially along the front range of the Rockies fessor whether he really saw no differ- reasoned and historical account of the culture wars between Fort Collins and Colorado Springs, one ence between Lincoln's great speech will look, I'd guess, even more admirable than it of the most flexible and highly educated workforces and De Man's crude journalism." Here already does. Sir Gerald was widely held to havein the nation. Despite these apparently favorable we see Lehman's double standard of bested Sir Allan on The Oprah Winfrey Show, and circumstances, we are experiencing intense pres- historical analysis: a "great speech" does we can all be happy about that. But my sense is that sure from a State Legislature that wants to know, not need any interpretation. In his book, the game has changed, and that different beasts quite reasonably, how its tax dollars are being spent Lehman "deconstructed" Paul de Man's later writings in light of his anti-Semitic now roam the land, beasts with no name and no and to what purpose. Its members and their public journalism. Why, then, isit fixed form. Gerald Graff himself made a verydo of course notice when we make the newspapers impermissable to analyze Lincoln's important point when he wrote, in his account offor teaching Madonna (and as we rush to the speech in light of his racist statements in the debate in Beyond the Culture Wars, that the defense of the Madonna industry we should recall other speeches, which might showwhat experience of television caused him to think ofthat we are trading in something of the charisma Lincoln really meant by equality? If any- Allan Bloom "less as an ideological enemy than as that Veblen and others have identified as the thing, the latter approach is much more a fellow intellectual in a common predicament: humanist academy's best defense, so that we had plausible, since Lincoln's racism bears an obvious relation to his invocation of how to clarify a debate about relativism, nihilism,better have someth inggood to put in its place). But equality, while Lehman never estab- and other abstractions not commonly presentedthe legislators are even more interested in how lished any link between de Man's anti- on daytime network 1V." Even if they had ended much time we spend teaching, what the value of Semitism and his literary theory. up agreeing, who else would have been convinced, our "research" might be, and whether the time- Lehman particularly objected to Davis' and of what? honored tradition of the sabbatical is something suggestion that Lincoln was a racist. For Bloom and Graff, as Graff realized, had we (or they) can continue to afford. In other Citing the Emancipation Proclamation, much more in common with each other thanwords, if we restrict ourselves to arguing about Lehman asks, "Had Lincoln turned from the great emancipator into a racist by either did with their host or her audience. And this what to teach, or whether to teach in new or one of those deconstructive sleights-of- realization perfectly specifies the fantasy dimen-received ways, we will miss the history that is hand that make a thing merge with its sion of the ongoing debate, which stillleaves happening around us, and threatening to modify own opposite?" The answer is that Lin- Spring 1999 Democratic CulturePage 23 the whole apparatus of higher education. Wemanagerial subculture qualified neither to explain '11 EWSCLIPS might, in other words, find ourselves teachingwhy it matters to have, for instance, a Ph.D. in coin never needed sleights-of-hand to Madonna a great deal more often than we want to. English or History, nor to attempt a radical ratio- look like a racisthe has always been Roughly 3 out of 4 Coloradans recently sur- nalization of the academic workplace on corpo- one. His speeches explicitly contain veyed think that the primary mission of the re- rate-industrial principles. No wonder the public unmistakably racist statements, such search university should be teaching. Theirs is notwonders what we do. as: "There is a natural disgust in the minds of nearly all white people, to the an informed opinion: such opinions never are. But No doubt most of us would wince at the second idea of an indiscriminate amalgamation the figures, we may be sure, will remain to hauntof the above alternatives: probably no one wants of the white and black races." If we want us. It does not matter that, for instance, the Boul- Lee Iacocca for president of their university. We'd to understand what Lincoln means by der campus of the state universitythe " flagship"prefer one of our own. My guess is that unless we "all men are created equal," we must campusis an unusually lean and efficient opera-succeed in getting more of our own, then we'll see also understand the racism of Lincoln tion, generating huge numbers of federal and more and more Iacocca types. And would this be and his times. One can understand the tuition dollars to offset a state contribution ofself-evidently a terrible thingespecially given racist background to the Gettysburg Address and still admire the greatness merely 14% to its operating budget, achieving ahow poorly "our own" are doingif the best of of Lincoln's speech. higher than average four-year graduation r ate, and corporate intelligence should consist in an honest Davis reports that at Wittenburg, "stu- functioning very well with a student: faculty ratio attempt to understand what the product is, and dents and faculty alike resisted much higher than many peer institutions. We dowhy it is worth having? If the costs of a college Lehman's claim that the masterpieces not have to offer incentives, as some of our peers education continue to go up and up at a rate above of Western cultureunlike all other are reported as doing, to lure "top" faculty "back"inflation, more and more people are going to want writingssomehow transcend history to the classroom. Almost all our full professors to know what it is that they are buying. The answer and rise above irrelevant (and irrever- ent) questions of race, gender and teach undergraduates most of the time. There is is complex, and someone with a complex mind had class." But Lehman wants to forbid de- very little waste in our system, though of coursebetter make the case. They are buying charisma, bate about the subject: "We can either there is always room for improvement in varioussymbolized in the cap and gown ritual of gradua- read the Gettysburg Address or we can kinds of efficiency. What, then, is the task facing tion that marks the receivers ofdegrecs as members deconstruct itthere isn't enough time concerned faculty in institutions such as ours? of a clerisy, however eroded its spiritual identity to do both." As Davis notes, "Lehman Part of the task must continue to be the in- might now seem to he. From the humanities, they urges us not to read Lincoln but to house debate about what and how to teach, about are buying access to culture, to a traditional knowl- 'memorize' him. And to think otherwise, to believe otherwise, is deconstruction." "political correctness," about what is academically edge that we can never quite explain fully in Lehman's reaction to Robert Davis important and what is not. This in-house debate,instrumental terms but which the public, fortu- shows his real concern is not that left- as we know, makes it to the outside world (and nately for us, continues to value. ists will remove the great works of our sometimes to the out-house). But at the present But they are also buying the basic skills of culture from the classroom, but that moment this can only he pan of our concern. We reading, writing and critical thinking (and here is they might fail to show uncritical admi- must also make the case for the organic relationwhere Madonna comes in) that are important to ration for these writings. In Lehman's between teaching and "research," for the impor-both their cultural and their economic well-being. eyes, any criticism of great American leaders is unpatriotic, and any debate tance of graduate education to the quality of the College graduates still make more money than about the meaning of Lincoln's words new generation in all of its separate spheres, and for those whose education finished with high school. would distract students from the far the economic benefit of a healthy science and So that we are, as Bourdieu and his followers more important task of memorization. technology based research operation. It is espe-remind us, in the business of accreditation, of cially vital that we make this attempt if we areseparating out the few from the many. This is a Stolen Feminism managed, as many universities now are managed, neutral or even conservative activity, and itis Clark University philosopher Chris- by a higher administration not itself principally represented (though seldom actually enacted) in tina Hoff Sommers, author of the forth- composed of academics like ourselves. our tradition of giving out grades. It is the other coming Who Stole Feminism?, calls it a The task of representing to the public just what end of the spectrum from the 'changing the world' "disgrace to the profession" that there is we do and why it might be worth doing all tooexplanations of some radical teachers, but it is "a dearth of dispassionate appraisal of often falls to those least qualified for carrying it fundamental to the operations of the institutions basic feminist positions, due in part to the reluctance of skeptical philosophers out. And those of us who are qualified often do it within which they themselves work, and it must be to face the kind of ad hominem oppro- badly or nor at all. It is not uncommon for univer- recognized as such whether or not it meets with brium and political censure that feminist sity presidents and chancellors to be selected from their approval. philosophers too often mete out to their a pool of transient individuals who have neither Arnold Weber, President of Northwestern critics." the values or skills traditional to the academy (inUniversity, suggests (arid I agree with him) that our But in the recent Esquire "Do-me teaching and research) nor the talents of thor- major enemy is our own collective fantasy that we feminism" article, Sommers is quoted oughly trained and experienced corporate execu- can do it all, solve the world's problems both as saying: "There are a lot homely women in women's studies. Preaching tives. Even if they have academic ambitions, they culturally and technologically, and change every- these antimale, antisex sermons is a have no time to preserve them and exercise them, thing for the better. Then we feel ourselves so way for them to compensate for various such are the demands of the job. We are left, in important in general t.iat we cannot say what we do heartachesthey're just mad at the other words, with the worst of both worlds: with ain particular. Or, alte -natively, we imagine our- beautiful girls." Page 24Democratic Culture Spring 1994 ( 3 selves so helpless that we cannot think about our its future. The culture wars are not over. But unless effects at all. We are not in the business of produc- we can break out of our departments and address NEWSCLIPS ing pure knowledge for its own sake, but neithera different and urgent agenda, we may lose our Conservative Sex arc we simply a vehicle for technology transfer. We place in the debate. I began my career in a Cam- (From the September-October 1993 bridge college where the assembled faculty decided in the humanities are committed to the dissemina- issue ofSociety) tion of basic skills, directly keyed to a workplace,on everything from the question of investing in "Itisno coincidence that women are but we also deal intensively with the understanding South Africa to the membership of the college more inclined to shop than men, and of the difficult and inexact languages that composegardens committee (on which, I might add, I men are more inclined to play football "culture." proudly served!). Such rampant democracy was, as than women."Herbert London. We need this complex information before we may be imagined, an invitation to considerable self- "Traditional sexual stereotypes in can have any constructive discussion of such issues importance and much hot air, but it was a democ- appearance and role have been largely repudiated [because] both males and as faculty workload, or the teaching - research rela- racy. I now occupy a position in a large public femaleslooklikeyoung Mick tion, or the "value" of a college education. Aresearch university where almost no one above the Jaggers....this compromise is not with- member of the Board of Regents governing my Deans ever consults,the faculty about anything, and out its risks. Sexual cues are necessary university floored me with his incomprehension ofwith results that can often seem disastrous. This is the for the propagation of the species." "research" in the humanities. It took me some time otherextreme. Somewhere between, there can surely Herbert London. to realize that he had a point: the term "research" he a mutually supportive and informative relation "The pleasure a woman gets with is a scientifically or technologically applied word between faculty and administration, and there has clitoral stimulation is comparable to the pleasure a pre-pubescent boy gets with to be, if we are going to survive. Faculty at Yale and arousing expectations of a clear outcome. Scholar- stimulation of his non-ejaculating pe- ship and publication in humanities subjects haveColumbia have in recent years discovered that they nis."Robin Fox. something in common with what goes on in a do have a role to play in deciding the course of their "The logic of this new, presumably laboratory, and in happier times we humanists own institutions. permanent, conflict between men and have been content to describe ourselves as engaged Today the humanist intellectual usually gains women, one based upon gender differ- in "research" and have marched under the bannerthe attention of a public sphere at the expense of, ences rather than inequities, leads di- rectly to homosexuality."Irving Louis of its privileges. But now we must work harder toor in spite of, his or her institution. We want to go Horowitz. explain that both scholarship and (scientific) re- directly to a general reader or audience outside the search have as much to do with the training ofuniversity, where we can have an "effect." Thus we Duke Bashing students, and thus with "teaching," as they do with pass by the complex needs and urgent situation of hard and fast outcomes. our collective identity, the university, even if we Imagine an English department where undergraduate majors increased by 70% Activism in today's university still is and mustenhance its reputation by using its address. This is in four years, where graduate applica- continue to be lobbying for and introducing differ-a mistake. tions tripled, where 800 professors ap- ent books to teach in different ways. But this alone I am not invoking some vapid notion of "insti- plied for a recent faculty opening, where will not get us through the next decade in good tutional loyalty," a largely meaningless phrase for there isa required "Major Writers" course institutional shape. The effort will have to hea community divided so often against itself. I am on Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, and conducted on behalf of the university as a whole, arguing for a new interest in understanding and Pope, and where faculty are now re- and without reproducing or reinventing internal explaining the institution, on the part of those best garded as among the best in the coun- try. turf wars between, for instance, arts and sciences equipped to do soits faculty. This task has a Imagine an English departmentwhere and professional schools. One of the most positive traditional academic dimension (evident in the one observer "was consistently im- developments on my campus has been the evolu- .;:k of Bourdieu, John Guillory, Evan Watkins pressed by the quality of the teaching: tion of an energetic Council of Chairs where thereand others), but also a practical, everyday compo- the spectacle of good teachers interact- has been no whisper of disagreement over, fornent, albeit one that is impeded by the division of ing with bright, well-prepared students, example, the different teaching loads in Historylabor and vested interest between departments, students who gave every indication of and Physics, or other such familiar antagonisms, schools and colleges, at the expense of any cultiva- feeling free to speak their minds." Most people would call this a tremen- but where the common interests of all faculty andtion of collective self-understanding. Only when dous success story. But instead, this students have been the objects of attention. we attempt this understanding will we find out English department has been reviled as Today's research university is a very complexwho we are in relation to a public whose hostile the symbol of everything wrong with community, some parts of which arc totally and reputation may well be no more than a convenient American universities, a place where others not at all reliant upon tuition dollars, with fiction used by administrators to excuse their own professors "compact the world's great the different parts producing different results. incompetence or insulation. Instead of having literature to fit their coarse and ham- Someone has to explain how and why and to what them tell us how things play in Peoria, let's go see. fisted political framework," a place where "the Bolsheviks have already taken 13u t before we go, let's figure out what we're doing degree this collection of operations is and is not a over," where the effort to revitalize the whole. As higher education continues to undergo and why we're doing it. Ask not what your univer- English department was condemned as close scrutiny, whether from trustees and fee- sity can do for you, nor even what you can do for "trendy, faddish, doctrinaire, academi- paying parents or from state legislators, facultyit; ask first, what "it" is. cally unsound and rather absurd" with could do worse than try to take hack some control David Simpson teaches English at the University an "entrenched tenured Marxist influ- over the marketing of the university, and thus over of Colorado at Boulder. ence." This is the Duke English Department, Spring 1994 Democratic Culture Page 25 74 The Mess at Iowa State attacked most recently in the national Jacqueline Smetak conservative newspaper Campus us- ing a just-released 1992 external re- T THINK THAT WE can all agree that colleges by the students. So much, as one faculty member view of Duke's program which criticized 1 and universities should be sites for the free commented, for leadership. it not for providing a poor education, but exchange of ideas. I think that we can also agree In essence, J ischke endorsed a rather authori tar - for failing to serve a job market which is that when this exchange becomes difficult or im-ian model of education while also supporting the supposedly hostile to literary theory and possible because of repression or a breakdown in students on the receiving end of all this authority. nontraditional approaches to literature. the normal rules of civility that this is bad. ButWhat he neglected to mention was that initially The report noted, "The existing pro- Dr. Pope had been left to swing in the breeze. The gram fails to mandate the broad ground- what happens when the freedom to exchange ideas ing in English that ie still expected at becomes the only issue, shutting down any serious threat was ignored. The Administration readmit- comparable schools and by many fu- discussion or analysis of what might really be going ted DeAngelo X to the class without first consult- ture employers." It is disturbing to think on? Such is the situation at Iowa State University ing with either Dr. Pope or the head of the History that curriculum decisions might be dic- in Ames, which made national news in a Chronicle Department. Protesters were allowed to conduct a tated by job markets rather than intel- of Higher Education article on December 1, 1993. sit-in for at least a week because the Administration lectual excellence. But it also shows Christie Pope, a white woman teaching anforgot, or pointedly ignored, its own regulation how little the "multicultural revolution" has changed English departments African-American history course, was confronted that no student could attend any class without first across the country, as an article in Policy in class by DeAngelo X, a member of the Nation ofbeing properly admitted. Review (Winter 1994) points out: Islam, who escalated his confrontations to include What was really interesting about the whole "There's a dirty little secret in the urging a Jihad. Dr. Pope, and many other people, mess, however, was how anxious people were to multicultural halls of American universi- took this to be a death threat. When he called herhide behind the First Amendment as if what went ties: dead white males are alive and a racist and a liar, he was expelled from class. Other on in History 353 had nothing to do with racial well." black students protested, sat in during the class, issues at the University. The attack on Duke in the Spring 1994 issue of Campus contends that and demanded Dr. Pope's removal. They claimed The Administration has been putting a lot of "many of Duke's English graduate stu- that she was disrespectful, that she had attacked the effort into recruiting minority students, but it can't dents are today unable to find jobs in student's religious beliefs, and that complaintsseem to hang on to them. While two-thirds of white the profession," in part because of the about her had been circulating for years. Althoughstudents graduate within six years, only one-third of "taint" of being from Duke. This is a the Chronicle did not report on everything that black students do and there doesn't seem to be any hly deceptive assertion, since En- happened, it said enough. It also nicely framed thecorrelation between this high drop-out rate and glish Ph.D.s everywhere face a com- issueat Iowa State and four other schoolsineither academic ability or academic achievement. petitive job market and Duke students have done better than graduates of terms of Afrocentric students versus non-The kids just out and out don't like the place. most other schools. But Campus warns Afrocentric teachers. Of course, objectively speaking who would? us that "the outlook does not look bright At Iowa State, however, it became a matter ofStuck out in the middle of hundreds of miles of for most students earning Ph.D.s from academic freedom and freedom of speech. At leastIowa corn, Iowa State has never quite shaken its Duke" because "the market exists mainly this was the position taken by all the major play- traditional cow college ambiance. In Campus Town for instructors who are more tradition- ersDr. Pope, the Black Student Alliance, the there's not much to do except get drunk (which the ally trained in the field of literary theory." ISU Daily, and the Administration. Unfortunately,Ames police discourage with Puritanical glee) or The Market, it appears, is the god which Duke fails to worship. the situation became so polarized that freedom,shop for t-shirts. One black student, bailing out Campus criticizes Duke's English academic and otherwise, quickly turned into a zeroduring her senior year, told the Daily she couldn't program because "English majors need sum game. Any freedom granted Dr. Pope tookstand it any more. The place was so white. take only three courses in traditional freedom away from the students and vice versa. Actually, "white" is not the word for it. Ames areas and may take the remaining five For Martin Jischke, University President, the pre- manages to combine all the disadvantages of a in areas such as 'queer theory,' femi- rogatives of the professional academic to set stan- clannish small town with all the disadvantages of a nist criticism.' of African-American lit- dards and run a class were inviolate. On the othermid-sized city. Dull, conservative, non-intellec- erature." In other words, the "problem" here is that students are forced to take hand, he also saw the very articulate points raised tual, and proudly behind the times (up until 1970, "only" three traditional classes and "may" take some non-traditional courses if The Political Correctness Wars they wish. The "problem" is that most The way language has generally been used within the debates over political correctness is worth colleges only want traditional teachers, contemplating. Many opponents of political correctness utilize military imagery and various calls to and not someone who has explored arms in an attempt to awaken people's sympathy and stir them to "battle" against the "enemy."...lt is non-traditional topics. The "problem" is hard to resist the temptation to speculate that there may be some psychosexual collusion between not that Duke is "trendy," but that it the nature of the conservative ideology represented in the attack on political correctness, a diverges from the dominant trend in English toward traditional approaches. masculinist tendency toward aggression and conquest, and a fear of losing control and power. But As Katharine Bartlett observed in 1991, to engage in such speculation is itself, I suppose, to risk being labeled "politically correct," so I desist. "At Duke. courses on Shakespeare, Landon Beyer, "The Curriculum, Social Context, and 'Political Correctness,'" Journal of General Milton, and other 'traditional' liberal arts Education, Vol, 43, No. 1 (1994). Page 26Democratic Culture Spring 1994 schools sent elementary students home for lunch ISU students, left much to be desired. because the schools weren't in the business of Unfortunately, in the process of airing their NEWSCLIPS providing day care for mothers who shouldn't be grievances, no matter how badly stated or un- subjects are not under siege; courses working anyway), the town encourages in people a founded these criticisms may have been, they were on such subjects as Marxism, women's sudden taste for yard work. Add this to the prob- given the clear message that their complaints vio- studies, and Afro-American literature are." lated someone else's academic freedom. Nor was lems at the University and the possibilities could be The same issue ofCampusfeatures nasty. While enrollment rose and then held steady this the first time they'd been told this. When these an interview with Duke English profes- at around 25,000, the number of faculty andstudents complained about being harassed and sor Victor Strandberg, whowe are support staff steadily dropped. ISU has nearly 400 called names, the Administration, instead of citing told by Campus"managed to survive fewer faculty but 8,000 more students than it didstandards of civility which should exist at any the politically correct reign of former 15 years ago. Virtually every class offered is over- school (and no, I'm not talking about speech Duke English Chairman Stanley Fish." enrolled. Classrooms are so crowded with furni- codes), flapped about the First Amendment Rights But Strandberg has high praise for Fish, calling him "fair-minded and open - of those who were doing the n..me-calling and ture, rot to mention students sitting on the floor, minded" and applauding his work as that moving around is difficulty, and the Registrar's harassing. When these students raised Cain over a chair. The interviewer even accuses Office reports more than 20,000 unmet requestsuniversity food worker with KKK and swastika Strandberg of "being evasive" when he for courses every semester. tattoos, the Administrationrather than being fails to acknowledge any serious prob- Black students, citing rising tuition at this very honest and telling these kids that firing a 55-year- lems with the English Department. expensive school (most are from out of state), areold mentally retarded state employee working Former Duke President Keith Brodie furious because they are not getting the attention under a union contract because of decorations he has noted, "At Duke the curriculum is not an either/or proposition as some had acquired as a teenager would be fairly sticky they feel they've paid for or were promised when critics have suggested. Our students they were recruited. One of the demands vis-a-vis cited (you guessed it) his First Amendment Rights. are studying both the best in traditional Pope's class was that the professor should allow The Administration was not protecting anyone's literature and the best in emerging ar- more in-class discussion of the type someone some-freedom to speak. What it was doing was covering eas of scholarship such as African- where apparently led them to expect from college. its ass and encouraging a lack of respect in these American literature, ethnic studies, Enrollment in the class, however, was nearly 100. black students for everyone's rights, including women's studies, and others." But now It seems to me that the underlying issues weretheir own. They are now convinced that going we learn that this is not enough. In- stead, the duty of Duke's English De- better articulated at Berkeley thirty years ago al- through the system cannot work. partment is said to be to follow the though that, too, occurred under the rubric of The free exchange of ideas and information is market demands of traditionalist En- "Free Speech." The real issue was alienation in essential in an academic setting. Howeve, academic glish departments, to become an aca- what the university's president termed a "knowl- freedom does notnor isit intended togrant demic assembly-line where students edge factory." The students did not appreciate teachers the right to say or do whatever they please. are uncritically fed Great Books and the being called a product nor being treated like one. Rather, it is intended to protect teachers from undue fundamentals of literary history in order These days, however, they are customersor at interference from those outside their profession. to get them jobs where they can repli- cate this "education." least that's what George Jackson, Assistant Vice But to haul in the First Amendment as the first President and head of Minority Student Affairs line of defense n any disagreement, as Iowa State has Liberal called themuntil the Administration decides to done, is dangerous. It is dangerous because it not only talk about faculty productivity, when the students cheapens the concept of free speech, but also because Harassment revert to being products. it was used to shut people up and stop discussion At Southern University, a student No wonder they're pissed off. They keep get- rather than promote it. I believe one of the tasks of charged administrators with sexual ha- ting flipped between being customers for whomTeachers for a Democratic Culture should be to rassment for telling him concerning his project to "stay on top of it because services are woefully inadequate and the end result distinguish between situations in which academic some students fall through the cracks." of an assembly line. And judging from the letters freedom and freedom ofspeech are an issue and those The student felt that this was a sexual and essays that members of BSA submitted to the in which they are not. And people who cynically use innuendo because "God had given him ISU Daily, they were right to complain about the the First Amendment to obfuscate other, equally a vision" that he was being harassed. quality of their education. Their communication serious problems should be condemned. At Eastern Illinois University, music and critical thinking skills, like those of too many Jacqueline Smetak lives in Ames, Iowa. professor Douglas DiBianco was ac- cused of sexual and cultural harass- ment because he criticized Christianity Preaching to the Culturally Converted and talked about phallic symbols. Kristin The grave danger of the current state of war about values, goals, policies, and curricula is Adams said she felt "culturally harassed" narrowness, rigidity, and reductionismwhich result from the statement and restatement of positions in his non-Western music class. Ac- that are closed to exploratory analytical contact with the positions of the other side. On the Right and cording to Adams, DiBianco "slammed Christianity and other religions and said on the Left, there is far too much preaching to the already converted, and it is disturbing to imagine he preferred Buddhism." Adams also that this might continue unabated, with no end in sight, and with the true exercise of critical accused DiBianco of using works of art consciousness blocked. by Robert Mapplethorpe, referring to William Cain, Editor's Introduction to Teaching the Conflicts: Gerald Graff, Curricular Reform, Pinocchio's nose as a phallic symbol, and the Culture Wars (Garland, 1993). and describing Snow White as "an anal- Spring 1994 Democratic Culture Page 27 N EWSCLCPS The University Is Popular Culture retentive, domineering woman." Gerald Graff A photograph of a topless woman feeding spaghetti to a man in bed was Like most academics, I was surprised that the field. "What I don't see," he says, "is why there recently censored fromMelvin recent attack on "political correctness" in the hu- Mencher's bestselling journalism text- need to be whole departments to cover the books book, News Reporting and Writing. This manities has been so persuasive to such a wide that I read going to work on the train every day." photograph (along with a photo of a audience. Not that I don't think political correct- These cases are not surprising, for we humanists bulldog sitting on an American flag) led ness is real and something to worry about. PC is a have done little to addressor even recognize to the firing of University of Southwest- real problem, I think, even if Roger Kimball and the widespread public incomprehension about what ern Louisiana yearbook editor Jeffrey Dinesh D'Souza say it's a problem. But the allega- it is we do, what our research is all about, and why Gremillion when it appeared in 1991, tions by these and other conservatives of the take-it should be supported by institutions devoted to which caused Mencher to include the over of the entire American university by activist photos in his chapter on "TasteDefin- educating undergraduates. And when we have ing the Appropriate." But Mencher's edi- radicals have been so fantastnagorically exagger- recognized the public's incomprehension ofour tor at Brown & Benchmark Publishers ated that I was amazed and dismayed thatso many activities, we have tended to treat it as an inevita- asked five journalism professors to re- unsuspecting nonacademics have seemingly bought bility rather than something we might be ableto view the photos, and fou r of them thought it. The more I think about the matter, however, thechange. In fact, we have come up with all sorts of the spaghetti photo was distasteful and more I wonder why I should have been amazed. reasons why we either cannot represent ourselves feared it might lead to sexual harass- Given the remarkably nebulous picture of the to a broader public or why we should not. ment charges. academic humanities that has existed in the public Ohio State English professor and In the olden days, this disdain for public repre- Vietnam veteran Phoebe Spinrad com- mind, why shouldn't the public have found the PC sentation justified itself as a refusal to lower our- plained to the U.S. Labor Department horror stories completely convincing? selves to the level of the philistines. In today'smore that the university was not in compli- The fact is that the recent anti-PC attack would politically enlightened times, the disdain is justi- ance with the 1974 Vietnam-Era Veter- never have been so successful if it had not beenfied as a refusal to be co-opted by the dominant ans Readjustment Act, which puts Viet- overlaid on uncertainties about the humanities thatstructures of discourse. Whereas popularization nam veterans into the category of op- have existed ever since they first became academicwas once seen as vulgar, it is now seen as politically pressed minorities. Spinrad claimed that departments a hundred years ago. If academic hu- she was being harassed because there complicit. But the resulting ineptitude at repre- were anti-military opinions posted on manists have proved to be sitting ducks for the mostsenting ourselves to the public ends up being the faculty doors: "Imagine the outcry if exaggerated misrepresentations, surely one reason is same in either case. there were pictured watermelon-eating that few people outside universities and notmany It is odd that an institution that has recently blacks or bare-breasted women from inside have been able to form a clear idea ofj ust what generated such an unprecedented degree of sophis- auto calendars on the walls. Talk about it is an "academic humanist" does. Three anecdotes tication about the workings of representation should hostile environment!" The Labor De- to illustrate my point: remain arrested at so primitive a level when it partment intervened and ordered Ohio I. Several years ago, on my way to a conference State to stop this "harassment" of veter- comes to thinking about its own representations. ans. One wonders if an anti-war vet- at the National Humanities Center in North Caro-But having treated mere image-making as beneath eran can now harass herself with her lina, I and several other conference participants our dignity, we have leftit to our enemies to own opinions. find ourselves at the Raleigh/Durham airport look- construct our public image for us. ing for the courtesy vans that are to drive us out to To put it another way, the humanities have yet Proposition 42 Research Triangle. Just then an announcementto come to terms with the fact that, once the and the SAT comes over the intercom: "Will the parties going to university became a mass institution, it perforce the National Humanitarian Center please meet The recent minor revisions of the became an agent of cultural popularization. I won- your buses at the baggage claim area." SAT have alarmed students and re- der if we have ever really believed that mass educa- sulted in huge profits for SAT study 2. The National Humanities Alliance recently tion is possiblethat is, that it is possible to reach classes, but they do not change the commissions a public relations firm to survey public most students, not just the top fifteen or twenty per basic flaws in the test or the inappropri- perceptions of the humanities. Though the greatcent. One might think that it would he easy for ate ways it is used to deny educational majority of those interviewed claim to have a favor- teachers who work in a mass education system to opportunities to students who do poorly able image of the humanities, like the airportpager a think of themselves as popularizers, and that it on it. The recent book, Failing at Fair- substantial number associate the term with "hu- ness: How America's Schools Cheat would be easier still now that many humanistsare manitarian" activities s such as prevention of cruelty to Girls, points out how the SAT is used to more receptive than we once were to the study of deny scholarships to women, even animals. Others who answer yes to the question ofpopular culture. American popular culture and the though they perform better than men in whether they themselves participate in the humani- American professional university emerged at the both high school and college. One of ties list "singing in the shower" as an example ofsame moment historically, and they have followed the most alarming uses of the SAT is for humanistic activity. similar li nes ofdevelopment and expansion. Yetwe the NCAA Proposition 48 and new 3. A college dean confesses that he has alwaysstill tend to think of popular culture as something Proposition 42 standards. Under the had difficulty understanding why the humanities we may study but not as something that we are. sliding scale of Prop 42, students with a should have become a department and research 2.5 GPA must have a minimum SAT Of course it is the competitive relation between

Page 28 Democratic Culture Spring 1994 (1 academic and nonacademic forms of popular culture just concluded the first generation in American that makes it difficult to see their points of common- history during which a majority of eligible Ameri- N EWSCLI PS ality. It has long burn a commonplaceheard equally cans went to college, creating a large sector of the score of 700 and students with a 2.0 on the Right and the Leftthat academic intellec- middle class that wants to keep in touch with what GPA must have an SAT of 900. tual culture has been in a losing competition with the is going on on campus, if only to know what its Even ignoring the charges of gender and racial bias against the SAT, its use media for the attention and allegiance of students. tuition money is buying for its sons and daughters. in Prop 42 is puzzling. If we have NCAA How can the culture of the book possibly compete Let us return to my earlier comparison between standards solely to encourage athletes with the culture of TV? How an Immanuel Kant the popular media and the academy in their notori- to do better in school, why do we require and Henry James hold their own against the Superously unequal competition for the minds of the an SAT minimum which is unrelated to Bowl, Wrestlemania, and Madonna? young and the culture at large. The point I would academic performance and which can- The oppositions are deceptive, however, innow add is that the media did not achieve their not be easily changed by a student's more ways than one. For if there is a real gulf here, enormous influence without elaborately thought out effort to improve? Studying for the SAT does little to improve one's score, since, itis no longer berv.zen Madonna and Henryefforts at collective organization. Everyone knows according to an Eddcational Testing James, now that both have become objects of that the awesome effort oforganization that goes into Service spokesperson, "the best you academic analysis, but between Madonna on the the making of even the slightest television commer- can do is move up 35 to 50 points." one hand and academic discourse about Madonna cial is in many ways a more impressive creative feat Unlike high school grades, which are and Henry James on the other. The real opposition than the resulting product. To he sure, a television strongly linked to the effort a student is not between media culture and high culture, but commercial has cultural influence because it has the makes, the SAT has virtually no relation between media culture, which has popularized backing both of money and ideological hegemony. to what a student learns in class. The athlete, threatened by the punishment itself successfully, and the culture of academic Even so, the commercial would not achieve such of Prop 42, has an incentive to take core intellectuality and analysis, which has hardly be- ideological potency without a tremendous amount subjects and work hard to get good gun to imagine that it may have possibilities ofof teamwork involving writers, directors, actors, grades. But this athlete can do virtually popularization, or which remains deeply ambiva- photographers, station managers, and innumerable nothing to alter an SAT score. lent about popularization. other participants in a division of labor that is There is absolutely no evidence that There are signs that the present culture war may integrated to a staggering degree. athletes with extremely low SAT scores be altering this attitude, shaking humanists out ofour What I want to suggest is that it is foolish to think are incapable of doing college work; there is absolutely no evidence that traditional complacency and forcing us to recognize that academic culture can compete with the televi- being forced to sit out a year of athletics that we too are part of the culture industry and are sion commercial or the rock concert unless it is and being denied a scholarship benefits engaged in a critical struggle for survival in it. If recent willing to think seriously about how it organizes its a student educationally; and there is anti-PC attacks force us to become more aware ofour own representations. It is not foolish, however, to absolutely no evidence that the threat of responsibilities for public representation, it rnay even- believe that academic culture has a potential that has losing a year of eligibility because of low tually be possible to look back at even the most ill-.gone untapped because it has failed to think seriously SAT scores has caused student-ath- informed and malicious attacks and say, "Than ks, we about how it organizes its representations. letes to take academic work more seri- ously. The principle behind Prop 48 and needed that." Whatever one may say about them, the This is not to say that American teenagers Prop 42that minimal standards will success of these attacks has exposed something that would drop Beavis and Butthead or Wayne's World encourage athletes to learn more in we cannot afford to ignore, namely, how poorly we for PMLA if only we organized the MLA conven- high schoolis a just and admirable humanists have performed our role as popularizers tion more effectively. I am saying, however, that idea. But this goal is inhibited by the use that is, as teachers. some of the intellectual concerns even of the MLA of a biased and narrow test which im- The very hostility that has been expressed to-convention (which is bound to have a panel on poses penalties on student-athletes for ward academic humanists in the culture war is a Beavis and Butthead one of these days, if it has not their poor performance on the SAT, rather than encouraging them to study sign that the distance has decreased between those already) have a potential interest for young people harder in school. humanists and the nonacademic public, who athat won't be discovered or tapped without an generation ago would not have cared enough abouteffort at organization. Conservative their doings to make best-sellers of books like The If we academics are willing to study the media we Closing of the American Mind and Illiberal Educa- should also be willing to learn from them. To be sure, Intelligence tion. Then, too, not all the curiosity has been there are vast differences: organizing a Madonna "From the beginning of intelligence negative. During the same period when attacks on concert or a Miller Lite commercial is dearly some- testing about sixty-five years ago to the "the rising hegemony of the politically correct" thing quite different from organizing the history of present, blacks have consistently aver- aged about eighteen points lower than were crowding the New York Times op-ed pages, literature, much less the history of culture, or the whites (about 82 for blacks compared to the New York Times Magazinewas running picture discourse of an thropolog or literary criticism. Quite 100 for whites) on the standard Stanford- stories glamorizing academic trend-setters like Ri- apart from their enormous advantage in the amounts Binet IQ test, and a similar gap is shown chard Rorty, Elaine Showalter, Henry Louis Gates, of money available to them, the organizers of con- on other mental aptitude tests...A score Stanley Fish, C,ornel West, and Stephen Greenblatt. certs and commercials also enjoy a degree of consen- of 75 is generally considered necessary The anti-PC attack represents only the nasty side sus about theends and means of their representations for graduation from elementary school, 95 for graduation from high school, 105 of America's highly ambivalent and often worship- that academics do not and cannot have or even desire. for admission to college, and 115 for ful fascination with the academy. We have onlyWe have an idea what it means to organize a rock admission to graduate or professional

Spring 1994 Democratic Culture Page 29

BEST COPY AVAILABLE concert, but what does it mean to "organize" theto students as aseries of isolated monologues rather NEWSCLIPS history of culture or the discourse of the humanities? than in their engagement and relationship with schools....if an I0 score of 115 is con- And who will decide who gets to be the organizersone another. When this disconnected mode of sidered (conservatively) to be the mini- and the organized? -epresentation does not simply conceal the major mum necessary to qualify for medical schoolan SAT verbal score of 600, it Neither the cultural left nor the cultural right cultural conflicts from studentsthey are becom- should be noted, is equivalent to an IQ have the power to superimpose a privileged agendaing too hard to concealit prevents students from score of about 125 the number of on the entire curriculumthat is the limitation ofgaining control of the intellectual discourses in blacks admitted to medical schools all the schemes for a "radical curriculum" or awhich the conflicts are fought out. wou!d make up 0.7 percent of the enter- "pedagogy of the oppressed." ror is a monolithic A student today can go from one literature ing class, rather than the 12 percent leftist or rightist curriculum even desirable, since teacher who assumes that "the Western humanis- that would correspond to the proportion neither the left nor the right agenda can become tic tradition" is uncontroversially above criticism of blacks in the American population." Lino Gnaglia in The Imperiled Acad- intelligible to students unless they are taught in to another teacher who refers uncontroversially to emy (Transaction, 1993). relation to one another. However at odds they maythat tradition as an instance of the "hegemonic "Is it possible to discuss Plato's Sym- be ideologically, the cultural left and the right areideology of the dominant order." Since the hypo- posium with students who have an I.Q. cognitively interdependentthey need one an- thetical student never sees these two teachers in of, say, 100? Maybe itis. Doing so other in order to become comprehensible to thosedialogue with one another, he or she may fail to might be an interesting experience. But students and others for whom terms like "culturalrecognize that they are referring to thesame thing how about l.Q.'s of 90, or 60?" left" and "right" are now nebulous. Jeffrey Hart in Academic Ques- that is, that they are in disagre-_ment. Such a tions (Fall 1993). It will not do, however, to disdain the idea ofstudent is likely to he confused about the nature of "Ultimately we will Na able to predict "organizing" academic and intellectual representa- both teacher's positions, which make sense only in IQ scores by taking a single cell from an tions because such an idea is ideologically problem- relation to and in dialogue with one another. These embryo." aticwhat idea wo tdd not be?or because it sounds two teachers need one another in order to become J. Philippe Rushton in Society ominously like social engineering. The history ofintelligible to their studentsand to others out- (March/April 1994). culture and the discourse of the humanities areside the academic orbit. alreadyelaborately organized in innumerable corn- In conclusion, then, I am suggesting that there The Culture plex ways, by departrn ents, journals, fields, curricula, is a connection between the academy's unintelligi- Debates courses, and programs. The choice is never between bility to students and other nonprofessionals and Russell Jacoby's Dogmatic Wisdom: organizing institutional representations or not orga- the fact that we tend to teach in isolation from our How the Culture Wars Divert Education nizing them, for by definition some form of organ iza- colleagues, effacing the dialogical relations be- and DistractAmerica (Doubleday, 1994) tion of institutional representations is inevitablytween our positions that our intelligibility depends is one of the best responses yet written always in place. To pretend that it is possible to on. But I am also suggesting that there is a connec- to the invented 'political correctness" occupy an autonomous space that is not already tion between this non-dialogical mode of organi- crisis. Jacoby points out that after the organized is only to make it more likely that the onslaught of right-wing attacks, "no left- zation and our notorious unintelligibility to the ist stepped forward with a book as existing mode of organization will not change. general public. A conflicted institution like ours sweeping and compelling as those by I have argued elsewhere that as academic cul- can explain itself only by making its differences the conservatives." At first, Jacoby ture has become more ideologically diverse andcoherent. This we have not done, and we cannot seems to fill this void. In Chapter 2, he conflicted, it is increasingly impossible to organizedo, as long as we fail to organize ourselves and our examines in detail many of the PC an- departments and curricula around a consensus oncurriculum more dialogically. ecdotes reiterated by conservatives and what should be taught and why. My argument that That is why clarifying what we do to outsiders finds them to be "dramatic and fictitious tales of fired university professors." But the best response the academy can make to the has to be a collective not an individual project, and Jacoby unfortunately leaves his work conflicts over culture is to "teach the conflicts"why we need to start applying to the curriculum half-done, with a wishy-washy conclu- themselves has been an organizational argument, the sophisticated analysis of representation that we sion belied by his own evidence: "Con- an argument about how difference and contro- are accustomed to applying to film and television. servatives may be hypocritical or incon- versy can replace consensus as a means of giving But beyond such analyses, we need to come to sistent, yet still on the mark; perhaps coherence to the curriculum. terms with the inevitable task of popularization leftist students andacademics do choke Critics who have called this proposal impracti-that has been given to us whether we are comfort- discussion." Jacoby also explores various cul- cal, or too radical, or not radical enough, have able with it or not. In other words, we need to come tural issues, such as bias-free language, missed its central point, which is that the academy to terms with the fact that we are teachersnot diversity, and relativism. His vision is is already teaching the conflicts now and has been teachers as opposed to researchers but teachers and broad and free-flowing, moving between for some time. The academy teaches the conflicts, popularizers of our research. The media did not centuries with ease and exploring such in effect, every time a student goes from a science achieve its vast influence without effective organi- diverse topics as Einstein, Freud, class to a humanities class or from a class taught by zation. Neither can the academy. Herodotus, Hegel, the 16th Century po- a traditionalist to a class taught by a feminist. TDC Co- Coordinator Gerald Graff teaches groms of Spanish Jews, and Bosnia in The academy is already teaching the conflicts the space of a short section on relativ- English and education at the University of ism and cultural diversity. Jacoby real- now, but it is doing so in a poorly organized way, Chicago. A version of this essay was presented at izes that the threat of violence does not representing disparate positions and assumptionsthe 1993 convention of the Midwest MLA.

Page 30Democratic Culture Spring 1994 Yes, Exactly! If You "Criticize" Us, NEWSCLI PS come from diversity, but that "the re- You Are a "Reactionary": verse is closer to the truth: intolerance and the denial of diversity bloodies the An Open Letter to Gregory jay and Gerald Graff past, present, and future." Donald Morton and Mas'ud Zavarzaeleh Jacoby's analysis of academia is less perceptive, repeating his previous com- ruling class and claims those interests to be the HAVING READ YOUR most recent desper- plaints in The Last Intellectuals about ate attempt to legitimate an oppressive bour- interests of all classes, the ultimate horizon of life leftist professors. He attacks them for geois pluralism ("Some Questions About Criticalitself. You are reactionary because the un-said of their "disdain for a public prose," their Pedagogy," Fall 1993), we do indeed want to your counter-argument (the seemingly hypotheti- elitism, and their jargon-filled writings. statewithout "irony"that if you criticize us,cal "What if...the student...?") which is offered to Yet Jacoby seems totally unaware of you are reactionary. We make this statement with-demolish the claims of oppositional pedagogy is the current resurgence of public intel- out "irony" because first all, unlike Andrew Ross, that the limit tes(x)t of a happy life is the unhin- lectuals represented by highly readable writers such as Gomel West, Henry dered path to the accumulation of "profit," which we cannot afford "irony"we simply do not have Louis Gates, and Michael Berube, who the ludic space for the playfulness available to Ross, is at the same time the denial of historically deter- frequently appear in the public press. Graff, and friends ("irony" is the space of themined human "needs." Jacoby also makes some glaring fac- "reversible" subject whose reversibility is histori- Emancipation is not achieved through indi- tual errors: "In the last fifteen years cally necessary for the bourgeois academy's projectvidual quests for success. Such quests are not traditional majors like philosophy, his- of producing undecidableknowledges which "ironi-equivalent to personal freedom; and therefore in tory, and English have declined, while cally" keep questions about the social totality atmaking such an equation, you legitimate the no- business and management majors have doubled." In reality, the rise of business tion of the entrepreneurial subject that is necessary bay). Secondly, we do not think that Berube and majors occurred in the 1970s, while Grafts "Regulations for Literary Criticism in the for the uncontested continuation of the regime of humanities majors have made a small 1990s" is finally all that funny given its anxiety to capital and wage-labor. Anyone who renders the comeback in the 1980s and 1990s. And preserve for the bourgeois academy the unwritten regime of "profit" as a possible goal of life also Jacoby claims that "no one suggests rules of pluralism which the piece tries to achieve legitimates theextraction ofsurplus labor (the only reducing black or minority enrollment to through the use of "irony." So, yes (again), if you source of profit) as a natural pat of social life and prevent racism, a logical if unpalatable "criticize" us, you are reactionaryand, what's in so doing sanctions the existing exploitative step," seemingly unaware that D'Souza and many other conservative critics of social relations of production. Such persons are more, we have evidence to prove it. affirmative action have suggested pre- You are reactionary because, under the alibi ofreactionary. Theorists who posit such "hypotheti- cisely this. "democratic freedom" (more on that later), you cal" questions are reactionary because their "argu- But Jacoby's bookwhile it fails as a reduce the project ofrevolutionary collective eman- ments" support the dominant social relations of full critique of the "political correctness" cipation to a matter of (inter)personal well-being; production and do not bring to crisis the rifts and scaresucceeds as a subtle and in other words, you reduce "politics" to "ethics." It contradictions between the forces of production thoughtful analysis of American culture and higher education. Jacoby's attack is indeed reactionary and counter--evolutionary to and social relations of production. They write, as on the elitism which has prevailed on all you do, to manage that crisisto conceal it under pose the seemingly " hypothetical" question "What sides and in the media during the cul- if...the student...decides that for him or her au- the alibi of a "democratic culture" in which every- ture wars is particularly powerful. He thentic liberation means joining a corporation andone is "free" to pursue "profit" (not just in the observes that we have endlessly de- making a lot of money?" This "hypothetical" ques-domain of "business" as such but also in the bated minor events at leading universi- tion (which is not "hypothetical" at all but is in fact academy and the culture industry which also sup- ties where privileged professors teach identical with the model of subjectivity supposedport "entrepreneurs") knowing full well that your the children of the wealthy, while re- by the ruling class and its theorists) is posed as "profit" is someone else's "loss." You are reaction- maining unconcerned about what is happening at less prestigious colleges ary because your writings legitimate personal gain "hypothetical" only to be a more rhetorically effec- where the vast majority of students are tive legitimation of pluralism by its quiet appeal to as the goal ofsocial life and systematically undercut educated. Although Jacoby does not the bourgeois commonsense in which the revolu-any attempt to establish causal relations between provide this needed study except by a tionary project of collective praxis (which critiques "loss" and "profit," which is another way of saying few anecdotes, he does open our eyes not just such a specific "choice" but the notion ofthat your writings attempt to defuse class strumle to the fact that the culture debates must the subject being "free to choose") is "totalitarian."through the displacement of"conflicts" by "differ- be broadened beyond today's limited focus. Any appeal to such a "hypothetical" question (and ence." So, yes, in criticizing our goal of overthrow- its underlying commonsense) is reactionary be- ing the regime of "profit" and putting in its place Conservative cause the very representation ofrevolutionary praxis historically determined human needs, you are as "totalitarian" and any argument for the "differ- reactionary. McCarthyism ence" of personal "liberation" and personal "free- Emancipation is not about "desire" ("making a Seymour Martin Lipset declares in dom" as the ultimate goal of a successful life is lot ofmonty"); it is about meeting human "needs." the introduction to his 1993 edition of exactly what negates collective emancipation and No single person can possibly be emancipated or Rebellion in the University(Tran section in doing so mystifies the economic interests of the liberated when his liberation ("making a lot of Books).

Spring 1994 Democratic Culture Page 31 money") would inevitably mean that a lot of meeting. This "ethical pedagogy" is itself an exten- NEWSCLIPS people make no money. In this case, his happiness sion of another bourgeois "right": freedom of speech "The Lazarsfeld-Thielens study was would he the misery of others. This is why if you which, as we have argued in our most recent hook, in fact conducted to evaluate the impact criticize usthose who advocate collective eman- Theory as Resistance, is a strategy used to conceal the of McCarthyism on social scientists. As cipation and deploy oppositional pedagogy to fact that in bourgeois democracy political rights are might be expected, the overwhelming majority were strongly anti-McCarthy. provide critique-al knowledges about the relation finally only a substitute for economic rights. What What was much more surprising, given between the personal and the collective, reformbourgeois democracy denies in the real world of the the assumption that McCarthy and other and revolutionyou are indeed reactionary. Youreconomic and material well-fare of the citizen, it government investigations of Commu- project is identical with the project of advocates ofgrants him/her in the domain of idealist politics nism were intimidating even politically the free market. The free market is the tool of (semiotic freedom). moderate faculty, pressing professors enslavement of humankind and not the means for In other words, in your discourse, " democracy' to expound conformist views, was the its emancipation. Capitalism is not a basically conclusion that it was less dangerous is itself an alibi for the quest for profit; this form of on campus for a faculty member to be socially positive regime which has its "unfortu-democracy "deregulates"as in the Republican an opponent of McCarthy than to be a nate" and "minor" correctable "abuses": capital- left-wing defender of Communism. ism isby definition and in all its operationsYou are reactionary because you defend Lazarsfeld and Thielens noted that overt exploitative and oppressive because it is based on this de-regulated subject and legitimate defenders of the Wisconsin Senator, of the extraction of surplus labor from the many forthe ludic freedom of the subject of the anti-Communist security program, the benefit of the few. at major universities were much more capital whose grounding principle is Which brings us to the ideological alibi under likely to be ostracized by their colleagues concisely articulated by that theorist of (and, probably, if young, to be denied whose protection you legitimate your reactionary tenure or promotion) than were Com- politics: "democracy." Your tale about the studentthe ruling class, Stanley Fish: "I don't munists." who finds liberation in making a lot of money is, ofhave any principles." But the Lazarsfeld-Thielens study ac- course, an allegorical defense of the right of the tually said: "There were altogether per- entrepreneur to pursue profit without being encum-Party's practices of "deregulating" businessthe haps five instances in which simple bered or "harassed" by' the critique-al knowledge ofsubjects inhabiting that space so that those subjects 'conservatism,' uncomplicated by over- collectivity. You tell this tale of "freedom" in the tones of bigotry or authoritarianism, led can "understand" that in pursuing their "free en- to unfortunate consequences for a space of a pluralistic "democracy" in which there are trepreneurial acts" they should not follow any teacher....the small number of these no "positions" (with "consequences") but only top- "regulations" (consider the needs of others) since incidents suggests that, whatever their ics for unhindered, endless "conversation" during all "regulations" are in fact acts of "totalization" experiences in earlier periods, the con- which no one "imposes" his/her views on others. and, as your narrative goes, any totalization will servative wing of American college Your model of the classroom is that cherished insti- lead, eventually if not immediately, to "totalitari- teachers have rarely found themselves tution of bourgeois democracy, the "town hall" anism." You are reactionary because you defend endangered in recent years."(The Aca- meeting, in which no decisions are e-'er reached but demic Mind, 1955). By contrast, the this de-regulated subject and legitimate the ludic study reported 990 incidents, in which where instead a great deal of "good" conversation is freedom of the subject of capital whose grounding 29% involved charges of Communism had by all. Like the "town hall" meeting, your principle is concisely articulated by that theorist of and subversion, and 13% charges of classroom/pedagogy is a strategy of crisis-manage- the ruling class, Stanley Fish, who declares in his leftist political views. ment: it allows the parties speaking to feel that they recent book, There's No Such Thing as Free are " i n volved" without ever allowing anyone to reach Speech...And It's a Good Thing, Too:"I don't have Artistic Freedom a "conclusion" (which is the main function of that any' principles." From the February 11, 1994 issue of critique-al knowledge which you scorn and reject as Fish's ludically "reversible" statement ("I be- the rigs,' -wing WashingtonInquirer,criti- totalitarian because it arrives at a conclusion and lieve in anything...") (which will he read cizing the removal of religious pictures establishes "priorities" as the basis of praxis), much commonsensically as merely "scandalous"), your from a display by the Arts Council of less to act upon that conclusion. In your "ethical "hypothetical" question, and Andrew Ross' "irony" Fairfax County, Virginia: pedagogy," to reach a "conclusion" is regarded as an are all strategies of this deregulation that obtains a "The rule forbids the display of 'reli- act of violence that puts an abrupt end to "conversa- gious scenes' as well as nudes, weap- free reign for capital and wage-labor. This ons, drug paraphernalia ar:d violence tion." In actuality', however, "ethical pedagepv" is the "deregulatory" democracy is an ideological space along with patriotic expression and un- very instrument of (violent) coercion: it blocks any for guaranteeing that nothing "stands between" patriotic subjects. That seems a sure- "conclusion" (except, of course, the un-said conclu- the enterprising individual and her/his chance at fire way to display pablum and sion that there should be no "conclusions") and thus profit. In your "ethical pedagogy," democracy puppydogs but little else." allows for the non-concluding work of dominant means removing all obstacles (such as the aware- ideologywhich legitimates the violent extraction ness of being in a "position" that has consequences The Politics of ofsurplus labor from the many for the benefit of the for others) from the path of the enterprising sub- Condemnation fewto go on. As we have already indicated in ourject so that he/she ran maximize his/her profit Officially speaking. Khalid Abdul hook, Theory. (Post) Modernity. Opposition, Grafrs ("make a lot of money"). Muhammad may be the most hated "teaching the conflicts" is nothing more than an Hence, what your democracy at:Iits allied person in America. His vile November "ethical" "airing of differences" in the "town hall" pedagogy actually serve to do is legitimate the

Page .32Democratic Culture Spring 1994 violence that constitutes the extraction of surplus the "free market" and how your "ethics" is nothing labor (profit) from the masses of exploi ted workers more than a post-al mode ofenslaving people. This N EWSCLI PS for the benefit of the few. It furthermore seeks the is of course the version of democracy which ethical 29, 1993 speech has been condemned "consent" of all parties concerned to this violence pedagogy circulates to place the interests of the by unanimous resolutions in Congress by the act of "persuasion": this space of "persua- ruling classes beyond the reach of contesting cri- and attacked by virtually every black (and white) leader in the entire country. sion" assumesfalselythat all are equal and that tiques. A true democracy, we believe, is the Leninist But this condemnation raises the is- "persuasion" is simply a personal matter of volun- democratic-centralism combining the power of sue of when condemnation rather than taristic "assent" and "agreement." This is, of course, the working people with the leadership from a conversation is appropriate. Who do we the "pragmatic" (Rortyan) American version of the critique-al and revolutionary center. Not all condemn? Who do we try to persuade? bankrupt Foucaultian ethics understood as "the"truths"as your relativism (ethical pedagogy) How much condemnation can be part of care of the self." If others don't have what they proposesare "truthful" in social collectivity. You a civil discourse? need, "that's their problem," as RuSh Limbaugh, are reactionary because your politics is an elaborate Civility is an important virtue, and all popularizing your pedagogy of "What if...," keeps naturalization of the social differences produced too often the culture debates on both sides have been characterized by vi- repeating in his daily/nightly "pedagogy of conver- by capitalist relations of production. cious condemnation, rather than an ef- sation" in which he "teaches the conflicts" in order Yes, you are reactionary and, what's more, like fort to understand what the other side to defuse and deflect class struggle. most reactionaries, also colonialist and racist. In a believes. But civility cannot be sacri- Your notion of "persuasion-through-conversa- condescending gesture (which, by the way, shows ficed to truth. We must walk a fine lino tion" (the Fish-Limbaugh-Rorty strategy) is, ofhow really "democratic" you are in your practices), between the blunt truth-telling of con- course, a mystification of the history of labor: what you say "Frcire's work" might be suitable for demnation and the civility necessary for has gone before and will come after "conversation" "Latin American peasants," but not for inhabit- intellectual debate. Sheldon Hackney has urged that we and fully determines what goes on in the "conver- ants of North American campuses. This gesture have a "national conversation" on the sation" itself. By proposing persuasion as its strat- itself shows your complicity in naturalizing the question of American pluralism, and it is egy, your "ethical pedagogy" mystifies the eco- international division of labor. Here all your pre- a wise idea to restore some civility to the nomic relations involved in the relation inscribed tense to "democracy" and "ethics" cannot occlude "culture wars." in "who persuades whom." Like all your other the fact that you are reactionary and racist. Yet George Will attacks the "national terms, you use the term "persuasion" as if it were a No, you cannot "criticize" us without becom- conversation" plan in Newsweek (April transhistorical and transcendental category. Per-ing a reactionary. This, however, by no means 18), contending that it is an academic plot to "subsidize and supervise" con- suasion is historical and as such is shaped by what implies that you could not "critique" our writings versation. What Will seems to fear is a stage of class struggle any given society is currentlyby subjecting our texts to a rigorous theoretical and "conversation" he can't control from the in. As Marx indicates, the laws of motion ofhistorical reunderstanding of their conditions of pages of Newsweek and the set of This "persuasion" are always mobilized by "the silent possibility and marking the limits of our practices/ Week With David Brinkley, a "conversa- compulsion of economic relations." He who has texts. Our point is that such a "critique" (not to be tion" where his misleading soundbites economic power "persuades" those who do not.confused with "criticism") is not possible from and inaccurate statements might be Hence, the emphasis on "ethics" and "consensus"within your reactionary moralist and corporate contradicted by the facts. Contrary to what Will believes, it is serves simply to naturalize the "silent compulsion humanist theory of the subject. Contrary to what not academia, but the mainstream me- of thc economic." So, yes, i f you criticize us, you are your "ethical pedagogy" proposes, the subject does dia where"shrill rhetoric" and petty griev- reactionary because in criticizing us, you are at- not freely choose the position from which she/he ances have dominated many discus- tempting to block the production of critique-al"speaks." The "What if...?" is itself world-histori- sions. And what should the National knowledges by repre.-mting us as "awful" violatorscal and is articulated in the axis of class. Endowment forte Humanities do, if not of democratic processes without ever allowing us Mas'ud Zavarzacleh and Donald Morton teach engage the American public in an edu- cational discussion about these issues to demonstrate how your democracy is an alibi for English at Syracuse University. which are so important to all of us? Get Involved in TEACHERS FOR A DEMOCRATIC CULTURE The Wall Street Journal has even urged that every college participate in a WE NEED YOUR ASSISTANCE TO GIVE TEACHERS FOR A DEMOCRATIC CULTURE one-day national referendum on politi- A VOICE IN THE CULTURE WARS. WE WANT YOUR OPINIONS TO BE HEARD. cal correctness (dare one call ita "teach - Help us with ideas for raising badly needed funds. in"?). This is a good idea, although the Joumalwould undoubtably prefer not to 'Write articles and book reviews for Democratic Culture. discuss the real issues which the accu- Distribute copies of Democalic Culture to friends and colleagues, and encourage sation of "PC" often obscures. But the them to join us. Journal might be surprised to find that its arguments about PC have little basis Give us suggestions about what TDC should do in the future. in reality and will fail to persuade most Organize talks, debates, and conferences on your campus. students who are far more aware of what's really happening on college cam- 'Write letters and editorials to local and campus newspapers. puses. A debate about PC is precisely Send us newspaper clippings and information about controversies at your school. what we have urged and so rarely seen. T D C P.O. Box 6405 Evanston, IL 60204 (312) 743-3662 by John K. Wilson

Spring 1994 Democratic Culture Page 33 82

BEST COPY AVAILABLE taneously dependent upon and regulated by a brutally economic logic. The Buddha and the G-Thang In other words, I feel less sanguine than the G's about the prospect Amitava Kumar of relegating exploitation to Latin America, though I will certainly Surrounded mostly by other professors of English, on a December agree with them that Freire's pedagogy cannot be transplanted here 26 flight bound for Toronto, I read Gregory Jay and Gerald Graft's without any attempt at distinguishing between Brazilian campesinos thoughts on critical pedagogy (Democratic Culture, Fall 1993), and, and North American frat rats. The G's are correct in insisting that following their serene conversation about what a genuinely demo- critical teaching must involve us in a participatory process where we cratic pedagogy might look like, I meditatively contemplated Brecht's arrive at a new meaning. It is only that I'm more wary of dismissing parable about the Buddha. left models as undialogic or insufficiently theorized. With the recent When the Buddha was preaching the virtues of attaining salvation, interest in this country in films about the excesses of communist his pupils asked him what was it like to achieve that nothingness, China, and the corresponding interest on the streets of Beijing in whether it was like being weightless in water or like a pleasant McDonald's and a new Baskin-Robbins, let me pause momentarily drowsiness that visits you when you are wrapped in a blanket. The with Mao. In his report on the peasant revolt in Hunan, the young Buddha was silent. But later, to those who had not asked the question, Mao presented an exemplary lesson in critical pedagogy when he he recounted a story. I saw a house that was burning, the Buddha said. critiqued his fellow communists for forcing peasants to cast aside their There were people inside and I called out to them. But they seemed superstitions. "The Communist Party's propaganda policy in such in no hurry. One of them, whose body was already aflame, asked me matters should be, 'Draw the bow without shooting, just indicate the what it was like outside, whether there was a wind blowing and motions.' It is for peasants themselves to cast aside the idols, pull down whether there was another house for them. Without answering, the the temples to the martyred virgins and the arches to the chaste and Buddha said, I left. The people here, he had decided, need to bum to faithful widows; it is wrong for anyone else to do it for them." I think death before they stop asking questions. the G's would agree with Mao that it is the successful staging of the As an act of faith at 30,000 feet, I chose to believe that the G's structure of persuasionrather than gaining mere assent or simple (Gerald and Gregory) were not posing an idle question to the dissentthat is the more productive intervention in teaching. profession when they asked whether we were only preaching to the A critical pedagogy cannot be open-ended about its ends; its open- converted. Instead, unlike the main G-man, Gautama the Buddha, I endedness lies in its understanding of the means. The aim of critical decided charitably that there was a difficult truth being approached pedagogy is to continually struggle to introduce and develop, in the h,-re. Specifically, the truth about a pedagogy that lies beyond the mere face of massive odds, that space of empowerment where students assumption of oppositionality, one that asks what forms it shall adopt confront new knowledges, contest dogma, and learn to he something and what contradictions it must embrace. other than willing salespersons for a defunct empire. The C's proposed an ethical pedagogy that was willing to accept It is a difficult task. It calls for a greater attention to the means of that students in a classroom did not share the assumptions of the critical pedagogy. One of these is language and our teaching of the radical teacher. However, not content to celebrate quietism, they conflicts that are staged in its domain; I applaud the G's interest in p.c. pointed towards persuasion as a pedagogical strategy; political com- as a pedagnical negotiation of the troubled history of that term. This mitments were to enter into dialogue with opposed voices, leading to is a culture where the word "radical" is used to describe the design of successful conversions and also stronger and clearer understandings. a $35,000 automobile. This is also a culture where the word "oppres- This line of thinking seemed attractive enough, except that it thrust sion," in some of the more hysterical p.c. diatribes of the left, has as me into a limbaugh. I was being asked to talk to Rush. And it seemed much meaning and material basis as, say, "ecstasy" in a Calvin Klein very clear to me that while I'd have very little chance of converting ad. In order to "stage" the workings of ideology, it is important to lay, Rush (not because he is stubborn or stupidthough he might he out for one's students the histories, local or broader, that produce both hut because his interests and his future lies in opposing me), I particular meanings. As students and teachers we need to scratch would teach critical thinking to my students better by showing them question marks on our classroom walls and on the pages of our hooks why I would much more happily flush Rush. and papers, and we need to mark relentlessly, for ourselves and others, In other words, the point ofcritical pedagogy might not lie so much the manner in which we stumble to our answers. in successful persuasion. Rather, in the face of equal dangers of In Communications, Raymond Williams wrote that "the large, imper- uncritical acceptance and unthinking dismissal, we should engage sonal media" appear to common folk "almost as acts of God." Williams' students in a process that explores the limits of one's articulations and work, in the context of adult education classes, was at once to think practices, drawing teacher and students alike in a learning process that through the way the media structure our perceptions and, at the same is mutually rewarding. time, to produce more informed and critical responses. Democratic Talking of limits...my return to earth, to the feverish ambience of the Culture, too, can perform that important task of opening more questions MIA in Toronto, was a grim reminder of the limits of the teaching for us to re-think the means atom disposal while, at the same time, it helps profession. The palpablesense of par ic and despair, due to widespread job alter the limits of our profession. F.van Watkins has pointed out that cuts and hiring Freezes, was the only living thing in the Toronto cold. In "pedagogy is always a matter of circulation and distribution as much as these circumstances, even when we don't talk about the more pervasive, it is of production." Democratic Culture can help connect what Watkins "savage ineo,ualities" ol the wholeeducation set-up and ofthe wider social calls "the pedagogical effects of our work" in a public space. The effort to system in general,I think oppositional pedagogy must begin by change classroom practices while also trying to reconstitute the public foregrounding the way, under late capitalism, schools are assigned a sphere just might drive try Toronto blues away. seemingly autonomous role For ideological reasons while they are simul- Am ita va Kumar teaches English at the University offloriclaGainesville. Page 34Democratic Culture Spring 1994 e3 like he's teaching dogma, the "liberal" version A Letter to the Left of Mao's Little Red Book. Apparently those Elizabeth Powers "ReaganBush children" from whom he turns away with such disgust have seen through his I'm not sure how I came to he on your students] saw the light.") He has failed to under- attempts to mold their minds. It's not a pleas- mailing list since I admit to being one of those stand what the classroom is about and, in addi-ant experience to encounter people who can't people for whom red flags go up whenever I tion, is guilty of harassment. Students are at the see us as individuals but only as entities hold- come across the conjunction of "Dem ocratic" start ofwhat one hopes will be along intellectualing the "wrong" or the "right" point of view. and "Teachers." I was heartened, however, by journey that will involve many detours. In this connection, the various mea culpas the front-page article in the Fall 1993 issue of Recently in a class in which I taught MaxI read throughout the issuethe apology to your publication by Gregory Jay and Gerald Frisch's novel Homo Faber I handed out ex- Naomi Wolf (author of manifestos for the Graff addressing what the authors perceived as cerpts from Simone de Beauvoir's Second Sex, privileged) and William Demastes' self-mor- an excess of PC on the Left. I also thought the a book that Frisch had been reading whiletificationsounded exactly like the kind of Ward Parks/William Demastes exchange writing his novel and that speaks to many ofconfessions people were forced to make dur- worth reading. the issues in that novel. One of my students, a ing the Red Guard era in China. The worst Other articles were not so heartening, al- middle-aged woman, reacted with joy at read- aspect, however, is your Left-Right dichotomy, though perhaps they were published in order ing these excerpts. saying that she had beenespecially your imputation, throughout the expressly to demonstrate the excesses of Leftist looking for something like this all her life.issue, that all the evils of the universe are due PC- for instance, Michael Schwalbe's "The Personally I find de Beauvoir's work tenden- to a conservative way of thinking. Conserva- Children of Reaga'iBush." Why does Mr. tious and exceedingly shallow, but it wouldtives really do care about the bad things that Schwalbe feel it is his job to "change minds...by never occur to me to argue my student out ofhappen in the world. Pace Schwalbe, they do force ofsuperior kn owledge"? Is it really a teacher's her enthusiasm. As a teacher I felt vastly re- not deny the existence of social problems. function to "change minds," with all the conno- warded that I had given a student something There is. however, a vast difference in the way tations of arm twisting (sorry for the mixed that she will take with her on her own voyagethat conservatives view human nature. metaphor) that phrase has? Students, like every- of discovery. After all. many hooks that I Now, since the so-called Left doesn't be- oneelse, have personalities that in many cases are thought were the last word twenty years agolieve in human nature, doesn't, when it comes only delicately maintained and that are, in any have lost their merit on rereading. And manydown to it, have a basis for its morals (the case, in the process of revision. But itis an have retained it. material world doesn't give us concepts of internal process. One would do well not to What I missed in Mr. Schwalhe's com-justice, etc.), where does it come off being so tamper (as in "getting in their faces"). ments was any hint that his conservative stu- morally righteous? Anyone who goes into a classroom with the dents might have something to him that Elizabeth Powers is an adjunct instructor of intention of arguing people out of one set ofchanged his thinking just a little. I think it is German and Comparative Literature at Queens beliefs and into another, "right" set is seeking, Mr. Schwalbe who "eschews argument," who College and a student at the City University of like stereotyped religious figures, to convert views people, especially students, simply as New York Graduate Center. people. (As in, "It was time they [conservative robots to be rewired. His methodology sounds

Michael Schwalbe replies-.Elizabeth Everybody in this society is born with anmy students to argue for themselves, argue Powers doesn't understand the difference be- equal chance to succeed. with me, and argue with each otherbut with tween teaching literature and teaching about Because of affirmative action, blacks are get- respect for and skillful use of logic and evi- the state of the social world. I suppose that in ting all the good jobs. dence. When I can teach students how to do teaching literature it is wise not to try to argue The main reason women earn less than men this well, I feel successful as a teacher. students out of their tastes, but to let those is that they quit work to have babies. I don't care if students leave the social tastes mature through guided exposure to problems course agreeing with me or not, as good writing. Unfortunately, teaching about These are not matters of taste and person- long as they leave as better thinkers. I'm happy, social problems doesn't work this way. ality. Each of these beliefs is demonstrablytoo, if my teaching inclines them to be more Many of my conservative students come tofalse. But for a variety of reasons, this sort ofcompassionate toward others who are less class with all kinds of erroneous notions about pernicious nonsense is hard to dislodge. Do- fortunate, makes them more sensitive to social thestate of US society and about what's happen- ing so requires careful presentation of thejustice issues, and evokes a sense of responsi- ing Out there beyond their limited purviews. research evidence and, of c urse, logical argu- bility for taking part in the political life of their Here are a few examples: ment. Ifall goes well, the result of this is indeed communities. If these goals imply, to minds Most poor people in the US are blacks living changed mindsthe result that all education such as Ms. Powers', indoctrination with lib- in inner cities. aims to produce. eral dogma, I guess I'll have to let that sort of A high percentage of people on welfare are But my goal is not just to impart informa-perverse judgment run off my back. able-bodied black men. tion. I want students to learn how to evaluate Michael Schwalbe teaches sociology at North People are poor because they are lazy andinformation and ideas critically; how to find Carolina State University. His essay, "The Chil- don't want to work. things out for themselves; and how to arrive at dren ofReaganBush,"was reprinted in the March Most homeless people arc homeless by choice. well-founded ,pinions. And so I encourage9, 1994 Chronicle of Higher Education. Spring 1994 Democratic CulturePage 35 84 JOIN TDC/RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP! JOIN TEACHERS FOR A DEMOCRATIC CULTURE WITH THIS FORM The continuing growth and success of TDC depends on your involvement and your contributions. We ask all current TDC members to renew their memberships by returning this form to cover calendar year 1994. We also encourage non-members who have received this newsletter to join us in order to continue receiving Democratic Culture. Please mail this form to: TDC, P.O. Box 6405, Evanston IL 60204.

_Yes, I want to become a member of TDC _Yes, I want to renew my membership in TDC Enclosed is my 1994 contribution of: $50 _$25 _$5 (students) Name Department School or Affiliation City State Zip Home Address (if preferred) Phone Numbers: Business FAX Home E-mail democratic CulII e

Teachers for a Democratic Culture BULK RATE P.O. Box 6405 U.S. POSTAGE Evanston, IL 60204 PAID CHICAGO, IL PERMIT NO. 7706 Please Renew Your TDC Membership Today! Volume 3 Number Newsletter of democratc Fall 1994 Teachers for a Democratic Culture P.O. Box 6405Evanston, 1L 60204 email: [email protected] LII TEACHERS FOR A Special Issue DEMOCRATIC CULTURE Co- Coordinators: A symposium on Gerald Graff 415-948-6576 FAX 415-321-1192 Who Stole Feminism? email: graff @casbs.stanford.edu Gregory Jay How Women Have Betrayed-N. Women 414-962-9582 by Christina-I* Sommers FAX 414-962-3435 email: gjay @csd.uwm.edu with essays by: Newsletter Editor. John K. Wilson 1414 E. 59th St. #867 Nina Auerbach Chicago, IL 60637 312-753-0460 Dale Bauer email: jkw30 midway.uchicago.edu at Provisional Steering Committee: Russell Eisenman Steve Fuller Patricia Ramsey 10". Jane Gallop David Shumway Barbara Gold James Slevin Jonathan Entin Dominick LaCapra Judith Stacey Amy Lang Dan Tompkins Donald Lazere Mark Tushnet Patricia Farrant Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Ellen Messer-Davidow Elizabeth Fay Richard Yarborough Newsletter Layout: Reid Huntsinger Ann Ferguson Laura Flanders HELP Susan Friedman TDC Linda Hirshman WE DESPERATELY NEED yourmoney to continue producing Democratic Cul- Celinda Lake ture and coordinating the other activi- Plus: Excerpts from new ties of TDC. We ask our current mem- books by Paul Loeb and bers to send us a check to renew their Ellen Messer-Davidow membership for 1994-95 (no form is Michael Berube Steve needed). And we ask those receiving David Sadker Democratic Culture for the first time to Fuller reviews Higher please send us a donation and join Superstition Donna Myra Sadker TDC in order to get future issues of this newsletter (use the form on page 2 or Dunbar-Odom on critical the back page). Please encourage pedagogy Letters Rebecca Sinkler friends and colleagues to become mem- bers. Without your support, we won't be Professor Newt Gingrich John K. Wilson able to continue our work. 86 Join TEACHERS FOR ADEMOCRATIC CULTURE

TEACHERS FOR A DEMOCRATIC CULTURE was Excerpts from the original statement ofpurpose of Teachers for a Democratic Culture: formed in 1991 and currently counts over 1,700 teachers, Colleges and universities in the United States have lately students, and scholars as members. TDC supporters begun to serve the majority of Americans better than ever come from almost every discipline in the humanities and before. A vociferous band of critics has arisen, however, who social sciences and include members in the professions, decry these changes and seek to reverse them. such as law and medicine. It is our view that recent curricular reforms influenced by During its first years, TDC worked hard to counter the multiculturalism and feminism have greatly enriched educa- negative portrayal of feminism, multiculturalism, literary tion rather than corrupted it. It is our view as well that the theory, cultural studies, and other academic innovations by government officials and the media. We were espe- controversies that have been provoked over admissions and cially concerned about thdirection of the National En- hiring practices, the social functions of teaching and scholar- dowment for the Humanities under Lynne Cheney. But we ship, and the status of such concepts as objectivity and ideol- were very encouraged by the excellence and diversity of ogy are signs of educational health, notdecline. the most recent appointments to the NEH's Advisory Yet because the mainstream media have reported misin- Council under Sheldon Hackney. formed opinions as if they were established facts, the picture While time and Clinton's election took some of the the public has received of recent academic developments has immediate heat out of the "political correctness" wars, come almost entirely from the most stridentdetractors of these teachers and students around the nation still find them- selves under attack by well-funded ideologues from the developments. Right, including the National Association of Scholars. It is time for those who believe in the values of democratic Meanwhile, many feel the time has come to take seriously education and reasoned dialogue to join together in an orga- some of the complaints about excesses by partisans on nization that can fight such powerful forms of intolerance and the Left. Often the debate among various disputants answer mischievous misrepresentations. We support theright creates more heat than light, as rigid positions get set in of scholars and teachers to raise questions about the relations concrete. While TDC has been generally supportive of ofculture, scholarship and education to politicsnot in order much of the new scholarship and reform policies, it re- to shut down debate on such issues but to open it. It issuch a mains committed to fostering self-criticism and dialogue. debate that is prevented by discussion-stopping slogans like Toward these ends, TDC publishes Democratic Cul- "political correctness." ture, a newsletter that keeps members up to date about happenings in academia and provides a forum for spirited We need an organization that can not only refute malicious debate. distortions but also educate the interested public about mat- We hope that you will join TDC with the membership ters that still too often remain shrouded in mysterynew form below. Or simply send your name and address, along literary theories and movements such as deconstructionism, with whatever donation you can afford, to Teachers for a feminism, multiculturalism and the new historicism, and their Democratic Culture, P.O. Box 6405, Evanston, IL 60204. actual effects on classroom practice. MEMBERSHIP REGISTRATION JOIN TEACHERS FOR A DEMOCRATIC CULTURE WITH THIS FORM The continuing growth and success of TDC depends on your involvement and your contributions. We ask ali currentTDC members to send in a check (no form is needed unless you have changed your address) to cover 1994-95. We also encourage non-memberswho have received this newsletter to join us. Please mail this membership form to: Teachers for a Democratic Culture, P.O. Box 6405,Evanston IL 60204.

__Yes, I want to become a member of TDC _Yes, I want to renew my membership in TDC Enclosed is my 1994-95 contribution of: _$50 _$25 _$5 (students/low-income) Name Department School or Affiliation City State Zip Home Address (if preferred) Phone Numbers: Business FAX Home E-mail

Page 2--Democratic Culture Fall 1994 b 1 Newt Gingrich 101 John Wilson

REP. NEWT GINGRICH (R-Ga.) bringsa new meaning to ing, which Newt obligingly provided. Both Berman and Gingrich "political" correctness in his college course called Renewing deny that the donation was a payment for his assistance. "Itwas a American Civilization. When asked by a campus newspaper if the class dumb thing to write on the note," Newt admitted, saying thathe would "have a balance of liberal ideas," Newt said, "No. I'm goingto immediately called Berman because "I wanted himto understand allow Democrats but nor liberal ideas." A Gingrich spokesperson, there were no circumstances involvingany quid pro quo. If he had any Allan Lipsett, explained that "liberal ideas" wouldnot be allowed in confusion about that, I told him I'd send the check back." the course because "liberal ideas have failed." According to Lipsett, if But Berman's influence with Newt was apparentlynot limited to "you're teaching a cooking course, you teach howto produce a good Congressional hearings. Pamela Prochnow, GOPAC's finance direc- dinner. You don't teach your students how to produce a bad dinner." tor and a Newt 101 staffer, reported in a May 10, 1993memo about Chef Newt adds: "People who disagree withme have every right to a meeting with Berman, who said he might make a contribution of teach their own course...I have no obligation to clutter the course with $20,000 to $25,000 "if the course can incorporatesome of the ideas" people who I regard as explicitly wrong." that "entry level positions are not necessarily dead end." The St. Louis Post-Dispatch called the class "anew low in political Later, along with the $25,000 check for Newt 101,was a note from cynicism" and editorialized, "These statements, plus Mr. Gingrich's Berman reporting that he had given the project director "information reputation for the bitterest kind of partisanship, make clear that his that you can use for program material" and adding, "I'm delighted that course will be an exercise in propaganda, not education. But it will be it will be part of your lecture series." paid for in part by all taxpayersliberals and conservativeswho bear Perhaps it's no coincidence, then, that Newt's introductoryessay the burden of the tax deduction his political-upporters receive for in the readings for Renewing American Civilization features this defraying the course' expenses." statement: "Entrepreneurial free enterprise is not only a source of Much of the $291,000 needed to put thecourse on satellite came personal success and economic prosperity. It is centralto our success from businesses who supported Newt's political campaigns. For the as a civilization. How many people consider that McDonald's has the corporations, Newt 101 offered a tax-deductible form of political most powerful job training system in the world? More young people lobbying. One $25,000 contributor was Cracker Barrel,a restaurant get more entry level training in McDonald's than anywhere else." chain infamous for firing gay and lesbian employees. Cracke. Barrel's How about that? Flipping burgers at McDonald's is theessence of political action committee also contributed to Gingrich's re-election American Civilization. Isn't it amazing whatyou can learn in college? campaigns, as did other Newt 101 donorsHealthsouth Corpora- Gingrich (who was a history and geography instructorat West tion, Southwire Corporation, and Associated Builders and Contrac- Georgia State College before he becamea politician) taught the class tors. at Kennesaw for free because House members are limited from This connection between political lobbying and higher education receiving compensation for teaching positions andstate law prohib- can be explained by the involvement of GOPAC, a political action ited elected officials from servingas state employees. However, the committee run by Newt which raised $2.6 million in 1992to recruit money that would have paid the instructor was instead used to hire a and assist Republican political candidates. GOPAC's executive direc- marketer to promote the class. tor, Jeffrey Eisenach, became the director of Newt's class, assisted by In response to complaints, the Georgia Board of Regents amended two other former GOPAC staffers. GOPAC sought out major con- its policies to prohibit elected officials from teachingat state colleges tributors and sent a mailing to College Republicangroups around the or universities, whether or not they are paid. In 1994 Gingrich moved country, telling them that "the recent tribulations of the Clinton the class to Reinhardt College, a small private school in Waleska, Administi ation have made all of us feela little better for our short-term Georgia. prospects," and going to explain the need fora long-term Republican Newt rejected the accusations of political bias: "I believe it will vision provided by Renewing American Civilization. withstand comparison with any course being offered by thosewho According to Newt, GOPAC had "the most incidental involve- complain. I would be glad to matchour syllabus and our reading list ment." But Newt admits, "I took all the help I could get...I wanted with any requirement in the system." But John Willoughby,director people near me, helping me, who I know and trust....they're the best of the American Studies program at the American University,exam- fund-raisers I know." Newt never addressed the ethical and legal ined the syllabus and concluded, "I think it's obviously designedto problems of having a political action committee raise funds fora non- push his own political perspective." profit foundation supporting a collegecourse. There arc other indications that Renewing American Civilization The Atlanta Constitution reported that Richard Berman,a lobbyist has more of a political purpose than an educationalone. Newt told the with the Employment Policies Institutea restaurant tradegroup Atlanta Constitution that he hopes the class will shape presidential which crusades against minimum wage lawsdonated $25,000to campaign debate in 1996 and help him recruit 200,000 campaign help pay for the class and added a handwritten note at the bottom of workers. Newt explained, "It's not partisan, it's political...there'sa his letter, saying: "Newt, Thanks again for the helpon today's difference." committee hearing." Still, the worst thing about Renewinilmerican Civilization isn't Berman, an old friend of Newt, had asked for help to getan the hint of political corruption, or even the blatant political bias appearance at a Congressional committee hearing on drunken driv- revealed in the syllabus and Newt's comments. What is truly objec- Fall 1994 Democratic Culture Page 3

BEST COPY AVAILABLE 8 5 tionable about Newt Gingrich 101 is its lack of intellectual content program" for American renewal, as if we are suffering from some kind and its low academic standards. of cultural alcoholism. According to Huffington, "Our evolution has The syllabus includes an impressive (although entirely conserva- always depended on the few preening forward from stage to stage.Any tive) list of 300 books for further reading, but no one actually needs newprinciple of existence must first establish itselfin the few and then, to read them: the sole required reading is a 226-page, large-type once a critical threshold is reached, it mysteriously and automatically collection of 10 essays. Any thoughtful conservative I know would be spreads to the many."(220) too embarrassed to recommend this book to a student or a friend, let Other writers give us standard Republican blather, blaming the alone require it as the sole reading material for an entire class. "the current Administration" for bad economic policies that are Newt's own essay in the book is rife with typographical errors that "shuffling cash from taxpayers to the underprivileged."(157-8) George magnify the inanity of his words: "American Civilization is in fact a Gilder tells us, "Greed is actually less a characteristic of Bill Gates, the more powerful, a more humane, and a more desirable form of Chairman of Microsoft, than of Harry Homeless. Harry may seem civilization that [sic] the alternatives."(4) "We in the modem age pitiable. But he and his advocates insist that he occupyand de- cannot appreciate the importance of George Washington because his valuesome of the planet's most valuable real estate."(61) importance did not stem from a brilliantI.Q. ora charismatic Students were asked in one mailing to "commit" themselves to speaking style or any of the other indices of [sic] by which we tend to Renewing American Civilization, and Huffington's concluding essay judge people."(8) "In education, we will explode the capacity of humans declares, "Our strategy should be to do much more than merely to educate themselves and to learn without having to show up at school `contain' the culture of confusionwe must roll it back: intellectually, during certain hours."(14) "We can restore the melting pot by becoming artistically and commercially."(224) a country in which every immigrant learns English and everyone is Newt Gingrich 101 isn't going away. Newt plans to teach it this expect [sic] to become, habitually and by practice, an American."(17) spring, and again in 1996. But one wonders if Renewing American Maybe Newt and his editors should be first in line to learn English, if Civilization is really a course committed to intellectual debate, or if they're not too busy melting and exploding everyone else. Newt's real aim is to spread his personal propaganda and mobilize a Many of the other essays in the book read like New Age Republican legion of followers to enhance his future political ambitions. psychobabble: "The highest human performance potential is realized For more information on teaching Renewing American Civilization when people kindle and nurture the `fire within.'"(43) "The capability at your college, contact the Progress and Freedom Foundation, 1800 to think and act with independent strength is first necessary before Parkway Place, Suite 315, Marietta GA 30067. interdependent synergy can be effective."(49) John K Wilson is a graduate student at the University ofChicago and Arianna Huffington (wife of a Congressman) offers a "twelve-step editor of Democratic Culture. Generation at the Crossroads Paul Rogat Loeb

PC-baiting could not have succeeded had the more testaments of dead irrelevant white men. to draw support from their specific communities America's national media questioned the truth of Their efforts to address America's profound divi- and to build on common experiences and under- the distorted, exaggerated, and fraudulent ex- sions. of race, sex, and class, leave them at times standings. But when they judge whether people amples that they so blithely passed onexamples off balance or awakward. Inevitably, they take are trustworthy solely on the basis of skin color or repeated in article after article. A variety of thoughtful some false steps, which the critics then attack. gender, they veer onto dangerous turf. rebuttals did challenge the rhetorical stampede. How else do student activists fall into the traps Yet such flaws are peripheral to contemporary (Many of the best articles are collected in Patricia that conservatives have so effectively caricatured? student movements. Theyoccurlargely at their Aufdertteide's Beyond PC: Towards a Politics of Some do wrestle to absurdity over how to make margins and affect mostly those directly involved Understancing.) But rarely did they appear in their words inoffensive to all possible groups. At in the cause. Although they sometimes make the major national venues. Their presence was lim- times this creates their own perfect standard of important work of these movements more difficult ited, rather, to liberal-left publications of modest language, and it can leave newcomers so afraid than necessary, by no stretch of the imagination circulation, to scattered newspaper edito rial pages, they'll have to act and talk a certain precise way, do they cast the kind of intellectual and emotional and to periodicals aimed at the academy itself. In that they balk at getting involved. Other activists chill over their campuses that the PC-baiters de- contrast to the attacks of the PC-baiters, they were voice their arguments for social change in lan- scribe. Real issues exist behind the caricatures, barely visible. The phrase "politically correct" has guage so opaque and jargon-encrusted as to but the hype of the critics has made them harrier, become a taken-for-granted phrase in American almost set themselves up for attack. The politics of not easier to address. culture, used to describe everything from citizens racial and sexual identity can often factionalize. At taking out their recycling to enforced niceness in a time when poor and minority communities have everyday speech. been devastated by America's political and eco- Paul Loeb's new book is Do the PC attacks raise any legitimate ques- nomic choices, a sense of outrage and solidarity Generation at the Crossroads: tions? As I've described, activist students have can mako it tempting to vent frustration on targets their flaws. Because their task is difficult, they close at hand, such as university professors, ad- Apathy and Action on the sometimes grow judgmental, bluntly shutting down ministrators who may or may not be culpable, or American Campus (Rutgers those who disagree with them. They sometimes equally beleagured white working-class students. separate themselves from important historical It can be tempting to justify questionable actions in University Press, 1994). perspectives, dismissing rich and vital literature as terms of clear larger wrongs. Students often need

Page 4 -- Democratic Culture Fall 1999 My Date With Dinesh Michael Berubi

T LEARNED TO be extremely wary of Dinesh D'Souza from the What really happened was this: D'Souza's May 18, 1981 Review moment I entered the fray over the PC wars, when he asked the article also included anonymous excerpts from what he called Village Voice for a retraction of my claim that he had, during his "personal letters from students confessing their gay sentiments." editorship of the Dartmouth Review, published stolen correspondence The New York Times revealed D'Souza's source later that year, from members of Dartmouth's Gay Student Alliance. D'Souza's when it reported that some "membership and correspondence files behavior leaves me skeptical as to whether the political opponents of of the Gay Student Alliance disappeared from the College Cehter. the cultural left can be reached by appeals to "intellectual honesty" at and...were printed in the Review." Dolores Johnson, former direc- all. tor of Dartmouth's Council on Student Organizations, conr;rmed The episode itself dates from 1981, but it is D'Souza's conduct in to me that none of D'Souza's information could have come from 1991 that principally concerns me here. On 13 May 1991, David a "public file," because "no administrative office keeps lists of the Corn reported in the Nation that D'Souza had maliciously "outed" membership of or letters to, any student organization." (David some gay students at Dartmouth. After failing to get a full retraction Corn, in the July 8 Nation, retracted his earlier "Correction and from the Nation, D'Souza wrote a second letter: "My friends tell me Amplification.") And what can D'Souza possibly mean by saying not to waste my time because I should expect lies from the `loony left.' the Review "regretted in print having named the young man"? I hope I am not naive in holding you to a higher standard." D'Souza offered no apology; on the contrary, he intensified his D'Souza also wrote to the Village Voice, in more measured tones: previous allegationby publishing facsimiles of the stolen docu- ments. His only sentence of regret was "We are sorry that it has Michael Berube, in a June 18 article, alleged that while I was the come to this." I cannot guess why D'Souza has now chosen to heap editor of The Dartmouth Review, I "proudly published the stolen one distortion atop another. But I fail to see how any responsible private correspondence of Dartmouth's gay and lesbian students." person can continue to take D'Souza seriously. Conservatives This claim, which was first printed by The Nation, is false. Indeed, should begin shopping around for a more credible representative. when presented with the facts, The Nation retracted the claim. What really happened was this: the Review's article concerned Because of the Voice's strict space limitations, I could not go on to thc. Gay Student Association [sic] as a college-recognized and - say that D'Souza, however unwittingly, drove one student he named funded group. The article named the five officers of the group who to contemplate suicide as a result of the Review story on the Gay were listed with the college's Committee on Student Organizations Student Alliance; nor could I comment on the cockiness with which [sic]. Such listing is a requirement for funding and the names are he demanded a retraction from the Nation, proclaiming that he knew open to public scrutiny. No other names or identities were re- he would meet with "lies from the loony left." vealed, and all the information in the article came from the public Within a few days, I got a call from Paul Berman inviting me to file. reprint my article in his collection Debating P.C. I gratefully accepted Later, one of the officers named claimed he was not affiliated the invitation, whereupon Berman informed me that I would have to with the group, and had been erroneously named. Apparently, the strike the reference to D'Souza and the Gay Student Allianc-since young man was not openly gay, but made the error of accepting an D'Souza was contesting the allegationagain, despite his having just officer's position with the group, thus putting his name on the released proof that the allegation was quite true. When it became clear public record. The Review was in no position to know this and that Berman would not consider reprinting the piece unless the regretted in print having named the young man. "questionable" allegation was dropped, I dropped it. Istill don't know just what I think of my own unpleasant By the time the Voice apprised me of D'Souza's letter, I had gotten introduction to the world of PC polemics and professionalized in touch with both David Corn and Victor Navasky of the Nation, political hypocrisy, but I suggest that the mentality that gave us a wanting to know the status of their initial report and what they called D'Souza to attack academe is the same mentality that gave us a Clint its subsequent "clarification and amplification." Corn sent me copies Bolick to attack Lani Guinier on issues of racial justice, and a Quayle of the documents D'Souza had sent him, and I dug up an old story I to attack Clinton's "hypocrisy" over Vietnam. Academic critics must, recalled having been published in the New York Times about the time when attacked, engage the arguments of their attackers, and we can I graduated from college. And here's where the story gets weird. even give them credit where credit is due, when they criticize some- D'Souza's entire letter was contradicted by the very documents he thing worth criticizing. But it's well to remember that in Republican had sent to Corn, which dearly showed that the Review, in an article Washington, circa 1981-92, and on the D'Souza-Cheney axis of the under D'Souza's name, had in fact published excerpts from students' culture wars, "debate" is conducted by rules that most academics correspondenceas well As photocopies of official and unofficial GSA and most nnonsible citizensdon't recognize. documents, whose legal-pad scrawls revealed the name and official position of the student who had requested that the Review not Michael Lierube teaches English at the University of Illinois associate him with the GSA. I then made a few phone calls to (Urbana-Champaign) and is co-editor of Higher Education Under Dartmouth, and soon I had the text of my reply to D'Schaza, which ran Fire: Politics, Economics and the Crisis of the Humanities (forth- as follows: coming). This essay is excerpted from his book, Public Access: Literary Theory and American Cultural Politics (Verso, 1994).

Fall 1994 Democratic Cu'ture Page 5 90 Stolen Feminism? John K Wilson

T N WHO STOLE Feminism?, Christina Hoff Sommers claims that logical or emotional disorder, develop a positive sense of personal a well-funded conspiracy of feminists has deceived the public by identity, and manage to forge adaptive peer relationships at the misusing research and spreading their lies to gullible journalists and same time they maintain close relationships with their fami- students. But Sommers' book contains the very failings which she lies."(144-5) accuses feminists of committing: basic factual mistakes, manipulated data, misrepresentation of surveys, exaggeration of results, abuse of But Petersen never meant that boys and girls are equally depressed, opponents, and condemnation of anyone who fails to conform to her and writes later in her article: ideological goals. Sommers rarely comes to grips with the intellectual ideas of All the evidence suggests that increases in depressive disorders and mood are greater for girls than for boys during adolescence (e.g., feminists, selectively quoting them to serve her thesis as she does with Sandra Lee Bartky: "Nevertheless...the disciplinary practices of Kandel & Davies, 1982; Kashani et al., 1987; Petersen, Kennedy, & Sullivan, 1991). The gender difference that emerges by age 14- femininity...must be understood as aspects of a far larger discipline, an 15 years appears to persist into adulthood. Many scholars have oppressive and inegalitarian system of sexual subordination."(230) considered whether the gender difference is a true difference in But Bartky actually wrote: "Nevertheless, insofar as the disciplinary practices of femininity produce a 'subjected and practiced,' an depression or whether it can be explained by artifacts such as different styles of responding to questions and differences in inferiorized, body, they must be understood as aspects of a far larger openness. These examinations have concluded that the gender discipline, an oppressive and inegalitarian system ofsexual subordina- difference appears to be a true difference in the experience of tion."(75) Sommers makes Bartky's view seem more extreme by depression (Cove &Tudor, 1973; Nolen-Hoeksema, 1987; Nolen- removing the important qualifier "insofar as." Hoeksema, Girgus, & Seligman, 1991; Weissman & Klerman, Sommers also uses quotations selectively when she x about 1977).(American Psychologist, 2/93, 158) Alison Jaggar: "It is now commonplace for feminist philosophers to reject the Enlightenment ideals of the old feminism. According to the Sommers quotes another scholar immediately after Petersen: University of Colorado feminist theorist Alison Jaggar, 'Radical and "Roberta Simmons had said very much the same thing: 'Most kids socialist feminists have shown that the old ideals of freedom, equality come through the years from 10 to 20 without major problems and and democracy are insufficient.'"(23-24) But Sommers omits what with an increasing sense of self-esteem.' If Petersen and Simmons are Jaggar writes next: "Women are not free as long as their sexuality is right, the AAUW's contentions are an expensive false alarm."(145) male-defined and as long as they cannot make their own decisions to But Sommers overlooks the fact that the same article summarizes bear or not bear children. Women are not equal with men as long as Simmons' finding that "many girls entering junior high and high they are forced to do a disproportionate amount of childcare, main- school did experience drops in feelings of confidence and self-satisfac- tenance work and nurturing." It is difficult to believe that any "old tion." How seriously can we take Sommers' claim that girls show no feminists" would argue with Jaggar's "radical" beliefs, since the fight drop in self-esteem when the authorities she quotes explicitly contra- for the right to use contraceptives was one of the most important dict her thesis? movements of the "old feminism." A similar distortion of research occurs when Sommers looks at Sommers dismisses feminist work in extreme terms, declaring that domestic violence. Sommers declares that "the large majority of historian Blanche Wiesen Cook "had just released a book in which she batterers zre criminals"(198) and "violent male sociopachs"(199) claimed that Eleanor Roosevelt was really a lesbian."(20) This is a gross based on a Massachusetts study which found that 80 percent of male distortion of Cook's research, which revealed that Roosevelt had subjects of restraining orders had criminal records. But Sommers fails "intimate friendships with two lesbian couples" and "passionate to point out that the men who have restraining orders filed against friendships" with both men and women. Cook never wrote that them represent a very smalland probably extremely violent Eleanor Roosevelt was a lesbian. The fact that Sommers misrepresents proportion of all batterers. Cook's book in order to ridicule feminism indicates a disturbing Sommers also claims that "battery may have very little to do with attitude toward lesbians which is reflected later in the book, when patriarchy or gender bias," quoting Claire Renzetti who "studied the Sommers warns parents not to send their daughters to certain women's problem of lesbian violence and summarized the findings in Violent colleges where "she may change her appearance, and even her sexual Betrayal. Partner Abuse in Lesbian Relationships: 'It appears that orientation."(91) violence in lesbian relationships occurs at about the same frequency as Trying to refute the fact that adolescent girls disproportionately violence in heterosexual relationships.'"(199-200) But Renzetti also suffer a decline in self-esteem Sommers writes: reports in her book that she used a self-selected san nle and stated "my study was not designed to measure the abuse in lesbian relation- Anne Petersen, a University of Minnesota adolescent psychologist, ships."(19) Renzetti added, "It is doubtful that researchers will ever be recently summarized the opinion shared by most clinicians and able to measure accurately the prevalence of homosexual partner researchers working in adolescent psychology: "It is now known that the majority of adolescents of both genders successfully abuse."(19) The one study cited by Renzetti which compared hetero- negotiate this developmental period without any major psycho- sexual and lesbian relationships "showed that the male partners of the heterosexual respondents perpetrated a grater overall number of

Page 6Democratic Culture Fall 1999 9 1 aggressive acts than the female partners of the lesbian responden ts."(18) because 42% had sex with their attacker again. But by this same logic, Trying to refute Naomi Wolf's theory of the beauty myth, Sommers battered women who remain with their attackerseven for a short quotes one study which claimed that "thumbing through popular timewere not really beaten. It is a sad fact that 41% of the rape magazines filled with beautiful models may have little immediate victims in Koss' survey expected to be raped again. And it is sadder still effect on the self-images of most women."(233, 301) (But predictably, that Sommers uses the widespread acceptance of sexual violence as an Sommers omits the researchers' next sentence: "Still, one clearly excuse to deny its existence. cannot rule out potential effects of long-term media exposure to In addition to misrepresenting feminist research, Sommers distorts cultura'. standards of beauty.") Ironically, Sommers blames these same feminist teaching. Sommers never bothers to step inside women's fashion magazines for indoctrinating young women:"Mirabella and studies classrooms (her book discusses exactly one class focusing on its ilk foster misandrism by introducing many a teenager to the gender, which Sommers "enjoyed"), but her ignorance does not stop resenter mode of male/female relationships."(304) Sommers should her from concluding that "much of what students learn in women's make up her mindeither fashion magazines are powerful agents of studies classes is not disciplined scholarship but feminist ideol- the feminist conspiracy or they are powerless to affect women's self- ogy."(51, 106) Although Sommers mentions nothing about talking co image. students who like taking Women's Studies classes, she has no doubt Sommers tries to attack Mary Koss' survey on rape by claiming it that they are all "intolerant of dissent." was flawed by a question about unwanted sex under the influence of While Sommers attacks women's studies for influencing the lives of drugs or alcohol. According to Sommers: students, Sommers herself has described how she altered her teaching when she found that "my classes were doing nothing to change" her Koss now concedes that question eight was badly worded. Indeed, skeptical students (Christianity Today, 12/13/93, 35). Sommers begins she told the Blade reporters, "At the time I viewed the question as by claiming that feminists censor their students, but she urges the legal; I now concede that it's ambiguous." That concession should elimination of classes she dislikes: "That an instructor invites or even have been followed by the admission that her survey may be allows her students to 'speak out about personal affairs is an unfailing sign inaccurate by a factor of two: for, as Koss herself told the Blade, once that the course is unsubstantial and unscholarly."(100) you remove the positive responses to question eight, the finding As one example of feminism's "ideologically correct censorious that one in four college women is a victim of rape or attempted rape revisionism,"(269) Sommers tells the story of how Goya's The Naked drops to one in nine.(213) Maja was removed from a classroom. But Nancy Stumhofer reports This is false. The one in four figure drops to one in fivenot one in the Spring 1994 Democratic Culture that she was upset not by the in nine w1 :n the question is removed, as Sommers could have easily painting but "when I heard some of the male students laughing and discovered in Koss' scholarly writings. By comparing the one in four making comments to each other" about it while she tried to teach. figure (which includes attempted rapes) with the one in nine figure Sommers says Stumhofer "filed formal harassment charges against (which does not include attempted rapes), Sommers is simply deceiv- those responsible for the presence of the painting for creating `a ing her read :rs. chilling environment.'"(270) But Stumhofer notes, "The truth is Sommers has admitted her error and (like Naomi Wolfdid with the that I never claimed I had been sexually harassed by the painting," 150,000 anorexia deaths) corrected her mistake in a later printing of and no charges were filed by anyone. Sommers tell us: "Goya's the book. But Sommers still claims, "When you remove the alcohol painting has been removed."(271) She doesn't mention that the question r.nd subtract from the survey's results all the women who did painting was moved to the Student Center where it now has greater not believe they were raped, the incendiary 'One in Four' figure drops public access. to between one in 22 and one in 33." However, the 27% who called Sommers' attack on feminism is often based on errors and miscon- what happened to them "rape" should be increased to at least 41%, ceptions. She accuses the University of Maryland of "screening" since 14% of the women described the attack as "a crime but not rape," presidential candidates for their feminist views. But according to and clearly they regarded it as a form of sexual violence. University of Maryland president William Kirwan, "the Committee Moreover, Sommers conveniently omits many other important did not 'question' the candidates in the manner or with the agenda findings by Koss, such as the fact that 84% of the women tried to described.' And contrary to Sommers' claim that "Kirwan came reason with the attacker, 70% put up some form of physical resistance, through with $500,000 of the university's funds for a curriculum and 64% were held downstrange behavior for consensual sex. transformation project, without going through the faculty senate to do Perhaps most tellingly, Sommers offers no challenge to the other so,"(119) Kirwan reports that $350,000 was allocated for programs to questions in Koss' survey, such as: "Have you had sexual intercourse recruit and appoint more women faculty, and to encourage high when you didn't want to because a man threatened or used some school women to pursue careers in science, mathe-natics, and engi- degree of physical force (twisting your arm, holding you down, etc.) neering, along with a summer curriculum project to help faculty to make your(211) include material about women in courses which cost $100,000, not It is ironic that Sommers attacks the AAUW survey for relying on the $500,000 reported by Sommers. students' self-reports of how they feel about themselves (something Sommers also exaggerates the influence of feminists and they know well), but when she turns to rape su rveys, Sommers believes multiculturalists on the curriculum. She cites the 1989 study, What that women's self-reports about rape (a legal definition which many do Do Our 17 Years Old Know?, noting that "more high school students not know) must he taken as gospel. The fact that only 11% said they recognized the name ofHarrietTubman (83%) than Winston Churchill were not victimized indicates a high level of sexualviolence. (78%) or Joseph Stalin (53%)." But students were most knowledge- Sommers also argues that these women could not have been raped able about traditional history subjectsmore than 85% could iden-

Fall 1994 Democratic Culture Page 7

4. tify Thomas Edison, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Adolf disproves Sommers' argument that "Blackstone plainly says that Hitler, and the locations of Italy, the Soviet Union, and the 13 original common law prohibited violence against wives."(205) states on a map. Some of the lowest scores dealt with women and Sommers also removed the section of Blackstone's commentary minorities, including the 1970s women's movement (23%), the which referred to an older law allowing husbands to beat their wives Seneca Falls Declaration (26%), and Jim Crow laws (31%). In the with whips and sticks. In response to criticism, Sommers now claims, literature section, students got the highest scores on Shakespeare "I omitted that because its content had already been paraphrased in the (68%) and the Bible (67%), but a failing glade for questions on the preceding language which I did quote: `The husband by the old law literature of women and blacks (49%). might give his wife moderate chastisement." But what average reader Sommers' distortions go back into history when she claims, "The would know that "correction" and "chastisement" actually meant `rule of thumb,' however, turns out to be an excellent example of what beating, as 'Sommers readily admits it did? may be called a feminist fiction."(204) But the "rule of thumb" was Sommers now argues, "the phrase rule of thumb' nowhere appears mentioned in at least five early American legal cases, and no historian in Blackstone's discussion of wife beating." But the old common law would deny the existence of a common law standard which accepted which legalized wife-beating bears a strong resemblance to the rule of the right of husbands to moderately beat their wives. thumb, as Elizabeth Fleck notes: "Blackstone decried the old com- InBradley v. State(1824), the Mississippi Supreme Court sug- mon-law doctrine that a husband had the right to beat his wife with gested that this rule of thumb might be "narrowed down...without a whip no bigger than his thumb." producing a destruction of the principle itself." InState v. Rhodes Sommers may be accurate in claiming, "the phrase did not origi- (1868), the husband was found not guilty of whipping his wife three nate in wife beating." But when feminists discuss the "rule of thumb," times because of the "rule of thumb." The North Carolina Supreme they are not engaging in a debate about linguistic origins. Feminists are Court overturned the decision, modifying the "rule of thumb" with- reporting the fact that wife-beating was accepted throughout Anglo- out repudiating it: "We will no more interfere where the husband American history, as represented in extreme form by the "rule of whips the wife, than where the wife whips the husband." thumb." Out of 14 examples given by Sommers in which feminists InState v. Mabrey(1870), the same court rejected the "rule of discuss the rule of thumb, all of them refer to wife-beating, but less thumb," but even in a case where "death was threatened," the court than halfeven mention the origins of the phrase" rule of thu mb"and carefully noted that "the Courts will not invade the domestic forum, at most only a couple of these incorrectly suggested that wife-beating to take cognizance of trifling cases u:violence in family government," was the sole source of this idiom.(204, 206-7, 295-6) a doctrine repeated in 1874: "in order to preserve the sanctity of the Sommers attscks the "rule of thumb" "fiction" because it "is domestic circle, the Courts will not listen to trivial complaints." In supposed to bring home to students the realization that they have been 1908, the court summarized the long history of the law's tolerance for born into a system that tolerates violence against women."(203) wife-beating: "It is true that for the aforesaid purpose of 'drawing a veil Sommers wrongly denies that the Anglo-American legal system has over dealings between man and wife,' for long centuries the husband tolerated violence against women, but unfortunately, Sommers' false was held authorized to inflict personal chastisement upon the wife, attack on the rule of thumb has proven influential. TheCleveland provided `no serious bodily harm or permanent injury were inflicted,' Plain-Dealer(7/26) reports that Rep. Charles Schumer (D-NY) and or, as some decisions phrased it, 'if the rod used was not larger than the Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) will no longer mention the "rule of husband's thumb.'"(State aFulton) thumb" because it is "not true" and "apocryphal." Sommers' claim that these "rule of thumb" cases "were not Perhaps the greatest irony is that Sommers' idol Elizabeth Cady representative of mainstream judicial opinion in the rest of the Stanton, in her 1854 speech to the New York Legislature (which country" is refuted by numerous courts which tolerated wife-beating Sommers quotes as a model of equity feminism), declared: "By the as "trifling violence." Assault on a wife was rarely prosecuted, and wife- common law of England, the sp irit of which has been but too faithfully beating did not always constitute grounds for divorce. The Alabama incorporated into our statute law, a husband has a right to whip his Supreme Court observed in 1862, "There are circumstances, under wife with a rod not larger than his thumb, to shut her up in a room, which a husband may strike his wife with a horse-whip, or may strike and administer whatever moderate chastisement he may deem neces- her several times with a switch, so hard as to leave marks on her person, sary to insure obedience to his wishes, and for her healthful moral and these acts do not furnish sufficient ground for a divorce." Courts development!" in Iowa, Alabama, New Hampshire, and Louisiana refused divorces to Sommers concludes her book by declaring that "feminism itself beaten wives because her "highly unbecoming" language, "her own the pure and wholesome article first displayed at Seneca Falls in conduct," or her "bold masculine spirit" justified the abuse. 1848is as American as apple pie, and it will stay."(275) The Sommers' distortion of history extends back to Blackstone, who question is whether we are satisfied with the first steps to formal did reject the right of husbands to beat their wives but was certainly equality made a century ago, )r whether we are determined to not repudiating a feminist invention; he was arguing against an old continue moving forward toward the true equality which feminists common law standard which plainly existed in the past and, as like Stanton envisioned as their ultimate goal. Sommers quotes Blackstone, still persisted: "Yet [among) the lower Christina Hoff Sommers fails in her efforts to deny the existence of rank of people...the courts o flaw will still permit a husband to restrain acquaintance rape, sex discrimination, sexual harassment, and domes- a wife of her liberty in case of any gross misbehaviour."(205) What tic violence, andWho Stole Feminism? isa deeply flawed book- -not Sommers conceals from her readers with the ellipses was that the because it "dares" to challenge the feminist "orthodoxy," but because "lower rank," according to Blackstone, "were always fond of the old it distorts scholarly research and feminist views in order to tear down common law" and "still claim and use their ancient privilege," which a straw person called "gender feminism."

Page 8Democratic Culture Fall 1994 y3 Sommers and Her Conspiracies John K. Wilson

CHRISTINA HOFF SOMMERS has a and she also tried to prevent the publication ofNina Auerbach was attacked by Sommers and long history of making absurd charges Friedman's letter next to her own at the begin-villified by conservatives across the country. about feminist conspiracies against her. Sommers' ning of the argument in the APA Proceedings.Auerbach and the New York Times Book Re- first foray into the culture wars was an accusation And when some letters critical ofSommers' wild view were falsely accused of conspiring to that a course proposal form at Clark University charges were printed, she called it "an Orwellian destroy Sommers' book. amounted to a "loyalty oath" because it asked campaign of hatred against a dissident voice." Rush Limbaugh told his audience that "mili- teachers, "Insofar as it might be relevant to the Sommers even falsely accused editor Davidtant gender feminazi feminism" and the New content of the course, please explain how plural- Hoekema of trying to censor her. York Times were trying "to kill this hook" by istic views are explored and integrated in this The effort to depict Sommers as a helpless "reacting hysterically." Conservative columnist course." It is a sign of Sommers' relentless desirevictim ofthe feminist conspiracy requires a greatSuzanne Fields declared, "So dangerous is this to discover a conspiracy of the thought police deal of exaggeration and sometimes outright book that the New York Times Book Review, a that she described a harmless request for infor- invention, as Richard Bernstein does in his newcoven of gender feminists, assigned it to some- mation as a "loyalty oath." book, Dictatorship of Virtue. "The APA Proceed- one the author had earlier attacked." In late 1991, Sommers presented herself as ings, in two issues, published a total of 44 pages Hilton Kramer of the New York Post (6/14) the victim of this feminist conspiracy when she of responses to Sommers's letter, every pagecalled it a "deliberate attempt to annihilate an wrote to the professional journal of the Ameri- negative. There was not a single word ofsupport important new book on feminist politics" and can Philosophical Association, charging thatfor Sommers. Forty-four pages of hostile re- "a major intellectual scandal." Jim Sleeper in feminist philosophers "transgress the norms ofsponses to Sommers's letter, from writers whothe New York Daily News (6/13) directly ac- intellectual exchange," and accusing them of claimed that nobody did exactly what, in writing cused Auerbach of lying. Sommers herself led "the suppression of or the attempt to suppress those letters, they were doing!"(120) In fact, in the fight, calling the media to make ridiculous my minority standpoint." two years the APA Proceedings printed 21 lettersclaims that Auerbach had "recognized" herself Sommers accused Sandra Lee Bartky of (32 pages) from Sommers and her supporters, and used the review to "settle scores," and trying to "discredit and muzzle me" because and 17 letters (31 pages) from Sommers' critics. accusing Auerbach of "professional m.ilfea- Bartky had written to the editor of Atlantic While Sommers accuses feminists of "adsance" for her review. Monthly urging him to choose a more respon-hominem opprobrium and political censure," Yet Jean Elshtain and Mary Lefkowitt favor- sible reporter than Sommers to write aboutshe shows no reluctance to attack her opponents ably reviewed the book for the New Republic and feminism due to "Sommers's inaccurate and in similar terms. In her articles, interviews, andthe National Review without anyone criticizing unscrupulous presentation ofviews with which letters, Sommers says feminists "are people with the fact that both are praised in Who Stole she disagrees." In a second example, a Forbesserious [psychological] problems" andcalls femi-Feminism? as "distinguished figures."(131-2) editor asked Alison Jaggar about Sommers' nism "a protected species," "embracing a closed Why was Nina Auerbach attacked for reviewing summary of her ideas, and Jaggar told iim it perspective," "extreme," "angry," "in constant a book which didn't mention her, while sup- had "elementary misunderstandings, distGr- agitated communication," and "dishonest and porters named in the book (like Cathy Young for tions or misrepresentations." Sommers' thirdunworthy." She calls feininists "patronizing and Commentary) were not challenged at all asbeing example of her oppress ion is Naomi Scheman, condescending," "uniformly tiresome," "offen- "biased" reviewers? who told a reporter off the record that Sommers sive," and "irrational and violent," with a "dis- While Sommers condemns feminists for be- was a "dangerous woman" because she "had tinctly misogynist attitude" and a "perverse in- lieving in "conspiracy" theories about the power displayed a lack of scholarly integrity in thesistence on rape." Feminism, she claims, is "a of patriarchy over women, she believes that a past in her accusations against feminists" powerful cult" guilty of using "invective," "bul- conspiracyoffeminists is out to destroy her. This although Sommers similarly calls feminists lying tactics," "avoidance tactics," "intellectual issue of Democratic Culture may be dismissed "irresponsible and dangerous."(97) excesses," and "ad hominem" arguments. like other criticisms of Sommers, even though Sommers' fourth example of being "sup- Sommers' supporters compared feminists to we openly asked for submissions. When I in- pressed" was the failure of the Newsletter ofHitler and Mussolini, attacked them as "emo- vited Sommers to respond to some of the essays, Feminism and Philosophy to print a response by tional" and "McCarthyist," urged the APA toshe declined after learning that the writers she Sommers to an essay written by Marilyn "close down the feminist newsletter," suggested criticized wouldas is corn mon practicehave Friedmaneven though Sommers never sent that Andrea Dworkin, Catharine MacKinnon, an opportunity to respond: in her response or contacted the editor until after and Alison Jaggar suffer from "a mental disor- "I won't be participating. The format you the deadline for the issue had passed. der," called feminist philosophy "patheticallysuggest is unjust and unconventional. Nor- These are flimsy grounds upon which toincompetent," and compared the APA journal mally, when A's work is criticized by B, C, and build a claim ofsuppression, especially consider- to Pravda for printing letters critical ofSommers. I), A gets to respond. And that is the end of it. ing that Sommers herself has not been open to Sommers' abuse of her opponents and in- But I see you have in mind that B, C, and D criticism. She tried to prevent the Journal ofvention of feminist conspiracies against hershould get a second go at me. That is what Social Philosophy from running a rejoinder by has continued with the publication of Who Catharine MacKinnon colorfully calls a gang Marilyn Friedman to their exchange of articles, Stole Feminism? For writing a negative review, bang. Include me out."

Fail 1994 Democratic Culture Page 9 94 BEST COPY AVAILABLE Christina's World Nina Auerbach

T SHOULD HAVE been suspicious when the editor of the New extreme right wing. York Times Book Review was so cajoling, assuring my answering Sommers lauds the "traditional" scholarship she claims feminists are machine that this book was "perfect for me." I have wondered since undermining, but her primary frame of reference is media exposure and how many women were smart enough not to review Who Stole talk shows. Only incidentally and superficially does she mention the Feminism? Because I had never heard of Christina Hoff Sommers, and books of either friend or foe. Her implicit assumption that books and because I thought Who Stole Feminism? might be an authentic articu- reading are obsolete, that scholarship and politics are reducible to sound lation of my own doubts about some feminist pieties rather than the bites at conferences or in magazine interviews, made me certain that I right wing-instigated attack missile it is, I agreed to review it. hated Who Stole Feminism?I fear I am the true traditionalist, for when talk I was repelled by the book from the outset and became more so as shows rather than books become the central authorities, my hackles go up. I read on. I knew, too, almost from the outset, that Sommers would When I was halfway through, I considered returning the book make trouble if I wrote a bad review: as author, she brags about being unreviewed, not because I'm represented in itI'm not (I was a a troublemakerfor unsuspecting participants in the feminist co Ifer- speaker at one of the many conferences she caricatures, although she ences she infiltrates, for the Women's Studies teachers and adm._iis- ignores my rather unpolitical paper)but because I could find trators she travesties (often on the basis of anonymous hearsay), for nothing in the book to praise and the situation smelled of trouble. My women's colleges, and for the members of the organizations she editor at the Times and my conscience goaded me to persevere: it "debates" on TV (she reports in the book of being a dependable an seemed cowardly to suppress my opinion, and moreover, I am a advocate on any talk show that will have her). She seems, compulsive finisher of projects once I have begun to work on them. however, less an ideologue than a loose cannon, proud of her ability Had I thought a conflict of interest was involved, as Sommers would not to refute, but to disrupt. In this spirit, Who Stole Feminism? is a later insist, I would probably have leapt at that excuse to get out of the comprehensive battle cry against all aspects of academic and political assignment. feminism, one bulging with statistics (many of which have now been But there was never anything self-serving about my hatred of this challenged or refuted), but devoid ofsocial analysis. The book spreads book. Politically, I am committed to feminist issues, but by 1980 I had itself so thin and reveals so unrelenting an animus that in my opinion become disenchanted (though never in Sommers' terms) with the it would lose credibility even to a reader who never heard of feminism. feminist criticism that was an all-too-respectable presence in English No matter what one's politics, this is, for me at least, an ugly book, one Departments. Over the years, I have expressed this disenchantment in that aims not to analyze or to correct, but to poison the wells. writing, lectures, and interviews: I was and remain depressed by the As author, Sommers flaunts her right-wing connections. Without clannishness of the field, the fixation of most feminist critics on each the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, the Carthage Foundation, other and on the latest theoretical trends, to the exclusion of the social and the John M. Olin Foundation, she could not, she claims, have and-political inequities we began by challenging. I have done my best written her book, a tribute that makes me suspect that the real spirit to detach myself from this or any critical school, and to write simply behind Who Stole Feminism? isless Sommers' than that of the as my own woman. I expressed my sense of detachment (and hinted conservative foundations who funded her lavishly. She inserts fulsome of my di' nchantment) in my book Romantic Imprisonment, which (but contextually irreleant) tributes to such better-known anti- the Timer reviewed in 1986, along with an interview in which 1 feminist women as Camille Paglia and Katie Roiphe. Like all bullies, dissociate., myself from academic or political labels. I suspect it was Sommers as author hides behind others' authority. She seems con- this publicly-expressed disengagement that made the Times choose me cerned less with women's issues than with ingratiating herself with the as Sommers' reviewer. SisterhoodIs Fractious Excerpts from Nina Auerbach's review in the Gleefully citing critiques of women she dislikes, Ms. Sommers doesn't Now York Times Book Review (June 12,1994) stop to draw the obvious conclusion: Like the rest of America, feminists in Who Stole Feminism? How Women Have Betrayed Women is so particular and academics in general are far from monolithic, but fractious, overwrought and underargued that it is unlikely to amuse or persuade. self-critical and, in most cases, ready to change with the times. Sommers asserts that "American feminism is currently dominated by a group Talk shows, conferences (their academic equivalent), magazine inter- of women who seek to persuade the public that American women are not the views, feminist Intemets and other sound bites are Ms. Sommers' primary free creatures we think we are." That "we" creates a community of readers sources. She cites few actual books; a sentence quoted from Kate Millett's who may not exist, for Ms. Sommers' attacks are so indiscriminate that hers long and difficult Sexual Politics is attributed to "the back cover." is a book only for the already disaffected. She deplores the evolution of something she calls "equity feminism" Contemporary feminism is certainly open to criticism, but it deserves a into something she calls "gender feminism." These categories are slip- more informed adversary. Ms. Sommers only touches on the antipornogra- pery, particularly the second, since she crams many women into it who phy movement. Since the crusade to ban pornography does, I think, make on the face of it disagree with one another, from the women's historian feminism vulnerable to Ms. Sommers' charge of thought-policing, I expected Gorda Lerner to the psychological theorist Carol Gilligan to the president her to cover this widely publicized issue in depth. Had she done so, she would of NOW, Patricia Ireland. have encountered fierce debates among feminists that reveal not the totalitarian invaders she tries to depict but the women of America. Page 10Democratic Culture Fall 1999 Who Stole Feminism?is the only book of the fifteen I have reviewed Nevertheless, I wasn't entirely surprised when the first call came, for the Times that deals with feminism. For the record, the only from Jim Sleeper on the New York Daily News, on the Thursday before identifiably feminist book I've reviewed for a non-academic publica- the review actually appeared. I was surprised, almost titillated, when tion is Bram Dijkstra's Idols of Perversity (for The Nation in 1987), he said grandiosely that everyone in New York was talking about my which I disliked almost as much as I did Who Stole Feminism?, and said review. This would have been a first. Since 1983 I had reviewed some so. Bram Dij kstra could easily have invented conspiracy theories about fourteen books for the New York Times. Some were by distinguished me, but he behaved like a colleague and a pro and said nothing. His authors, and two became actual best-sellers; but even when I was less book is still enjoying a critical and commercial success that easily than reverent to a famous name, no one noticed what I said. I tried to surmounted my criticism. suppress a flattered grin, because I knew something bad was coming, Probably Sommers' book will be the last one on feminism I'll review. but in my most paranoid fantasies I could not have anticipated what Ironically, if any informed reviewer were to like this book, I would have followed. been that reviewer. But I am close enough to her academic material to Not: "How could you be so cruel to a beginning author?" Not: "Are know how skewed her accusations are and the worth ofwhat she is trying you a politically correct feminist?" But: "Did you teach Christina to destroy. I know several of the gifted women she insults and most of the Sommers'stepson?" At that point the ground seemed to open, for I never books she belittles; her arbitrary caricatures demean not only academic remember the names of my students or, in fact, of most people (I had and political work by and about women, but the exhaustive reading and probably heard and forgotten Sommers' own name, since a few years multi-faceted analysis I think of as scholarship. ago she tried to incriminate as "politically correct" one of my female My problem writing the review was to exorcise Sommers' high-decibel colleagues at Penn who had taught her stepsonalso on the basis of invective from my own style, for the unremitting antagonism in Who Stole a statistically-based comment on said stepson's term paper). More- Feminism? grated on me more than its message. The anti-feminist over, since I had been on leave for six months, my grade book had message could be repudiated, or at least debated, but as with so much disappeared in the welter of my office. I was lost in the horror of being right-wing rhetoric, the intensity of its vindictiveness is stupefying. With an inveterate name-forgetter caught out. I burbled something from the help ofthree patient friendsnone ofwhom had heard ofSommers my guilty abyss. I tried to chisel my anger intc something like cool precision. My sense of nightmare intensified when Jim Sleeper told me that The review was carefully vetted, first by my friends, then by my Sommers had called every newspaper in the country (with the help, I wonderfully savvy editor on the Book Review, and I assume too by the should think, of a well-organized phone bank), proclaiming that I editor-in-chief, Rebecca Sinkler. The Times was scrupulous in ascer- "recognized myself" in her book, not as feminist ideologue or seditious taining that every criticism I made had a clear basis in Sommers' book; writer and reviewer, but as the University of Pennsylvania professor anything questionable was altered or cut. Sommers and some colum- who had written on the margin of her stepson's term paper. "Even nists on rival newspapers would later claim that the Times and I today women make only 59 percent of what men make!"(238) conspired to kill her book, but the Times, with my willing cooperation, Once more I was abashed: I am as fuzzy about numbers as I am did everything to ensure that I wrote not about my own distaste but about names. I stammered quite honestly that I don't know any about the book at hand. statistics so would never cite them to a student (or anyone). Perfidy was The Choice of Nina Auerbach Rebecca Sinkler

NINA AUERBACH, WHO reviewedpositions of certain feministswhat Sommers if she had been. Sommers has said that in one Christina Hoff Sommers' book, is an calls "gender feminists." chapter she was writing about Auerbach, but author and professor of English literature at Auerbach is a good and lively writer, and she there was no Auerbach could have known the University of Pennsylvania. She has re- can be outspoken in her views. We like that in a that. Auerbach did participate in one of the viewed frequently for ch. Times Book Review reviewer. She read Who Stole Feminism? and many large women's studies conferences that over the past decade or so, and she has proven took issue with what she saw as errors, contradic- Sommers attended and wrote about nega- to be a fair, accurate, and reliable critic. Not tions, and overstatements ofvarious kinds. All in tively, but scores of women attended the con- only that, she is on the record as being against all, she was sharply critical of the hook. ferences Sommers attacks. And attending a many of the excesses of the feminist move- No one who has charged her with bias has conference does not mean one agrees with ment, especially on college campuses. In other found anything inaccurate in her review. Those everything that goes on there. words, she's not PC. making the charges arc basing them on an Auerbach is known as a contrarian, and a Auerbach also knows a great deal about the inaccurate report in a New York newspapercritic of academic feminism in its sillier mani- subject of women's studies, since she has been that claimed Auerbach was named in Sommers' festations. We at the Book Review knew that teaching for two decades and has watched the book and should have recused herself as afrom reading what Auerbach has written and discipline as it has developed from its begin- reviewer. The Book Review received many from speaking with her personally. nings in the 1970s. We at the Book Review letters asking us why we would assign the book Rebecca Sinkler is the editor ofthe New York thought she would be a good critic for Who to someone named in it. The answer is, we Times Book Review. An earlier version of this Stole Feminism?, a hook that supports equality wouldn't. Auerbach isn't named in Who Stole essayappeared as an email response on America for women but attacks certain practices and Feminism? and she would not have reviewed it Onlinei New York Times service, @Times.

Fall 1994 Democratic Culture Page 11 96 credible to this reporter, but not ignorance. After hounding me about At this writing, Rush Limbaugh has called me a feminazi; I have been the term paper for awhile, scarcely mentioning either Sommers' book the radical feminist villain in four newspaper columns by indignant men. or my review, lie hung up and wrote in an inflammatory column that Most of these columns dwell on the offending term paper comment, I was lying: I had written the PC statistic on her stepson's paper, and though some claim as well that I knew Sommers criticized my conference knew it. A friend suggested I should be grateful that Jim Sleeper had paper without mentioning my name--despite the fact thatshe is addicted the courtesy to telephone me, but since he invented most of the to naming names and criticizes no papers anonymously from that statements he attributed to me, he needn't have wasted his time. The particular conference. No reporter has requested a copy of my paper to issue to Sleeper and to subsequent columnists became, not politics, check against the quotations in her book. Sommers' defenders in the press scholarship, feminism, her book, or my review, but their attempts to give me the Cassandra feeling that I alone have actually read Who Stole get na, to acknowledge an anonymous comment Christina Sommers Feminism? The Times published some angry and suspiciously similar claimed was on a term paper no one in the press ever asked her to letters, none of whose writers admitted to having read the book, and I produce. This marginal comment became a source of au then tic terror. answered them as coolly as I could. So much, I hope, for my brush with As in Sommers' own book, with its hectoring emphasis on chance the organized right. remarks made at conferences or on talk shows, the tangential had I am unnerved, though, by this instance of political correctness on triumphed. I knew that since I don't think in numbers, I would never the right, its power to enlist the media and to throw even the New York cite such a statistic, though I refused to repudiate someone's right to Times into a defensive tizzy. Why does an author whose book was do so. My credibility hung on this marginal and unprovable remark. panned have more credibility than the reviewer? If a feminist or any The Monday after my review appeared, the switchboards of the other progressive didn't like a book review, could we jam the phone Times were jammed with angry phone calls, urging Rebecca Sink ler to lines of the Times? Would columnists listen or cry, "PC! "? Where, in disclaim my review. She, it turned out, knew less about Christina any case, are our phone banks? Whom could we enlist to champion an Sommers than I did: I had at least read the book and knew the brackish unread book? waters I was swimming in, but when the calls poured in, Rebecca was Asa literary critic, I am especially disturbed by the pervasive disdain bewildered and appalled. For a bad few hours, the burden of proofwas for the actual book. Not only did Sommers' defenders, the letter- on me to defend my integrity as reviewer. I faxed a self-defense to the writers or the reporters, show r.o symptom of having read Who Stole Book Review and waited nervously for the verdict. If the Times bowed Feminism?, but there were no substantive complaints about the to pressure and publicly disclaimed my review, I would, I knew, be content of my review: the issue was deflected from anything Sommers professionally tarnished thereafter. I knew how Zoe Baird and Lani or I said in print to undemonstrable personal attacks on me. As a Guinier must have felt as they waited for word from President Clinton reviewer, I have tweaked distinguished noses from Frank Kermode's after smear campaigns had spat them, unrecognizable, at his feet. to Stephen King's; none of them knew I was there. If they or other Suddenly I was no longer a designated authority, but a lone .rget successful authors had taken issue with my or any review, they would forced to defend myself against mad accusations that seemed to be have looked guilty of petty egotism or bad sportsmanship. Who coming from everywhere. endows Christina Sommers with an authority granted to no estab- My fate was happier than Lani Guinier's. Partly, I suspect, because lished author? Rebecca Sinkler, like all of us, had watched and winced as the Senate and Most writers of first booksespecially those with no endorsements cl_zn. the President let themselves be bemused by this sort of smear by established writers on the coverare glad to get any reviews at all, :mtnpaign, my review was not disclaimed. I was exonerated of the more much less a review in the Times. Nevertheless, against all the rules of Byzantine charges that I "recognized" myself as the anonymous butt of the literary game, an army of workers exerted itself to protect her book her caricature. Had Sommers lied less stupidly, bringing in larger, more against my criticism. The muscle used to discredit me and the New important issues than my own self-interest; had I not had a twelve-year York Times goes beyond the issue of a book review. It is an action taken association with the Book Review; had the pressure on the Times been less against books in general, against freedom of speech, and against boorishI might have fallen into the abyss Nserved for those whose book scholarship. reviews are disclaimed and their authority taken away. Nina Auerbach teaches English at the University of Pennsylvania.

New York Times Book Reviewer The Times asks reviewers whether they know of any reason why they or Feminist Dragon Lady? shouldn't accept an assignment. Auerbach had such a reason, but she While most mainstream reviews of Sommers' book were mixed or didn't tell. That's surprising, because she insisted to me that "Its a lousy favorable, Auerbach's Times review was sharply critical. But the critical book, it doesn't deserve any attention." Why review it, then? review ended up putting Auerbach, not Sommers, on the spot. When I posed this question, Auerbach's deer-in-the-headlights re- The fact is that Auerbach is not named in the book, and she denies any sponse was deep denial: "I don't think I taught this boy." Told that she had, conflict of interest. Nevertheless, the claim was taken serious by promi- indeed, taught Tamler Sommers, Auerbach said that a teaching assistant nent media critics like the Washington Posts Howard Kurtz (6/16/94). must/have written the offending comment. Maybe, but does she doubt Auerbach feels she was plugged into some journalists pre-written "s the one Sommers is attacking?Van,she says, and I don't believe scripts: "A lot of the media wants to push this book, wants the feminist Gr. dragon lady, i.e. me, to be the villain, and there were a couple of articles Auerbach's editors surely didn't know that Sommers was writing about saying, 'How dare they get Nina Auerbach, a well-known radical historian.' her. But they do know better than to assign any book that slams an And I'm a literary critic. i mean, they could have at least sort of mentioned academic subculture to a prominent member of that subculture. Or don't my books. They even got my field wrong." they? Laura Flanders, EXTRA!, September/October 1994. Jim Sleeper, New York Daily News, June 12, 1494.

Page 12.Democratic Culture Fall 1994 The Big Lie Linda Hirshman

THE WEEKS SINCE 0. J. Simpson's arrest for murder have IN RESPONSE TO Hirshman's article, Christina Hoff Sommers witnessed an explosion of debate about domestic violence. With a wrote a letter (8/13/94) in which she declared: conference committee of Congress considering the Violence Against Weighing in for the feminists, Hirshman says that my bookWho Stole Women Act as part of the crime package, the subject commands Feminism?used "the Big Lie technique," when, in the middle of unprecedented attention. Sadly, much of the debate has been sullied by quoting Blackstone, it omitted a bit of Latin that talked of the oldlaw the willingness of the political right to engage in wild misrepresentations. that allowed a husband to "lawfully and reasonably" use force in Some of the people engaged in this process also bring their credibility as "correcting" his wife. I omitted that because its content had already teachers and scholars to the exchange. To find academics presenting been paraphrased in the preceding language which I did quote: "The skewed information to the public casts doubt on the whole enterprise of husband by the old law might give his wife moderate chastisement." scholarship, a doubt that will last long after the current debate is over. Hirshman commits an interpretive whopper since she evidently reads This misrepresentation oldie numbers is just the most recent variation the omitted Latin as giving Blackstone's opinion. Not so: Blackstone of the Big Lie technique much in vogue among the debunkers of gender mentions the "old law" only to point out that it had been superseded violence. Christina Hoff Sommers, an associate professor at Clark in his own "politer" day (1768): "A wife may now have security against Who Stole Feminism?, University in Massachusetts, published a book, her husband." That is Blackstone's view. claiming that the common-law doctrine of the "rule of thumb," which allowed a man to beat his wife if he used moderation, as in a stick no Sommers added: thicker than a thumb, is a "feminist fiction." Conservative columnists So my three major points remain: 1) Blackstone's opinion is that John Leo and Mona Charen glommed onto this assertion and crowed violence against wives is no longer legal; 2) the phrase "rule of about how newspapers and television stations had been taken in. thumb" nowhere appears in Blackstone's discussion of wife beat- There's only one problem: It's Sommers who is wrong. There are at ing, and 3) the phrase did not originate in wife beating. (Authori- least three 19th - Century American cases referring explicitly to the "rule ties have traced its origin to 17th-Century English woodworkers Bradley v. State).Sommers of thumb '(State v. Oliver, State v. Rhodes,and who expertly used their thumbs for quick rough measurements.) knew about the cases because she refers to the two that convicted the husband anyway. But she never mentions the case that let the husband off. In conclusion, Sommers challenged Hirshman Sommers also didn't do her homework. The cases and the articles to cite the statutes in American law justifying the feminist claim about the rule of thumb refer to the universally accepted authority on old that our laws (not one or two sexist judges) sanctioned wife beating English common law, William Blackstone. Sommers looked at by a stick no bigger than the husband's thumb. There is no such Blackstone'sCommentaries,she says, in which Blackstone found that the body of actual law. Historically, the American legal systemalbeit volume common law prohibited violence against wives. She even cites a imperfect and imperfectly enfor:edoffers women the best pro- in her footnotes. A real scholar would ask how all those 19th-century state tections of liberty and person to date. Feminist revisionist legal court judges who refer to Blackstone could have been so mistaken. history=not my rejection of itis the Big Lie. The answer is that Sommers must have been looking at some sort of condensed version of Blackstone that left off the Latin parts, perhaps for LINDA HI' SHMAN REPLIES: the benefit of the common modern reader. Her quotation stopped right I recentlyrticized Associate Philosophy Professor Christina Hoff in the middle of a sentence. In the real volumes of Blackstone, available Sommers for her unscholarly misrepresentations of the facts about in many libraries, a husband's right in the old common law to moderate domestic violence. By her letter, Associate Professor Sommers contin- chastisement of his wife is there in black and white. Violence is allowed, ues simply repeating her false assertions. Relentlessly repeating false- Blackstone says, if it "lawfully and reasonably belongs to the husband for hoods for political ends is a very dangerous strategy to follow, as 20th the due government and correction of his wife." Blackstone even talks century history has amply showed. about the limits on the permission in civil law to use scourges (whips or False:Common law permission to heat your wife is a feminist straps) and sticks. Perhaps Charen and Leo also lack libraries. fiction. Regardless of one's politics, we must ask ourselves whether the True: In the formative period of our legal system, husbands were truth of gender relations is so terrible that it must be concealed with allowed to do serious violence against their wives without cost. a curtain of lies. False:Unlike all other feminist scholars, Christina Hoff Sommers Linda Hirshman teaches law and is director of the Women's Legal is a uniquely reliable source on all aspects of gender. Studies Institute at the Chicago Kent College of Law. This essay appeared True: Sommers' contentions on legal feminism are amateurishly sloppy in longer form in the July 31, 1994Los Angeles Times. and inaccurate. What nonlawyer Sommers calls "bits of Latin" not important "The Baron may beate his Wife" enough to bother with are the actual old cases (the writs) permitting if a man beat an out-law, a traitor, a Pagai is villein, or his wife it the violence. These Latin writs embodied the old English common law is dispunishable, because by the Law Comr se persons can have authorities allowing the husbands to beat tht:r wives as necessary. Put no action: God send Gentle-women better .t, or better companie." another way, in legal history, as in life:Cases are law. Numbers are facts. The Lewes Resolutions of Womens Rights: or, the Lewes Provision All the rest is commentary. for Woemen (1632), p. 128. Democratic Culture Page 13 Fall 1994 93 Beyond Polemic Jonathan L. Entin

CHRISTINA HOFF SOMMERS apparently has never heard of that campaign as equity feminists because they argued for sex-blind Otis Dudley Duncan. When confronted with some silly ideas, legal standards. But skeptical commentators, many of whom would that distinguished demographer concluded that it would be better "to hardly qualify as gender feminists, have questioned whether these pass over these matters in silence in the hope that neglect will be better victories really improved women's lot. Some of the cases were brought medicine for this infection than polemic." on behalf of male claimants and dealt with such seemingly trivial Polemic unfortunately reflects the style of much contemporary matters as differential drinking ages. public discourse, which frequently takes to extreme lengths the There was a coherent rationale for this approach, as now-Justice Supreme Court's view that debate should be "uninhibited, robust, and Ginsburg explained during her confirmation hearing last year. The wide open." Duncan did not always opt for silence. He devoted his women's rights lawyers drew much of their inspiration from the career to pioneering research rather than vituperative essays, which NAACP's anti-segregation litigation campaign that culminated in suggests that there can be a more measured response to objectionable Brown v. Board ofEducation. Knowing that existing precedents were ideas; one that tries to generate light rather than heat. almost completely unfavorable, Thurgood Marshall sought to chip This brings us to Professor Sommers, who doesn't much like away at the doctrinal underpinnings of "separate but equal" until the contemporary feminism. Concluding that she could no longer remain propitious moment for a frontal assault. silent, she has written a polemical book, Who Stole Feminism?, and The legal precedents for women were not much better,as anyone readers have chosen up sides along predictable ideological lines. who has read Justice Bradley's paean to motherhood in rejecting Myra As a bystander to recent debates among my colleagues in the arts Bradwell's attempt to become a lawyer will appreciate. Over theyears and sciences, I was struck most strongly by Professor Sommers' sharp since 1873, judicial language had become more subtle but the results distinction between what she calls equity feminists, whom she ap- were hardly encouraging. Reasoning by analogy from the campaign proves, and those she characterizes as gender feminists, whom she against segregation, feminist lawyers brought a series of cases that excoriates. Some of the most important influences on my professional questioned stereotypical notions of sex roles. Their male plaintiffs development have been distinguished women. I suspect that they would often took a much more active part in chil l care and domestic work than is true even today, and such superficially unimportant regula- Amidst her vehement and frequently tions as differential drinking ages often reflected distressingly patron- izing assumptions about male-female behavior. hyperbolic condemnation of gender feminism, From this perspective, the distinction between equity feminism and gender feminism begins to blur. The women's rights lawyers concluded she does raise some important questions and that traditional legal doctrine was so pervaded by stereotypical (male?) ideas that progress could be made only by packagingcases in unthreatening point out some obvious mistakes. ways, such as by finding men to challenge apparently minor sex-based rules. Only after achieving success in those cases would it be possibleto see fewer stark contrasts and more differences of emphasis than she does. get the Supreme Court to treat more important sex-based classifications, More important, I was struck by Professor Sommers' almost antiseptic like race-based ones, as legally s uspect and therefo re p resumptively invalid account of equity feminism. At times I sensed not very subtle suggestions unless supported by a compelling governmental interest. There would that the problems women face are inconsequential and that anyone who still be loom to argue whether particular arrangements, suchas speCial views the glass as still half (or maybe one-quarter) empty is willfully blind accommodation of pregnant workers, were permissible, but the burden to the reality of ineluctable progress. This comes through, for example, in of persuasion would fall on those seeking to justify differenttreatment her discussion of the nineteenth-century origins of equity ferninism,(33- rather than on those attacking it. 35) the presentation of women in textbooks,(56-58) and trends in On the evidence from her book, unfortunately, Professor Sommers earnings differentials between men and women.(241-42) seems incapable of facilitating the sort of reasoned discussion that But equip feminism has been neither complacent nor demure. universities are supposed to promote. She often appears primarily intent Elizabeth Cauy Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, whom Sommers on scoring rhetorical points against those with whom she disagrees. She invokes as preferred models, condemned the Fourteenth Amendment cannot even resist inserting a few personal digs against Naomi Wolfwhile because one of its provisions protected only "male" voting rights. And congratulating her for moving away from gender feminism.(245) Lucretia Mott, who broke with them to support the Fourteenth Amend- Nevertheless, some of Professor Sommers' points deservea more ment despite that provision, once audibly objectee. when the official thoughtful response than the tone of her argument might invite. Amidst presiding at a wedding pronounced the couple "man and wife" rather her vehement and frequently hyperbolic condemnation of gender femi- than "husband and wife." (Compare Sommers' criticism of gender- nism, she does raise some important questions and point out some feminist students who correct their teachers in the classroom (107).) obvious mistakes. We ought to take these matters seriouslyeven S we Consider also the litigation campaign for women's rights thatwon disagree with her position and find her tone less than constructive. a series of Supreme Court cases beginning in the 1970s. Professor To take just one example, Sommers devotes six pages (203-08) to Sommers would probably characterize Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who the etymology of the term "rule of thumb." Herpurpose is to disprove played a major role in those efforts, and the other lawyers involved in the claim that this term originated as a rule of Englishcommon law,

Page 14Democratic Culture Fall 1994 transplanted to America, that a husband could beat his wife with a representative of judicial opinion in the rest of the country."(206) weapon no thicker than his thumb. This is, she says, a "feminist It would be wrong to concludethatthese old cases completely fiction."(204) discredit the rule of thumb as a legal concept. There is a well- The claim has two elements. The first is that "rule of thumb" was recognized distinction between law on the books and lav, in action. It first used in reference to the legal standard for wife - beating. Sommers is possible that people in the nineteenth century erroneously thought consulted theOxford English Dictionary,which traces the phrase back there was such a legal principle, as Terry Davidson did in our own to the late seventeenth century to usages that have nothing to do with time. Sommers never considers this possibility; Kelly does. spouse abuse. I checked both the first and the second edition of the As late as 1941, in the first edition of his celebrated treatise on tort OEDand found no references at all to that subject. law, William Prosser referred to the rule of thumb in discussing the The second element isthat, whatever the term's origin, the Rhodes case (although he dismissed that idea as a "legend" in a common law did allow husbands to beat their wives with thumb's- subsequent edition). A commonly cited 1917 law review article states width sticks. Sommers finds no basis for this assertion in Blackstone's the rule of without actually using the term, and mistakenly Commentaries on the. Laws of England(which profoundly influenced adduces the two North Carolina decisions as authority for that early American law) and invokes work of " historian and feminist" proposition. Perhaps more significant, an American edition of Elizabeth Pleck,(205) who wrote about American laws against wife- Blackstone'sCommentariespublished in 1897 (at which point beating that date as far back as the seventeenth century. At the same Blackstone himself had been dead for more than a century) inaccu- time, Sommers does concede that there is "a small core of fact" in this rately citesRhodesas endorsing the rule of thumb. element of the "rule of thumb" story.(206) This discussion suggests the following conclusion: To say that the This account is reasonably accurate as far as it goes, although it common law countenanced some violence against wives does not neces- omits what might be the only American case on record in which the sarily mean that the "rule of thumb" represented the common law "rule of thumb" was used to acquit a husband accused ofwife-beating. standard. The two. propositions are neither equivalent nor logically But in correcting the mistakes of others, Sommers implies that those related. We can endorse the first without necessarily accepting the second. who disseminate this "feminist fable"(207) do so exclusively for These references in respected and widely available legal works ideological reasons. The true story is more complex. In summarizing suggest the possibility that at least some members of the public that story here, I draw heavily upon an article by Henry Ansgar Kelly assumed that the notion of "rule of thumb" had something to do with that will appear this fall in the JournalofLegal Education.Kelly reviews the permissible limits of husbandly authority. It is also reasonable to the origins of the term "rule of thumb" in reference to wife-beating, suppose that this assumption influenced the behavior of some hus- examines American sources, traces the authorities relied upon by bands who might have regarded physical violence against their wives Blackstone, and analyzes the extent of permissible wife-chastisement as acceptable and of law-enforcement personnel who might have in English and Roman law. found It difficult to attach very high priority to such behavior. Like Sommers, Kelly finds the first published claim that "rule of Sommers herself calls for better approaches to the problem of thumb" originated in English common law to be a 1977 paper by domestic violence. So what difference does it make that the term "rule Terry Davidson. Unlike Sommers, Kelly suggests that Davidson's of thumb" did not originate in English common law and that there is mistake arose from ignorance rather than ideology. He describes her not very much legal authority of any kind relating this term to wife- as "a journalist with no evidence of legal or historical training." Her beating? For that matter, why should we care about other exaggera- inaccurate account of the term's etymology has been accepted tions and errors that she points out? After all, mistakes are inevitable uncriticr:ily by scholars who should know better. in discussions of highly charged subjects. Of course, showing that the term "rule of thumb" did not arise as We should care for several reasons. As a matter of strategy, those a T/recept of the common law is only part of the issue. Theabsence of who seek to persuade others should avoid basic mistakes that might any reference to this usage in theOEDmight simply reflect a coverage call their overall credibility into question. Some of the errors Sommers gap. More important is whether the law recognized the"rule of notes, such as the etymology and significance of "rule of thumb," thumb" as a standard in wife-beating cases. Sommers refers to an 1824 might seem trivial. Unfortunately, they can have a corrosive effect on ruling by the Mississippi Supreme Court(Bradley v.State) and an public perceptions of those who purvey them. Moreover, they can also 1874 decision by the North Carolina Supreme Court (State v.Oliver), provide cheap rhetorical ammunition to critics. For example, I know both of which unequivocally rejected the thumb standard while of at least one conservative commentator (a woman) who used the upholding convictions for spousal abuse. She correctly observes, controversy in the University of Minnesota's Scandinavian studies however, that neither court found an absolute legal bar against department to question whether sexual harassment allegations should violence toward wives. ever be taken very seriously. If Sommers' account of that situation is Sommers misses an earlier North Carolina decision(State v. remotely accurate,(114-15) we should all be troubled. Rhodes)discussed by Kelly. In that 1868 case, the trial judge hut Atamore fundamental level, getting things right has intrinsic explicitly relied upon the rule of thumb in dismissing a wife-beating value. If Sommers helps us do that, we ought to be grateful even charge. Kelly found no similar judicial ruling in any other reported though we find her general thesis unpersuasive. It's too bad that she ecision. In any event, the state supreme court disavowed the lower so often seems more interested in scoring debater's points than in court's reasoning but upheld the result because the case involved having a serious conversation, but that shouldn't prevent the rest of us 'trifling violence." This conclusion echoes Blackstone's notion that from trying to understand the world more clearly. husbands enjoyed what Sommers calls "a measure of latitude in Jonathan Entin teaches law at the Case Western Reserve University physically chastising their wives," a notion she characterizes as "not School of Law.

Fall 1994 Democratic Culture Page 15 1 0 Failing at Fairness Myra Sadker and David Sadker

CHRISTINA HOFF SOMMERS debunks studies document- published in the United States. In that exhaustive chapter, we never ing gender bias in education with claims of "not peer reviewed." came across the name Christina Hoff Sommers. To the best of our She has leveled these charges in numerous interviews, all designed to knowledge, she has never published a single education research article, promote her new book, while killing the Gender Equity in Education peer reviewed, semi-peer reviewed or unreviewed. Nothing. Educa- Act now before Congress. tional research dearly is not Sommers' field. If it is an arena she wishes Her charge is bizarre. Our research has been reviewed by the federal to enter, she should do her homework. government, by outside experts hired by the government, by the Gender bias is a subtle, usually unintentional, but persistent part American Educational Research Association and by editors and edito- of the classroom. More than twenty other studies show that boys rial boards of professional journals. Hundreds of other studies docu- receive more frequent and more precise attention. Sommers' attempt ment gender bias in education. Conducted by other researchers both to discount the research and block passage of the Gender Equity in here and abroad, many of these studies have seen compiled in the AAUW Report and also have undergone professional reviews. I called Ms. Lowe. She agrees with the goelsof the Sadkers' research and While we called our book Failing at Fairness, this title would fit believes teachers may exhibit unconscious bias. She herself took part in Sommers attempt to distort and even reinvent reality.,-)mmers a teachers' presentation in su pport of the Gender Equity in Education Act. discusses our research in ten pages of her book, a section fined with Nevertheless, she felt that the "Dateline program was a sham. "That inaccuracies, misleading innuendoes, or quotes in interviews that class was boy-heavy' she said. "Of course I called on more boys. A good documentary should tell you the proportion of boys to girl in the class. seem not to have taken place. For example, in her book she talks about There were four or five more boys than girls." Moreover, she pointed out, a local school teacher who appeared with us on a Dateline television the "Dateline".crew had filmed her for eight to ten hours, but only a few show. She was a wonderful teacher who agreed to let us (and all of minutes were shown. Of course it was possible to find in all that footage America) into her classroom. Because of her courage and openness, some small sequence that appeared to show bias. "By that method," Ms. viewers were able to see first-hand the subtle ways that gender bias Lowe observed derisively, "they could document most anything." operates and the willingness of teachers to improve themselves. Christina Hoff Sommers, Who Stole Feminism?, p. 171. Imagine our shock when we read in Sommers' book that this teacher thought that the program was a sham. We called the teacher who was Education Act must not be allowed to succeed. As we document in dumbfounded by Sommers' characterization. Not only did she dis- Failing at Fairness, although girls begin school ahead of boys, by the agree with the remarks attributed to hershe thought it was an time they graduate they are behind. On the PSAT and the SAT, girls accurate program, not a shamshe says she did not grant an interview trail boys. Boys outscore girls on 11 of 14 Achievement Tests, used for to Sommers. admission to the most selective colleges. Later, men score ahead on the A few paragraphs before, Sommers reports on a conversation Graduate Record Exam, the LSAT for law school, the GMAT for between a professor and a doctoral student who was conducting business school and the MCAT for medical school. Girls are the only research on gender bias in college classrooms. Sommers says the group to begin school with a testing advantage and leave at a testing doctoral student told the professor he was "screwing up" her research disadvantage. You don't have to be a researcher to know that this is a because he wasn't biased enough. Again, we called the former student, problem, and an issue of concern to educators, parents, citizens, and who is also shocked by the description in Sommers' book. She points lawmakers. out that the research design for her doctoral dissertation prohibited Over the past two decades, with the moral encouragement of Title her from talking with the professors she was observing. Moreover, the IX, girls and women have made substantial gains. We recognize and former student is certain that she was never interviewed by Sommers. applaud that progress. But it is too early to declare victory and go In 1992, we analyzed more than 400 studies concerned with home. The Gender Equity in Education Act can contirie the moral gender bias, and we published that effort in the Review of Research in momentum towards full educational equah"v. This is not the time to Education. This artkle was not only peer reviewed, but it also won the accept the smokescreen of those who believe that women already have American Educational Research Association award in 1992 as the best come too far. This is the time to complete the journey. review of research (not just gender bias research, but any research) Myra and David Sadker teach education at American University.

A National Course on the Culture Wars If mainstream media took debate about feminism seri- TDC is developing a nationally-linked course on the ously, one might have seen Sommers subjected to more culture wars for 1995-96. Please contact us to volunteer investigative questioning. Instead, she appeared virtually for the planning Task Force and/or to teach a version of unchallenged on CNBC's Equal Time (7/15/94) with jour- the course at your campus (which may be an adaptation nalist/host Susan King and co-host Linda Chavez, former of a course you are already teaching). The idea will be to Reagan civil rights commissionerwho seemed to agree network teachers and students across the country who that "feminazis" do indeed exist. are doing variations of a common course. Laura Flanders, EXTRA! September/October 1994.

Page 16 Democratic Culture Fall 1999 tt How Sommers Has Distorted Polls Celinda Lake

CHRISTINA HOFF SOMMERS challenges a poll we con- trained in philosophy, not survey research. I would gladly concede to ducted for the American Association of University Women her expertise on Plato if she would do the same on polling. (AAUW) on the self-esteem of girls and boys as they progress from Sommers also offers the cheap shot that "it took me many weeks to elementary school to high school. get a reluctant AAUW to let me see their actual data." In fact, she got We are very disturbed by her specious and misleading characteriza- the full data after writing a letter requesting it, as did everyone else who tion of our work. In support of her conservative ideology, she has received it. Nearly 100 scholars nationwide have the full data. In fact, seriously distorted the facts. Indeed, of all our work, this is one of the AAUW is unusual because it has readily released the full data to many polls of which I am most proud. The methodology and findings were scholars; many researchers do not release their data at all. reviewed at every stage by a panel of academic experts, consisting of What's the significance of our findings? The decline we have docu- Dr. Carol Gilligan of Harvard, Dr. Nancy Goldberger of the Fielding mented in girls' self-esteem may have a very real impact on their Institute, and Dr. Janie Victoria Ward of Simmons College, who also achievement and career choices later on. In a classic study, researchers approved the final report. Their other work and the work of a number Elizabeth Fennema and Julia Sherman found a strong relationship of academics in this field has agreed with our findings. between math achievement and confidence. Their research revealed a Sommers makes two specific charges about the way the poll was drop in both girls' math confidence and their achievement in the middle- reported in the AAUW publication, Shortchanging Girls, Shortchang- school years. The drop in confidence preceded a decline in achievement. ing America: A Call to Action. Similarly, the AAUW poll found a circular relationship between self- With regard to the first charge, Sommers quotes the following esteem, liking math and science, and career aspirations. Students with statements: "In a crucial measure ofself-esteem, 60 percent ofelemen- higher self-esteem like math and science more, and students who like taty school girls and 69 percent of elementary school boys say they are math and science are most likely to name professional occupations as their `happy the way I am.' But by high school, girls' self-esteem falls 31 first career choice. Indeed, in my view, one reason the AAUW research points, to only 29 percent, while boys' self-esteem falls only 23 points had such an impact is that it resonated with the experiences of mothers to 46 percent." and fathers and educators throughout the country. Sommers then says that the publication "conveniently leaves out Celinda Lake is a partner in the Washington, D.C. research firm of the fact that the numbers refer only to boys and girls who had checked Mellman-Lazarus-Lake. `always true' in response to 'am happy the way I am.' In effect [she says] the AAUW counted as 'unhappy' all respondents who had checked The Money Behind Anti-Feminism `sort of true' and `sometimes true/sometimes false.'" Christina Hoff Sommers attacks the "generous funding" of In fact, the extremes or end points reported in the publication were feminists, but Sommers herself has achieved fame and fortune simply used to illustrate the issues, not to draw conclusions based on from her harsh attacks on feminism. According to FAIR, Sommers one or two questions. Rather, the analysis looked at multiple indica- received $164,000 from three conservative foundations (Olin, tors for repeated conclusions and used multiple methodologies, all of Bradley, and Carthage) for her research, as well as a six-figure which came to the same conclusions. advance from Simon & Schuster. As Sommers admits, "I could not There were a total of 92 questions in the poll, of which 26 were on have written this book without their aid and cooperation."(8) self-esteem alone. A self-esteem index was constructed on the basis of Sommers contrasts the"well-fundedtransformationist projects" such factors as a general sense of individual self-esteem, feelings of of feminists with the National Association of Scholars: "The NAS importance within the family, academic confidence, feelings of im- has an office in Princeton, New Jersey, with a staff of six (two part- portance within the family, academic confidence, feelings of isolation, timers), abudget of $900,000, and a national membership of fewer expressions of verbalization or voice, and feelings of acceptance by than three thousand. In contrast to the transformationists, the NAS peers. The index was cross-referenced against several batteries of operates entirely on its own; no university supports it or offers it questions in areas such as school subjects, career goals, and gender facilities."(128) differences. Entirely on its own? In 1991 alone, NAS received more than It is common industry practice to illustrate by using the end points $682,000 from conservative foundations.The idea that NAS is an in responses. The differences in gender response were all statistically impoverished, unsupported group while its opponents operate in significant. The indexbased on all 92 questionsshowed a drop in lavish wealth is quite amusing to those of us at Teachers for a self-esteem for girls that was more than three times as large as for boys. Democratic Culture. TDC, with a membership of nearly two With regard to the second charge, Sommers asserts, "The AAUW thousand, has a budget less than 2% the size of the NAS. We have also failed to publicize the very awkward finding that African-Ameri- no office, no paid staff, and we struggle to survive while NAS has can boys, who are educationally most at risk, score highest of all on the the money to buy numerous full-page ads in national publications. AAUW's self-esteem indexes." That's why we need the help of our members to continue Out of 3,000 children surveyed, only 600 were males. This sample existing. Please make sure you renew your membership now for size was large enough to report aggregate male data, but not large the upcoming year. We depend on you to send us your check to: enough to break it down by ethnic background. It is irresponsible of Teachers for a Democratic Culture Sommers to do otherwise. This illustrates the fact that Sommers is P.O. Box 6405, Evanston, IL 60204 Fall 1994 12 Democratic Culture Page 17 Shining a Light on the Misrepresentation of Women's Studies Ellen Messer-Davidow

CHRISTINA HOFF SOMMERS claims that women's studies examples ofstereotypically "feminine" behavior. For the past 25 years, are unscholarly, "intolerant of dissen t," and guilty ofbrainwash- feminist scholars have investigated women's lives, recovered their ing students, and she singles out the University of Minnesota as an contributions to public and private endeavor, and documented the "extreme example" of "one of the more gender-feminized col- varied forms of families, genres of art and literature, and other such leges."(113) Unfortunately, few in the media have challenged, let typologies that the disciplines constructed narrowly by basing their alone researched the validity of, Sommers' claims. For instance, a generalizations on men's activities. feature story by Maura Lerner and Anne O'Connor ( "'U' classes are Women's studies research and teaching have enriched, not impov- focus of feminist feud," July 21) in the Minneapolis Star Tribune erished, our understanding of human beings and their cultures. reported her charges as if they were accurate. They're not. Both Feminist advocacy ofequal educational opportunity has extended, not Sommers and the story have badly misrepresented women's studies. diminished, our democratic principles and practices. While Sommers First, the story report; on only one of nearly 70 women's studies appreciates research on women's contributions, she declares that courses taught at many levels during the 1993-94 academic year. academic inquiry intc the gap between democratic principles and Although it mentions a few other course titles, it does not indicate that oppressive actualities is "political." What is "political" are the attempts the majority of courses focus on intellectual matters specific to to foreclose such inquiry; if successful, they would limit the academic disciplinary and crossdisciplinary fields. The story criticized this one freedom of research and teaching. continuing education/extension course, "Woman: A Sense of Iden- Both Sommers and the Star Tribune reporters quote Michael tity," for being too "soft" and political, thereby giving credence to Olenick's attack on his experiences in Women's Studies 101: "When Sommers' charge that most women's studies courses are unscholarly. I signed up for a women's studies class I expected to learn about If the reporters had taken my course, "The Cultural Construction feminism, famous women, women's history and women's of Sex, Gender and Sexuality," they would have read approximately 80 culture...Instead of finding new insights into the world of women, I pages a week, participated in class and small-group discussions, heard 'found...bizarre theories about world conspiracies dedicated to repress- lectures, made a presentation to the dass, and written a paper (12 pages ing and exploiting women."(102) for undergraduate students, 20 pages for graduate students) that was But Sommers and the reporters don't explain what "oppression" historical, critical, or analytical. Materials included biology, sociology, means and why it might be a valid academic subject. Many scholars, anthropology, history, psychology, psychoanalysis, literature, jour- not just feminists, study oppression: some investigate how particular nalism, church documents, and advertising. factors such as discriminatory laws affect individuals, while others As for Sommers' allegation that women's studies professors sup- investigate how rights, opportunities, and responsibilities are un- press dissent and brainwash their students, I should add that the equally distributed in society according to such social categories as sex, ground rules for my cour are intellectual respcie ibility and personal race and class. Critics of women's studies object to the latter approach. respect: 1) students can assert or refute any position they wish, but Yet, they would not insist that medical science study a dicease's must support it with examples, analyses, and arguments, and 2) they progress in individual patients but not its dispersal among popula- can critique a person's position and methods, but not attack her tions. They would not insist that agricultural science consider how personally. If Sommers or the reporters had complaints about my grain is grown but not how it is distributed. Olenick personalizes and course, they would not be that it lacked scholar ;hip, diverse views, or sensationalizes "oppression" when he claims that feminists define it as rigorous analysis. a conspiracy; rather, feminists suggest that oppression results from Conclusive evidence for or against Sommers' charges must be based Manufacturing Political Correctness on a much larger sample than these two courses. Sommers herself; when To cite one more example of the conservative use of regulation to questioned during an interview on a Minneapolis radio show, said in leverage change on liberalized higher education, then-Secretary of Educa- defense of her charges against women's studies courses: "You know, it tion Lamar Alexander, with the help of conservative appointees to his would make sense not to believe it until you see it because it's so National Advisory Committee on Accreditation (in particular NAS members astonishing, but I base this on incredible amounts of research, investiga- Christina Hoff Sommers and Martin Trow), attacked the diversity standards tion." However, she examined only a handful ofcourses rather than a large of the Middle States Association. Alexander recommended that Middle and representative sample of the approximately 30,000 won -en's studies States be de-authorized, that accrediting agencies be federally regulated, courses taught at colleges -..nd universities across the country. The Star that credentialing be provided by a number of competitive agencies from Tribune story, for its part, fails to evaluate her charges through careful which institutions may choose, and that institutional eligibility for federal research and analysis in this and other instances. student aid not be contingent upon accreditation. When Middle States The story also gives credence to her charge of politics by failing to agreed under pressure to make diversity standards optional for institutions, some commentators saw this "compromise" as the beginning of a federali- situate women's studies in its historical context. From its establish- zation of peer accreditation. In light of cultural conservatism's agenda, these ment in the 19th century, the Ame rican higher education system (with attempts to reconstruct higher education through judicial precedent and the exception of women's colleges) generally barred women from government regulation must be seen not as responses to left-wing political graduate training and faculty employment in all but the traditionally correctness but as steps in the implementation of the right-wing agenda. "female" fields (nursing, education, home economics); most disci- Ellen Messer-Davidow, "Manufacturing the Attack on Liberalized Higher plines excluded them as subjects of study or studied them only as Education,"Social Text,Fall 1993.

Page 18--Democratic Culture Fall 1994 103 particular ways of organizing and distributing social goods. are more or less effective, and how our choices have shaped the Both the story and Sommers impugn such feminist teaching knowledges we study and the realities we live. methods as small-group discussions and sitting in a circle, but fail to I wish that the Star Tribune reporters had been more aware of how explain that the row-lecture format was only widely institutionalized their own choices shaped this story about women's studies. The version with the expansion of American higher education in the 20th century ofwomen's studies they present as a" reality" seems to confirm the charges and was not adopted, for instance, by English universities which relied ofcritics like Sommers, but it is far from the truth; iris a misrepresentation on the tutorial. Anyone who has attended a university knows that produced by insufficient research, exemplification, and analysis. disciplines today draw from several methods those most appropriate More seriously, the story is part of a campaign to disseminate the for the course goals and size -tudents sit around a seminar table, make misrepresentations originally produced by Sommers. She and her presentations to the class, hold supporters are now busy promulgating these misrepresentations through intensive small-group discussion, conservative and mainstream. Here in Minneapolis, she was inter- Women's studies take field trips, break up into viewed on the WCCO Wes Minter Show and defended in a Star teams, walk in threes and fours on Tribune op-ed piece .by Ian Maitland, a member (like Sommers research and teaching hospital rounds, and work on in- herself) of the National Association of Scholars. have enriched, not dividual projects. Anyone who Let me repeat a particularly galling dialogue from the Wes Minter has attended a dass of 35 students Show that featured the host, Sommers, and Star Tribune reporterAnne impoverished, our knows the disadvantages of the O'Connor. row-lecture format: you see the WM: I wish somebody from the "U" would have been here to backs of heads, don't hear all the understanding of answer that question. We offered somebody from the "U" the comments, and feel slightly un- opportunity to come. They could not have somebody. human beings and comfortable in the formally seg- mented space. CHS: I'd like to address the fact that they don't have anybody their cultures. The storyalsorepeats coming because that in itself is, I think, very, very wrong. Sommers' criticisms of women's studies for promoting "self-esteem"which certainly has been WM: Apparently nobody was available. trivialized by talk shows and pop-psych books that sell it as the by- CHS: Oh, no one was available in an entire university with millions product of Ed diets, makeovers and crash courses on talking up one's and millions of dollars invested in these various [women's] pro- self to others. But "self-esteem"which means we have self-respect, grams. There isn't a single person that can come up and face confidence and a fitting pride in our achievementsisn't inconse- criticism or face lively debate. They don't [emphasis hers] want it or easy to achieve when we all, as individuals, get plenty of debated, they don't want open discussion, they don't want any negative feedback. Researchers have shown that the achievement of light to shine on what they're doing. "self-esteem" is generally more difficult for women, than for men, in Now let me supply the facts. The Wes Minter Show "offered" the a society that devalues women, and it is relevant to education because University's Public Relations Office "the opportunity" on Friday to it affects learning. We learn better when we speak up in class, trust our find someone to appear on 'he Monday morning show. Despite this abilities despite occasional flubs, and take pride in our work. As a short notice, the Office phoned four faculty members (including professor, I find that more female students than male students don't myself) that afternoon, and, unable to reach them, left messages. As it feel and act this way. Women's studies faculty try to help by encour- turned out, they were all out of town or otherwise committed. Though aging female students to peak in class and by affirming their achieve- eager to appear on the show, I was already scheduled to attend a ments. dissertation defense involving a Canadian student and three faculty Finally, I'd like to clear away a few more misrepresentations. Does members now at other universities. Having missed that opportunity, the emphasis on women mean that women's studiesas Sommers I am grateful for this one to discuss Sommers' criticisms and shine a chargesare "me studies"? No. We study men and male gendering, little light on what women's studies, and she, are doing. as well as women and female gendering, because the sexes and genders exist together in a relational system; to understand one, you have to Ellen Messer-Davidow is associate profrssor ofEnglish at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. understand all. Does it mean that we don't welcome and encourage male students? No, because equal opportunity and respect for both I would like to see Wellesley Co'lege, Mount Holyoke, Smith, Mills, sexes require the participation of both; what we don't encourage is the and the University of Minnesotaamong the more extreme examples refusal to investigate the problem of inequalities between women and print the following announcement on the first page of their bulletins: men. Do exceptions invalidate generalizations about women and We will help your daughter discover the extent to which she has been in complicity with the patriarchy. We will encourage her to reconstruct herself men? No, because every category supports both generalizations and through dialogue with us. She may become enraged and thronically exceptions; the fact that some women and many men are confident offended. She will very likely reject the religious and moral codes you raised learners should not prevent us from working with those women and her with. She may well distance herself from family and friends. She may men who are not. change her appearance, and even her sexual orientation. She may end up Professors ofall persuasions are rethinking research and teaching hating you (her father) and pitying you (her mother). After she has com- asking why, historically, the disciplines have selected some subjects for pleted her reeducation with us, you will certainly be out tens of thousands study and oinked others, why universities h_ve admitted some people of dollars and very possibly be out one daughter as weN. --Christina HoffSommers, Who Stole Feminism?,p. 91. to higher education and excluded others, which met hods of teaching

Fall 1999 Democratic Culture Page 19 104 The Politics of Feminist Epistemology: The Sommers Debate Susan Stanford Friedman

TWO YEARS AGO, Christina Hoff Sommers published a pre- tive detail about the conference for the first third of the article. She view of her book, Who Stole Feminism ?, in a New Republic article carefully sets the scene of the conference and narratives its opening lambasting academic feminism. Entitled "Sister Soldiers" (October 5, events, detailing Eleanor Smeal's late arrival for the initial address and 1992), it relies upon the same kind of rhetorical manipulation, the panelists who filled :n until she came: "To pass the time, we were spurious reasoning, and inadequate or inaccurate handling of data that introduced to an array of pwielists....Still no Smeal. A panelist named characterizes the book. It is important that defenders of academic Angela took the floor...A weary Eleanor Smeal finally arrived...."(30) feminism understand the politics not only of what Sommers says but This narrative detail functions to produce what Roland Barthes calls also of the epistemological baser of her attack. The article, compact as the "reality effect," that is, the effect of reality, of objective history it is, offers a conver tient wordshop for examining the way in which how achieved through the piling up of " facts." Detail establishes verisimili- she argues calls into question what she argues. tude, which then lends credibility to her point of view, which seems In "Sister Soldiers," Sommers claims the voice of responsible to emerge objectively out of the data. She reports, for example, that journalist and objective historian. Billed as "Live from a Women's "Louise and I were relived when the proceedings were interrupted by Studies Conference," the article narrates a partial "history" of the 1992 a coffee break. Half-and-half was availablethough perhaps not for National Women's Studies Association convention in Austin, Texas long. The eco-feminist caucus has been pushing to eliminate all meat, by way of introducing a brief history of academic feminism in the fish, eggs, and dairy products at NWSA events."(30) Sommers' United States. Sommers writes overtly from the perspective of what manipulation of the reality effect in her narrative of the conference she calls "an older 'First Wave' kind of feminism whose main goal is establishes her credibility for her accounts of feminist conferences and equity."(30) Identifying herself as a feminist, she engages in a historio- classrooms around the country. Metonymies of feminism appear graphic project whose covert agenda is to attack what she calls the throughout the rest of the article as characterizations of the norm: the newer "'Second Wave' gynocentric feminism, which since the early women's studies program directors who joined hands in a "healing '70s has taken center stage in the universities."(33) Most academic circle" and "assumed the posture of trees experiencing rootedness and feminists would recognize her articlein spite of its self-identified tranquility"; the introductory women's studies course at Rutgers that feminismas consistent with the phenomenon of current attacks on requires student to perform "some 'outrageous' and 'liberating' act women's studies coming from such media Heroes as Charles Sykes and outside of class" and then share feelings about it in class; dr: "heady Dinesh D'Souza and organizations like the National Association of claim" by Elizabeth Minnich that "'What we are doing is comparable Scholars. Sommers uses historiographic discoursefirst, about the to Copernicus shattering our geo-centricity....We are shattering andro- NWSA convention, then, the development of women's st.diesto centricity'"; and so forth.(31-32) "Ouchings and mass therapy," she condemn wholesale the project of contemporary academic feminism. asserts, "are more the norm than the exception in academic femi- Her stories of the past represent her attempt to intervene in the nism."(30) presentto halt the march of what she opposes within feminism. What epistemology best counters Sommers' account? Operating Sommers' diachronic discourse is easily unveiled as synchronic out of a positivist feminist epistemology, I could respond by saying discourse in drag. Her narratives of the NWSA convention and the that her history is "not true," that she is a "bad historian," and then I development of women's studies collapse quickly into figural repre- could offer counter stories that are more accurate and have greater sentations of a demonized feminism. She practices a kind of met- objective truth value. I could demonstrate that she exhibits no skill in onymic historiography in which the telling anecdote of feministexcess handling her data, in assessing and demonstrating with evidence just stands in for the multi-faceted phenomenon of academic feminism. how characteristic her anecdotes are of academic feminism in all its Substituting a part for the whole, she characterizes all women's studies complexity and multiple formations. I might ask, for example, why through narrative recitation of single incidents that determine guilt by she left out the massively influential presence of feminist scholars in association. This metonymic smear begins with the title, "Sister professional associations and their conferencessuch as the Modern Soldiers," which foreshadows her attack in the article on "gynocentric Language Association, American Historical Association, American feminism" by echoing the name of the Afrocentric rap singer Sister Psychological Association, American Political Science Association, Soljah, from whom candidate Bill Clinton distanced himself during and so forth. Shouldn't she have examined feminist activities at his presidential campaign. The implication of this covert allusion is conferences within the traditional disciplines as well as at NWSA? It that just as the liberal Clinton was right to separate himself from black is not difficult to show, especially in the humanities, that academic ethnocentrism, she as liberal feminist is correct to distance herself from feminism has permeated and altered (if not transformed) many a gynocentric feminism that promotes "sisterhood." Whatever one traditional disciplines. But for historically specific reasons having to thinks of Sister Soljah, Sommers' analogic figuration of academic do with the formation of academic feminism in the United States, the feminism as Afrocentrism depends upon a hidden rhetoric of racist place to sec such change in process is not primarily NWSA confer- paranoia. Like many Americans of different political stripes, Sommers ences, but rather discipline-based feminist conferences, journals, and might well have been repulsed by the racism of the Willie Horton ad research, much which is influenced by interdisciplinary feminist during the Bush-Dukakis presidential race in 1988; but in rhetorical theory and knowledge, but retains a methodological and substantive terms, her title functions in a similar way. "home-base" in a pre-existing discipline. Sommers establishes her authority as historian by amassing narra- From a subjectivist feminist standpoint, I might counter Sommers' Page 20Democratic Culture Fall 1994 1U5 history by critiquing the bias that shapes her narrative at every point the advocacy of change (however defined). The vitality of feminism her claim to greater objectivity than the "Second Wave"; her met- worldwide resides, I believe, in the dynamism of debate and disagree- onymic substitutions of the part for the whole; her stagist designation ment about the nature of this oppression and what kind of change is of "First Wave" and "Second Wave" feminism, where the second is necessary. In "Sister Soldiers," Sommers appears to express her own represented as a degeneration and betrayal of the first; her invocation version of these two principles. And for this reason, I accept her not only of racial paranoia in the title but also more generally of position as one among many within feminism. conspiracy theories rooted historically in anti-Semitic discourse ("These What I don't accept is her refusal to recognize the legitimacy, women run the largest growth area in the academy..."; "They are indeed the absolute necessity, of differences among feminisms. "Who disproportionately represented..."; "They are quietly engaged in hun- Stole Feminism?" asks the title of her book, positing herself as the dreds of well-funded projects...").(30) Indeed, the disdain she exhibits Vestal Virgin of the True Flame of feminism. In condemning the for academic feminism seems to operate on a binary of pure/impure project of women's studies in toto, Sommers attempts to censor debate in which she laments the contamination of reasonable feminism by the and diversity, the very things she claims the so-called gynocentric destructive distortions of irrational excess. feminists do. As a defender of academic feminism, I do not approve of Both positivist and subjectivist critiques of Sommers have merit. all women's studies research and pedagogy, any more than I could From the beginning, women's studies has contained contradictory defend all the academic work that takes place under the rubric of currents of both positivist and subjectivist epistemologies. As a com- literary studies, my other field. In fact, I would insist upon the pensatory discourse, its research and teaching has countered hegemonic necessity of constant problematization of the epistemological, onto- discourses about women that ignored, distorted, or trivialized women's logical, and political bases of women's studies. Without such vigi- history, experience, and potential by telling the "truth" about women. lance, women's studies would stagnate. The epistemology of self- As a subjectivist discourse, worn en's studies has insisted on all knowl- critique and interrogation, however, is not Sommers' project. Her edge (induding women's studies) as value-based, emerging from a defense of what she calls First Wave feminism and "equity" women's given perspective or standpoint. I believe that both epistemologies are studies rests upon a fundamentalist epistemology which grants her necessary to the enterprise of women's studies as moderating influ- particular feminist politics the status of Truth and totalistically ences on the potential excesses of each. To accomplish a thorough condemns all the rest of us to the trash heap of history. Historyas critique of Sommers' "Sister Soldiers" and Who Stole Feminism?, both both the past and the story of the pasthas always had its winners and epistemologies would he necessary, for Sommers' history of women's losers. And Sommers wants to win. studies is both wildly inaccurate and anything but value-free. Susan Stanford Friedman teaches English and Women's Studies at the How seriously should we take Sommers' claim to speak as a feminist University of Wisconsin, Madison. This essay is adapted from 'Making on behalf of feminism? Rhetorically speaking, Sommers sets herself up as History: Reflections on Feminism, Narrative, and Desire," in Feminism a (white) knight in shining armor determined to save the distressed Beside Itself (Rout/edge, forthcoming in 1995). damsel of true feminism from the (black) knights of gynocentric femi- nism. We could say that the more than $100,000 in grants from conservative antifeminist .,ources, as well as the ecstatic support she has Clarification recently received from such conservative media moguls as Rush Limbaugh, In the Spring 1994 issue of Democratic Culture, we unveil her self-identification with feminism as a rhetorical ploy that included a quote from Esquire's "Do-Me Feminism" ar- obscures her own profound anti-feminism. While Sommers may in fact be anti-feminist, I think that making ticle, where Christina Hoff Sommers was reported as this the epistemological ground of attack is short-sighted in political saying: "There are a lotofhomely women in women's terms. I prefer to take her self-identification as a feminist at face value. studies. Preaching these antimale, antisex sermons is a What I most object to in her writing is her presumption to speak for feminism, her insistence that she possesses the pipeline to true way for them to compensate for various heartaches feminism. This rests, I believe, on a fundamentalist epistemology, an they're just mad at the beautiful girls." exaggerated form of positivism which assumes that the speaker has In response to an Anna Quindlen column mentioning privileged access to the Truth by which all other views can be measured. I find such fundamentalism dangerouswhatever its the quote, Sommers denied saying it: "Esquire did not get political and religious forms throughout the world. What Sommers it right, and I have sent them a letter to that effect. I do not refuses to see is the multiplicity of academic feminisms, the genuine think that academic feminists are less attractive than multivocality of women's studies, the enormous diversity of view- points in feminist research, classrooms, and pedagogy. Determined to other women. I do find fault with feminist theorists who say demonize what repels her, Sommers thinks in binarist terms of good that women who enjoy conventional feminine artifice are and evil, seemingly unaware that all fields, including women's studies, captive to a 'beauty myth.' Such prudish disapproval is have their strengths and weaknesses, their capacities for excellences and trivia. unattractive and not a little misogynist."(San Francisco Having attacked Sommers' fundamentalist epistemology, I do not Chronicle, 1/28/94) want to set myself up to speak for "true" feminism and thus exclude Tad Friend, the author of the Esquire article, contends her from the feminist umbrella. 1 regard the common denominator of feminism as the belief in women's oppression (however defined) and that the quote is accurate.

Fall 1999 Democratic Culture Page 21 Will the Real Feminist Please Stand Up?. Ann Ferguson

CHRISTINA HOFF SOMMERS' Who Stole Feminism? is get- lumped in the ..,..tegory of gender feminism by Sommers, in my books ting a lot of play in the popular media, even though the book Blood at the Root (Pandora, 1989) and Sexual Democracy (Westview, is shallow and unscholarly. The reason for its success is not the merits 1991) I have developed an aspects theory of self which sees personali- of the book but the cultural backlash against feminism that Susan ties as composed of many aspects defined in relation to other persons, Faludi in Backlash and Naomi Wolf in The Beauty Myth persuasively acurities and institutional roles and constraints. Although a person argue is upon us. But even though Sommers'book is not persuasive in maybe oppressed in one aspect of self, in another aspect he or she may the general attack she makes upon academic feminism, she does raise he powerful, and it is the consciousness of such contrary aspects of self the important issue of the gap between the theOries and goals of many which may motivate a person to social activism designed to change academic feminists and those of many non-academic women who are some of the contradictory aspects of one's values and personality. not sure the former's views really represent theirinterests. The Without providing a convincing rationale for her own equity pblem is the gap between theory and practicethe fact that many feminist position, what stands out is the shallow and distorted nature academic feminists are not activists engaged in practical political of her characterization of our commonalities. For example, Sommers piojects such as demands for affordable childcare, women's reproduc- quotes Iris Young as having categorized certain thinkers as tive rights, etc. Unfortunately Sommers herself, though she calls "gynocentric "- valuing women's values over men'sand then incor- herself a feminist, is not an activist engaged outside the academy in any rectly applies Young's category to all feminists she has labeled gender project for social change to improve the lives of women. And although theorists, thus distorting Young's argument which distinguished Sommers weighs in on the side of what she calls "equity" feminism as between those who think biological differences inevitably generate opposed to those she calls "gender" feminists, her own position is not value differences, and those social constructionists like herself and dearly presented and argued for. Furthermore, her claim that it myself, who disagree with this view. represents the feminism of the "average" woman is extremely suspect, The basic difference between Sommers' self-styled equity femi- particularly given her own lack of connection to average women who nism and those of us she labels gender feminists seems to be that all of have banded together in community projects. us have an institutional or structuralanalys is of male dominancewhich There are major problems with the evidence Sommers provides to she disagrees with from her individualist perspective. That is, we seek attack the majority of academic feminists. She lumps a number of us to understand how male dominance originates in human societies, together under the category of gender feminists, claims that we all agree how and why it persists, and through what institutionalized practices with a theory of male dominance that makes women defenseless victims this occurs, whereas she seems confident that the institutional barriers of a patriarchal sex/gender system, and implies that her view, equity to gender equality were removed by the First Wave feminist political feminism, is the only plausible, realistic and defensible position: But is her campaigns which got women the vote, married women the right to categorization superior to the more standard distinctions between Lib- property, child custody in the case of divorce, etc. Her view seems to eral, Radical, Psychoanalytic, Socialist, Marxist, and Postmodernist be that male dominance is due more to a victimized state of mind than feminist approaches? It is instructive that Sommers' main purpose in any institutionalized sexism, so we women should just get onwith the lumping us all together is to imply a plot against the common sense jobf assimilating ourselves into formerly male-dominated careers position of the majority of women, her equity feminism. and stop doing social critiques of rape, sexual objectification, pornog- But Sommers never really defends that position on its own mer- raphy, and.domestic violence. itsor even the claim that it represents the view of the majority of But what kind of arguments does she give for her position and American womenso her rationale for insisting that the reputed against ours? Mostly, she cites mistaken media reports of inflated opposition between gender feminism and equity feminism should statistics about the prevalence of violence against women, and claims override all differences between "gender feminists" is weak. that these are characteristic of feminist research, marked by hyperbole Sommers' claim that "gender feminists" believe all women are and lack of objectivity. But using a few examples of mistakes or victims is a caricature of feminist analysis that only applies to the most exaggerations to critique a whole school of research is like challenging naive of radical feminist positions. On the contrary, many of us would the Germ theory of disease because some researchers who support that indeed agree that women do have power in some of their traditional hypothesis made mistakes or exaggerated claims about germs being the roles and that there is an ideology/reality gap between the dominant basis of all diseases. stereotype in our society of the ideal feminine as passiveand submis- I would argue that examining male dominance as a structural sive and the reality of women who regularly challenge that stereotype problem rather than an individual problem is a hypothesis with greater but who are invisible. If there were not such an ideology/reality gap, explanatory power: all sorts of incidents which would have to be how could we even explain the possibility of an oppositional women's dismissed as inexplicable individual pathologies make more sense on movement arising to challenge the roles and stereotypes? the former theory. Sommers ignores much of the sophisticated work going on in Consider the disturbing case of O.J. Simpson, a paragon of male feminist theories of self and agency which reject the simplistic either/ virtue, a charming, gracious football star who always stood by his or of the individual as autonomous atom,freely choosing his or her teammates, and was universally liked. How on the individualist equity values and options vs. the individual as passive victim of social feminist framework can we explain his brutal murder of his wife? conditioning and institutional constraints. For example, though I am Answer: we can'tit is totally inexplicJ' le since the vast majority of

Page 22Democratic Culture Fall 1994 the evidence about °J.'s personality supports the view that he would "gynandrous" vision, a butch lesbian and a femme lesbian could both not be capable of such an act. But on the structural or institutional be seen to be androgynous or gynandrous: the crucial difference would analysis, we live in a system which socializes us into a patriarchal sex/ be that the old gender dualist aesthetic of the autonomous, authoritar- gender system and which institutionally supports male power over ian role vs. the passive, dependent, incorporative, submissive role is no women. This general hypothesis plus concrete facts about O.J.'s past longer valued. Indeed, lipstick lesbians who are feminist reject the behavior and attitudes, can explain why he could be capable of such "being overwhelmed by Rhett Butler" fantasy that Sommers presents a brutal murder. O.J. was a wife batterer who believed that his wife was to us as somehow the "psychological or social reality" of the average his property and his sex object, and that his excessive love for her woman's desires. Rather, they are daiming that there is power to be justified his right to control her will by violence, and to eliminate her had in a feminist reinterpretation of the traditional "femme" role, if she refused to accede to his wishes. These beliefs are an extension of seeing it as the role of seductive, sexy actor. some aspects of the masculine ideal of men as sex subjects, as owners Since we have a critique of the contemporary patriarchal sex/ of women. Such beliefs are not only taught to men and women by their gender system, Sommers charges Sandra Bartky, Marilyn Friedman families of origin, by media advertising and movies, by clothing and myself with "having an agenda of managing women's desires and fashions, but they are also supported institutionally by police who fantasies." But why is a critique of the inegalitarian content of the don't take domestic violence as a serious crime, and a criminal justice sexual desires we find ourselves with any different in moral sta.:than system which doesn't require batterers to go through any punishment a critique of the racist beliefs we find ourselves with? From the fact that or process of rehabilitation. we are critical of our and other women's existing desires, it doesn't In another line of attack, Sommers critiques us "gender feminists" follow that we are being authoritarian. Yes, we seek to persuade because we want what she characterizes as "utopian social transforma- women as well as men to think more about their desires and to tion." Well, so did anti-slavery advocates, those defending the rights question whether they fit in with their beliefs that women and men of labor to organize against large corporations and their hired gunmen, should be given equal respect, but from this it doesn't follow that we and those who first advocated a welfare state against the social are trying to impose the "politically correct" desires onto them, any Darwinists who argued that the poor starving were just a natural law more than it follows that Sommers herself is trying to "impose" her of the elimination of the unfit. One person's utopia is another person's Rhett Butler fantasies on feminists as somehow "more exciting" and reasonable demand for social justice, and only the test of history can psychologically real. In charging us with authoritarianism and a PC finally tell which demands were utopian and which practical. But how attitude, Sommers is masking her own conservative values and parti- would Sommers suggest we challenge sexist attitudes, unfair sexual san position, which amounts to a PC attitude by those who want to divisions of labor and systematic violence against women? Is her idea preserve the status quo. that each isolated woman can challenge such unfair situations on an In another line of attack, Sommers implies that the feminist pedagogy ad hoc basis any less "utopian"in the sense of being an unworkable that I and others she labels "transformationist" teachers are abusing our strategy?1 my opinion, her own strategy of individualism is itself power by imposing our own utopian agendas and attitudes on students utopian. rather than using a traditional pedagogy which she says has as a "primary Sommers critiques what she terms my "gender feminist utopia" in objective...teaching students a subject matter that will be useful to my book Sexual Democracy. She picks a passage in which I argue that them."(92) But as a philosopher, I would maintain that much of the if sex roles are eliminated we could transcend gender since it would no traditional teaching of Wt.stem philosophy certainly did not teach a longer matter what biological sex individuals had. Love relationships subject matter that was "useful" to the students in any value-free way. could be based on relations between androgynous humans. Sommers That is, it either taught them that philosophizing was above their heads argues that such a vision is based on an ideal of a "gender-neutral and only the few wise could grasp it, or it taught them to be critical of character" like Pat on Saturday Night Live, an ideal that not only is, to received opinions, which is exactly what us so-called "gender feminist" quote her, "a boring feminist fairy tale with no roots in psychological philosophers have been doing. or social reality"(265) but also one that contemporary "lipstick She claims without giving any evidence for this claim that "most lesbians" are rebelling against. students are not 'buying into' gender feminism" and resent this shift I should point out that Sommers' characterization of my position away from her characterization of traditional pedagogy.(92) First of is shallow and unfair in that it takes a paper written in 1977 as my final all, Sommers is just mistaken that most students resent having teachers word on a feminist vision, ignoring the recently written addendum committed to social transformation. It has been my experience that which immediately follows it in the book where I present a more most students prefer teachers who are open about their values rather sophisticated position less easy to caricature. In that addendum I agree than smuggling them into the syllabus with the pretense of being that gender differences would be likely to continue to be salient in objective and value neutral. Since in my view no courses which deal sexual preferences and desires. I point out that my hope would be that with the humanities and social sciences can be value free, it is less so-called "masculine" and "feminine" traits would no longer be authoritarian to the stt dents to be open about one's values than to hide assumed to exclude each other and that many so-called feminine traits would be revalued to the point where men could find them desirable "Sommersreveals the same sloppiness that she criticizes in other as traits to acquire. From this it does not follow that individuals would feminists. She plays fast and loose with anonymous sources and uses not still contain such traits in different mixes, or that we would all be ellipses in mid-quote....Tellingly, she thinks N.O.W. stands for National required by the feminist thought police to desire the same thing. Organization of Women when it is actually 'for' women and open to male Sommers' "lipstick lesbians" is not a relevant critique of an an- members." drogynous ideal of human personality. On what I prefer to call the Barbara Ehrenreich inTime,8/1/94.

Fall 1994 Democratic Culture Page 23 10 BEST COPY AVAILABLE theta under the mantle of objective, value-free investigations. philosopher, Sommers surely has considered the problem of the tyranny In my experience, what students ant is a context in which they of the majority as one of the problems with a populace which does not are not allowed to disagree with the professor or to get a respectful value the civil rights of the minority (the problem of equality) and which hearing of their own opinions. I make every effort to give readings and is not educated or taught critical skills to examine its own opinions. present the arguments of those who disagree with my views so that Although I disagree with Sommers in her critiques of contempo- those students may find their opinions represented. However, it is true rary feminism, I welcome her book since it is an opportunity for that a professor wields a lot of power and those who present strong further debate on important issues facing feminists today. Sommers opinions will be resented by some no matter what pedagogical brings up several issues that women's movements must spend more techniques are used to provide a space for open debate. Furthermore, time analyzing than we have done. I call them the Democracy because the women students have been socialized to defer to men, Problem, the PC Prof km, i the Town/Gown Problem. what will empower many of the women to begin to speak of their The Democracy Problem concerns how feminist theorists and experiences and opinions is often a safe space where everyone can activists balance respect for the opinion of the majority ofwomen who speak. Thus, the pedagogical goals conflict, of empowering the shy may not define themselves as feminist with our own analyses which are students (mostly women) to express and develop their views and critical of these opinions. The PC Problem is how feminists adjudicate values, on the one hand, and encouraging debates in which only the disagreements in strongly held beliefs among ourselves about male force of the stronger argument prevails, to improve students' philo- dominance and how it should be eliminated, e.g. lesbian-separatism, sophical reasoning power, on the other. the pornography and S/M debate, and the connections of racial and I am surprised that Professor Sommers does not acknowledge the class justice withi:eminist demands. The Town/Gown question is how difficulty of balancing these two incommensurate pedagogical values, academic feminists can have the authority to influence non-academic given that she lays such stress on democracy as one of her cardinal women if they are not engaged in some grassroots practice which values, and faults academic feminists for setting ourselves up as experts validates their leadership and the effectiveness of their theories in to impose our views on others. But in a technocratic and patriarchal relation to the experiences of ordinary women. society where experts, and men, are assumed to have more authority Christina Hoff Sommers' critique of her opponents in academia to speak, if one wants to encourage the development of participatory does raise all these questions, for which she should get credit, although democracy, one has to find the way to create both equality of her discussion is much too superficial to really answer any of them. opportunity for all to develop their voices as well as the critical skills Ann Ferguson teaches philosophy and women's studies at the University in the majority to follow the most cogent line of argument. As a ofMassachusetts, Amherst. The "Stolen Feminism" Hoax Laura Flanders

IN HER ACCOUNT of a campaign had been writing about Super Bowl-related FAIR, s/he would have discovered that FAIR has 1. sparked by Fairness and Accuracy in Re- violence for years before FAIR's campaignnever worked with Dobisky Associatesand porting (FAIR) to get NBC to play a 30- Sommers praises "a lone island of professional had never heard ofthe firm before Ringle's piece. second public service announcement about integrity": Ken Ringle, a Washington Post staff In her account, Sommers uses quotes from domestic violence before the broadcast of thewriter. Ringle is hardly to be held up as an a psychotherapist named Michael Lindsey that 1993 Supet Bowl game, Sommers repeats ethical model: The American Journalism Re- appeared in Ringle's piece. One of his com- uncritically one reporter's version of the inci- view (5/93) found that, in his Super Bowlments she quotes twice, for emphasis. She dent, and adds fresh errors of her own. article (1/31/93), he appeared "to have twisteddoesn't mention that the Post's ombudsman Sommers writes that there wasn't "anyand used quotes selectively to support hishad acknowledged that Lindsey's remarks had basis for saying that there was a signi: 'cant rise thesis," an,: noted that the Post's ombudsmanbeen taken out of context by Ringle. in domestic violence on Super Bowl Sunday." had acknowledged "inaccuracies and flaws" in Nor does Sommers mention that the views Her book suggests that she never read FAIR's his reporting. Sommers cites the AJR article inattributed to Lindsey by Ringlecritical of Jan. 18, 1993 news release, which spelled outa footnote, but declines to quote it. FAIR's Super Bowl efforts and of a link be- the grounds for addressing domestic violence Sommers claims to be a skeptic who be-tween football and domestic violencewere on Super Bowl Sunday. That release stated: lieves in going to the original source, butdirectly contradicted by quotes from Lindsey "The Super Bowl is one of the most widely neither she nor Ringle ever called the national in the same day's New York Times (1/31/93): viewed television events ...very year. Unfortu- FAIR office in New York to check their stories "That PSA will save lives," said Lindsey. "It nately, women's shelters report that Superor get copies of the materials that FAIR dis- will give people the permission to call for help. Bowl Sunday is also one of the worst days oftributed. Nor did Sommers consult a calen-The same way so much violence in football the year for violence against women in thedar: Her "chronology" put the Super Bowl on gives people permission to batter." home." The release cited press reports (NewJan. 30, which was actually a Saturday. Laura Flanders is Women's Desk Coordina- York Times, 1/5/92, 1/22/92; Chicago Tri- Sommers also claims that around the Super tor at FAIR and host of the Counterspin radio bune, 1/27/91) based on the accounts of those Bowl, "a very large mailing was sent by Dobiskyprogram. This article is excerpted from the cover who work with battered women. Associates, FAIR's publicists, warning at-risk story ofFAIR's magazine EXTRA! (September/ In contrast to a "roiling sea of media credu-women: 'Don't remain at home with him dur- October 1994). Subscriptions are $30 (P.O. lity"including at least one journalist who ing the game.'" Had Sommers (or Ringlc) called Box 911, Dept. V4JE, Pearl River NY 10965). Page 24Democratic Culture Fall 1994 105 Composing Feminism Elizabeth Fay

GENDER POLITICS IS a funny thing, eliciting anything from be producing intellectual and even scholarly deconstructions of the heated debates over how to escape historical determinism in feminist movement to conflate academic feminism with political order to create equality, to passionate defenses of the nostalgic status feminism. Furthermore, it suits them to disregard the large differences quo. Those in the second camp view that fantastic past as an era of within academic feminist thought, some of which is strongly based on apolitical, unquestioned privilege which men accorded women as a American philosophical traditions, and some of which is strongly matter of chivalry and manners. Such defenders of a mythos of based on American philosophical traditions, and some of which is protection understand the world in terms of their privileged sphere: strongly poststructualist, postmodern, and radically positioned. Oddly The underprivileged have their own place in the order of things; the enough, the terms I have used to describe more heterogeneously based struggling ranks were born to struggle. And if a little quiet rape occurs feminist academicspoststructuralist, postmodern, and radically on college campuses, a little harassment in the workplace, what does positionedare the very ones that Camille Paglia uses to describe this have to do with propriety, pearls, and the perks of the job? In herself: a radical, bisexual libertarian. Yet no intellectual could be wondering "how women have betrayed women," Sommers has placed further from a radically oriented position than Paglia, the woman who herself squarely in this second camp, and in doing so she is herself a serves as Sommers' hero. principle betrayer of women. In construing themselves as somehow outside academic privilege Summers prides herself on reading the current state of feminism as and therefore better able to critique the "privileged" status of feminist Camille Paglia does: as a monolithic structure that is ruled by powerful academics, both Paglia and Sommers construct a different authority strategists. "Women" and "feminism," here, have a curiously stable for themselves that has also bought them immensely increased pres- value for Sommers. Not surprisingly, in this formation feminism is tige, money, and fame. Yet, while Paglia teaches at a relatively conspiratorial; it "steals" and it does so by deluding its adherents in the marginalized institution, and has long had a marginalized career, younger generation, or so Paglia and Sommers and other reactionary Sommers holds a stable position at an elite school. hystericists believe. Besides a reductionist and wrongful monolithic It is somewhat disingenuous, then, for Sommers to attack writing reading of feminismwhich has long been held by many thinkers to instructors, a class of professionals that labors at the bottom rung of be a philosophical as well as political movement of many fem inisms academia for the least pay and status in a role overwhelmingly both Paglia and Sommers essentialize feminism as either a knee-jerk dominated by women, for rebuke due to the crime of following the reaction to patriarchal authority (gender feminism), or a desire to have heed of feminist propagandists. This is the charge Sommers has levied all the privilege of well-established men (equity feminism). They fear against me in two pages of scolding (102-103) in Who Stole Feminism? that the former is a reaction that will be detrimental to their own for my response to a minority student. I was, of course, curious to see conservative agenda, which is (although perhaps neither Paglia nor what the well-paid and fully conservative-funded Sommers would Sommers would explicitly state this) to do well within patriarchy and have to say about me in a book where my presence would indicate that by the rulesf patriarchy. As good-girl spokeswomen for the right I was against feminism or on the wrong side of it. All of my wing, Paglia and Sommers and others (Mona Charen, for instance) publications are feminist, issuing out from my own heterogeneously see themselves as both ideologically speaking from within a rightful constructed feminism which does not rigidly follow any one school of and empowering conservatism, and as empowered and privileged thought but instead questions and rethinks each model and grounding therein. principle. However, after reading those two pages I am not sure Certainly the grant support and applause Sommers has received "study" is an accurate description of Sonuners' efforts. reveals just such a superior reception and treatment, but it is only a In my article, I was meditating on the hermeneutics of student "reception " a welcoming in of a stranger as the token. Sommers and anger in the classroom, and wondering about different interpretive Paglia both see their privileged treatment as their right, without strategies for that rage in order to get at pedagogics that only inflate it. worrying whether similar treatment could be bought at the same high Sommers misreads (does not read) my argument, and assumes I am price that they themselves have agreed to. It serves the inte:est of both trying to defend a pedagogy that refuses to teach students models and these women to believe instead that it is a monolithic feminism which rules for correct writing. Where I posit an archeological site, Sommers is selling younger women down the river because such a belief hides finds a rhetorical defense. their own personal gains and ,ne onus on women and men Next, Sommers misidentifies me as a low-rung instructor so that who, in a variety of political schools of thought, urge women to think she can expound on how I have bought into what my writing for themselves. professors taught me without stopping to think through the conse- It particularly suits these two academics who believe themselves to quences, "that it is she who has been taught by her feminist mentors

"You'll notice in their (feminist] writings that they're never very far from "One factual error turned up as I checked facts for this review. Sommers evoking the Holocaust, of witch trials." makoce the dramatic point that the University of Minnesota has a rape crisis Christina Hoff Sommers, quoted in the Boston Globe, 6/16194. hotline where New York City does not; in fact, New York City does have a rape hotlineand has for 20 years. That's a sloppy mistake; a book that "Why has feminism become the equivalent to witch trials?" takes out after others for playing fast and loose with the facts ought to be Christina Hoff Sommers, on Crossfire, 6/4/94. pristine."Delia O'Hara, Chicago Sun-Times, 6/26/94. Fall 1994 110 Democratic Culture Page 25 to adopt a patronizing posture toward women like [this student]."(102) thought and revisionist strategies. In this, she clearly aligns herselfwith But my article was an effort to come to grips with the gender and class E.D. Hirsch, Dinesh D'Souza, and others who assert that Victorian rage of my women students, and far from justifying mypedagogy, I approaches to inculcating the lower classes into the (upper) middle- wanted to discover what was not helpful in it for these students, class value system are a tidy way to dispel dissent and to disenfranchise Finally, Sommers ignores my argument and conclusions, and only the marginalized by making them supporters of the elite. Rather than focuses on one of the students I describe to argue that I unquestion- colonize minorities, we can simply promise them the American ingly follow the misguided liberalism of my feminist composition dream, and make it sound so palpable, so formulaic, so easy to work professors. Sommers uses the body of my text to contemplate the state out, that they sell themselves down the river without a second of undergraduate education in this supposedly feminist-influenced, (revisionist) thought. In light of this, is it not odd to find that Sommers and therefore dangerously misguided nation. To do so, Sommers would teach at an elitist institution such as Clark, and I would teach implies that I should be teaching all my students exactly what the one at a public institution with a strong community mandate and a diverse student she picks cut wants: a classical approach to teaching the student population? modes, and a sr -*for ward model applicable to all writing needs. I If a Hirschian ideology is at work in the pages Sommers contributes have no proble, he first of these desires, except that my course to my defamation as a feminist sell-out, the overall tone of her book was the wrong o ich to satisfy it; however, if the second exists is a straightforward defense of Camille Paglia's political (not academic, I would surely like to know. and certainly not scholarly) platform. Paglia requires that higher The course I was analyzing, English 102, is a second-semester education devote itself to urging young, already privileged, women to writing course meant to follow a more fundamental skills course, assert/reassert their privilege within a masculinist culture. That this EN101. In EN102 I am supposed to build on the work of the prior assertion comes at the price ofa, does all privilege, male or female semester by teaching argumentation, library research skills, and revi- disenfranchised others is not a difficulty here, for in true Reagan style, sion strategiesin short, how "to get on with business" as a student, Paglia merely recommends that anyone who wants to can have a share a line Sommers quotes from me without understandingwhat I meant. of the pie. Paglia takes Katherine Hepburn as her model of a strong Indeed, it is because of this mandate of this course, which seems all too "get on with it" type of feminist; it is a specific aspect of Paglia's practical to me, that I was surprised by this student's anger at the philosrphy to celebrate the fact that Hepburn's independence is self- "impracticability" of the course. Sommers ignores the obvious prob- oriented, and not concerned with women's status and privilege in lemthat models are not useful if argumentative skills are not eneral. Paglia is of the opinion that feminism simply means to turn practiced and refined, and that all the models in the world can't help the power hierarchy upside down while making sure the apples don't a student consult library materialsand focuses on the easy assess- topple off the cart, and the underneath stays underneath. This is a ment: without models, no student will ever functiOn in our society. version of the very militancy that Paglia accuses feminism in general Sommers assumes that simply by reading my Radical Teacher article of: the inversion of sexual politics so that women come out on top this she can know this particular student's needs and inner beliefs: "But time. Painting feminism en masse in this monolithic and conspiratorial [she] hadn't signed up for voices, visions, and gender politics; she had way allows Paglia, and Sommers after her, to jump on the privileged signed up for a course in English composition. She wanted her essays and elitist bandwagon, and in doing so to seem to be advocating corrected because she wanted to learn to writebetter English."(101) If this women's rights. But in using rhetoric that defuses any independent is true, then why is it that despite endless responses and revision thinking on the part of either female or male readers, the incendiary suggestions and grammatical corrections from me, this student still Pagliaand Sommers after her (again)seduces her readers into complained, and based her complaint specifically on a lack of models? following the formulaic, nonrevisable, anaesthetizing model she offers Sommers confuses "better English" with easy formulas and "correction." thembut not h -dfas a template for success. Sommers' agenda here is to relegate students to a model method Elizabeth Fay teaches English at the University of Massachusetts, that does not encouragenor at times even allow forindividual Boston. Desperately Seeking Political Correctness

The following ad recently appeared under the headline "DO YOU TDC wants to counter the conservatives' one-sided accounts by HAVE A PC HORROR STORY?" in the University of Wisconsin, beginning a national project to monitor violations of academic Milwaukee's conservative paper, the UWM Times freedom and intolerance on college campuses. I "you have information about tenure denials, censorship, intolerance, or similar events on If you have been the victim of reverse discrimination by the UW campuswhether it's "political correctness" or "conservative correct- system, endured brainwashing under the guise of sensitivity train- ness"please let TDC know. We want to hear your anti-PC horror ing, or have been given political indoctrination when you paid for stories. Send your observations and newspaper clippings to John K. an education, the Wisconsin Association of Scholars would like to Wilson at TDC so that we can stay informed. TDC plans to prepare talk to you. We are collecting material for a study of the effects of an annual report on academic freedom that goes beyond the biases and political correctness on the University of Wisconsin system and are distortions about higher education presented in the media, in a position to bring abuses to the attention of administrators and Teachers for a Democratic Culture the general public. If you are willing to share your experience with us, leave a message with our answering service. P.O. Box 6405 Evanston, IL 60204

Page 26Democratic Culture Fall 1994 111 Misrepresenting the Feminist Classroom Dale Bauer

T T'S HARD TO remember at a time like this, upon the publication piece advocating feminism, I tried to show that students in the late 1 of Who Stole Feminism?, something that Deirdre English wrote in 1980s had already brought to class a whole repertoire of negative an important essay in the early 1980s, "The Fear That Feminism Will assumptions about feminism and imagined (1) that all classrooms Free Men First." English cautioned feminists about remembering that were neutral spaces, and (2) feminist teachers (among others) de- other women rarely prove to be the real enemy to women's equality stroyed objectivity, while other classrooms remain scrupulously neu- (see Powers of Desire, 478). But even as Christina Hoff Sommers' tral. My point was to show that students brought these expectations subtitle is "How Women Have Betrayed Women," it's also hard not to classes before they even knew that a professor was a feminist or to read that subtitle as an ironic reminder of how Svmmers is whether the class had a feminist content or method. Their expecta- unwittingly doing patriarchy's dirty work by her misrepresentation of tions need to be addressed seriously. Women's Studies programs and feminist teachers. Whether Lynne Cheney read my essay is not the point, since she did Sommers claims to be a feminist impking other feminists for not deal with the argument. Martin Anderson cites the same essay in objectivity, but there is no sense in her book that she is addressing Impostors in the Temple,where I also appear as one of the impostors, but feminists at all. In fact, her audience for the bookher publicity he doesn't cite the essay, only the charges Cheney made against it. It's appearances, her call-in talk show discussionsis really for like- quite dear that he did not actually read the essay, but relied on Cheney's minded thinkers, those who already need little persuasion that femi- authority for his attack. So I read Sommers expecting the same circular nism has taken over the academy and everything and everyone else. connection; I found that she did read the essay, though I can't say she Her work has so much become the bread-and-circus of the talk-show understood it. Even more surprising was the misreading Sommers makes circuit that it is enough for her to deliver spectacle without substance, about my purpose: she daims that I am out to use "counterindoctrination" a spectacle which includes long lists of what she considers excesses of as away ofemp toying the feminist classroom. This may be what she wants academic feminism without any context for these examples. Present- to read, but in fact, I have written about dialogics, a process that relies on ing herself as the last feminist, indeed the last woman, with any dialogue and engagement rather than the exercise of ideological control integrity in America, she describes herself as the "whistleblower" on that Sommers assigns to me as a motive. Women's Studies.(CSPAN, July 7, 19;74) This misstatement of feminist motives is the staple of Sommers' Who would be an acceptable feminist in Sommers' view? Someone work. I worry, too, as Sommers does, about the effects of students like herself who could deal philosophicallyher key word is " reason- being punished for not agreeing with the teacher's view, but certainly able"(53)with abstract issues like virtue, or a social scientist who no one would say that this aggression happens only or primarily in could deliver the "facts" about gender. Anyone else seems to be feminist classrooms. Students have always complainedrightly and betraying her notion of what feminism once was or should be. Her wronglythat teachers indoctrinate and bully and try to overpower. main locus of attack is against "advocacy" of any sort, since she Contrary to what Sommers suggests, feminists have not invented imagines that advocacy pedagogy or politics is the method by which intimidation tactics. If some find feminism intimidating, it may only Women's Studio-, professors contaminate the paradise of value-neu- be its difference from the usual ego-crushing that the pedagogy of tral space: the college classroom. "reasonableness" can so brutally practice. The debate over "advocacy" centers on the questior of whether the Sommers' work can be read as her attempt to win a broader audi- classroom is value-neutral or value-positive. Sommers devotes an entire encewhich she isby ap pealing to sensation al strategies that are hardly chapter to "the feminist classroom" in the hope of deciding this debate. part of the academic tradition she claims to support. Her rhetoric escalates I have argued, in an essay on student evaluation of teachers that Sommers in order to capture the attention that so many professorswhether from assails, students always bring their own assumptions and values to class the right, left, or centerfeel is denied them. and assume that their teachers do the same. The classroom, as they see it, By couching her objections in the rhetoric of corporate industry is always a place where valuesof the students and teachers' own the whistleblowershe takes the only stand left to her: constructing makingcirculate. And that circulation,contraSommers, is never one- feminism as a monolith and herself as a paragon of rational sided, but multi-sided. Pat Bizzell locates the controversy in "the idea that oppositionality. Despite her claim in the last sentence of the book that seemingly objective decisions on what to teach and how to teach it are herkind of feminism will return since it is "as American as apple deeply informed by the teacher's values, which, in turn, the teacher has pie,"(275) we can only read this as a defensive move, one that preserves learned from his or her own education in cultural values, education both herself-interest in a world where the values ofall professors, including in and out ofschool that includes cultural attitudes about gender, race and philosophers of any stripe, are in grave doubt. She mistakes the socialclass."(Changing ClassroomPractices, 194) Bizzell, among many enemyblaming feminism for the so-called anti-intellectualism of others, has come to see the classroom as inevitably charged with values, the country; this move only indicates the bankruptcy of her nostalgic while otherslike Sommerswant to maintain that the classroom can wish-dream that the conflicts will just all disappear and we will all be remain objective and value-free. in "relaxed agreement."(275) But this agreement is only reached by The attack on my 1990 College English essay, "The Other 'F' dismissing her antagonists at the cost of real debate and conversation Word," began in November 1990 when NEH chair Lynne Cheney over democratic values. denounced it as an indication of the failure to maintain standards of Dale Bauer teaches English and Women's Studies at the University of truth, beauty, and excellence in the academy. Far from being a polemic Wisconsin, Madison. Fall 1994 112 Democratic Culture Page 27 The Need for Intelligent Critiques of Feminism Russell Eisenman

WE NEED INTELLIGENT critiques of feminism, just as we easy to reject as due to people fearful of change. But other critiques are need intelligent criticism of any ideas. This is especially true intelligent, often liberal, at least in part, but very much opposed to the now, because feminism has changed in recent years, toward a move- dogma of Many feminists. I refer to such important books as Sommers' ment which often seems anti-male and against a free exchange of ideas, Who Stole Feminism?; Katie Roiphe's The MorningAfier, which shows if the ideas include criticism of feminist beliefs. Feminism is dogma in how feminists have become anti-sex, anti-male, and desirous of the mind of many supporters, to be supported in a knee-jerk fashion. regulation; Naomi Wolf's Fire With Fire, which distinguishes between Any criticism of the movement is put down, along with whoever dares "victim feminists" who alienate women by constantly emphasizing to criticize feminism. Critics are often seen as conservative, anti- how bad things are for women and how bad men are vs. "power female fools. Also, anyone who writes against the movement or speaks feminism" that promotes positive action; Warren Farrell's rho Myth our =gainst it is in danger of not being able to get a job at institutions of Male Power, which demonstrates distortions of thinking in our where feminists have some degree of control or influence. culture that have been generally accepted and provides numerous In this context, Christina Hoff Sommers' book Who Stole Femi- critiques of feminism; and Camille Pagh,..'s -I.:, Art, and American nime is an extremely important antidote to feminist dogma. Among Culture, which points out that feminists seem to have betrayed the other important things, Sommers points out that much feminism earlier emphasis on freedom and now have become puritanical in today is gender feminism, of an anti-male nature, as opposed to earlier many ways. Thus, Sommers' book is part of a backlash, but an feminists who were equity feminists, seeking equality but not seeking intelligent backlash that seeks to critique feminism in important ways. to put down or demonize men. Also, she points out that in seeking I have noticed that many feminists reject any criticism, and say that their gender feminist views, misleading statistics are frequently used. these books are unworthy. This knee-jerk rejection of even intelligent Thu.: , according to Sommers, it is not the case, as some feminists teach, criticism supports my view of feminism as dogma on the part of many that one out of four women on college campuses will be raped, that feminists. I have to keep saying things such as "many feminists" women earn only 59 cents for every dollar earned by men, etc. And she because not all feminists are the same. But, the ones who have captured points out that women's studies classes are often purveyors of sloppy the headlines and are influencing organizations ..nd courts seem to fit scholarship, but with great hostility to anyone, usually a male, in the my view of dogmatic people: opposed to the First Amendment, highly class who dares to speak up and criticize what is being presented. critical of men in general, to the extent of seeming to be anti-male. Thus, If I were looking for a job at another university, I probably would the movement seems puritanical and repressive, which is a great contrast not write this article, because I might be excluded from employment to the feminism that I knew in the 1970s, when feminists seemed to at many places for giving a critique of feminism. This tells you celebrate sexual freedom and were in favor of openness, not censorship. something about how rigid and dogmatic the movement has become. From the above-mentioned books, it appears that the way to be Also, university feminists often make sure that students do not get to able to get criticism of the feminist movement published is to write a hear criticism of the movement. At Connecticut College, a book by book, although there have been some suggestions that getting a book feminist critic Camille Paglia (who describes herself as an anti-feminist published which critiques the movements is very difficult. Perhaps feminist) was removed from the reading list. Another example, that is changing. I do know, from my own experiences, how difficult supporting Sommers' view of poor scholarship, occurred at the it is to get criticism of feminism in print. First, I almost did not get a University of Maryland. Female students made posters of "potential two-page critique of feminism published in Psychological Reports. The rapists" and randomly ;ncluded names of male students. Having reviewers were extremely hostile and said that they disagreed with me. worked with rapists in a prison, I can report that rapists are not your Only the intervention of the editor succeeded in getting the article typical male. The idea that all men are potential rapists is invalid, but printed (Vol. 74, 1994, pp. 201-202). Second, I tried to place the is propagated by some feminists, giving a distorted view of both men following classified ad in The Humanist magazine: "FEMINISM and rape. Like Stalinists or the Catholic Church, many modern day EXPOSED. 3 reports critique feminism as anti-First Amendment, feminists seem determined to allow only orthodox views. anti-male, and pro-censorship. Send $5 to: Dr. Russell Eisenman, Some feminists, such as a feminist group in Seattle, Washington, Department of Psychology, McNetle State University, Lake Charles, would agree with critiques of today's feminist movement. The Seattle LA 70609-1895." Since they often have classified ads offering all kinds group says that feminists should be against sexism not sex. Further, of self-published books or articles, my ad hardly seemed unusual. But, men are not the enemy. But, current day feminists seem to disagree I got a rejection of my ad, on the alleged grounds that it would not with such a liberal viewpoint, based on what they write and say. Thus, appeal to readers of the magazine. So, I could not even pay to advertise ironically, while the left tends to support contemporary feminism, three reports critiquing feminism. There has been at least one pro- modern-day feminism is often reactionary, going against the earlier feminist ad in their classified section. What is happening here? feminist emphasis on freedom. "When Feminists Devour Their Own" Nevertheless, intelligent critiques have appeared. I distinguish Her book may turn out to be the equivalent of the battle of Gettysburg, intelligent critiques from those based on opposition to feminism due with bodies littering the landscape in blue, gray and several shades of pink. to fear of changing sex roles. It is easy to dismiss those who fear This book may mark the high tide of feminism as surely as Cemetery Ridge feminism due to fear of women being anything but homemakers and marked the high tide of the Confederacy." subservient to men. Such reaction against the feminist movement is Suzanne Fields, Washington Times, 7/18/94.

Page 28Democratic Culture Fall 1994 1.13 In conclusion, Sommers' book is part of a recent phenomenon: feminism that need co be addressed if the movement is to obtain intelligent books critiquing feminism. It may still be difficult to get support from both men and women (most women in the United States something published if it criticizes feminism. But perhaps there is now do not consider themselves feminists, as revealed by polls) for legiti- more room and less censorship for critiques of feminism. This is not mate goals, such as equal opportunities for women and decent due to open-mindedness on the part of feminists, but seems to reflect treatment of women. The legitimate goals are obscured by both the the fact that more and more people are seeing flaws in the feminist dogmatic way that feminists present their ideas and the specific movement and are willing to commit their ideas to writing. The content of some of the ideas, which often seem anti-male and current critiques are not always conservative or from people who fear puritanical. change. Rather, many of them point to what seem iike major flaws in Russell Eisenman teaches psychology at McNeese State University. Chutzpah Isn't Enough: Some Thoughts on Reading Who Stole Feminism? Patricia Farrant

THE FUROR, HOWEVER transitory, accompanying the pub- Sommers is relentless in her ridicule of the pain (as well as the lication of Christina Hoff Sommers' book, Who Stole Feminism? occasional downright silliness) that has occasionally accompanied the

How Women Have Betrayed Women, is a cause for applause, not just efforts of feminist groups like the National Women's Studies Associa-. rancor, among feminists. While it may not measure up to the tion as they struggle to transform the bases of their group relations. standards for carefully researched scholarly work, the book is the Having been a participant in and observer of such transformations, I outcome of a well-funded project, it has been heavily promoted, its am convinced that we simply must not permit the struggles that message certainly sells, and it offers an almost irresistible invitation to accompany consciencization, perspective transformation, or even the response. After all, since feminism claims to be inclusive, we must pedagogical process of achieving anthropological perspective to be acknowledge and include in the feminist family Sommers as well as defined and trivialized by "outsiders." those of us whose nerves she grates with her cannily crafted attempt at Exploiting modern channels of communicafion a hatchet job on the "half" of feminism she considers not "hers." Feminists need to display a clearer understanding of the media Sommers has tried to hold up a mirror to the segment of feminism through which most people get their information and to learn how to she revilesthe "gender feminists"; in reality, the most important use those media skillfully. Most Americans are acctrtomed to getting function of her book may be that it serves as a lamp, shedding light on what they consider to be facts through television and through similar some of the broader issues savvy feminists must attend toright now. sources of bite-size knowledge. But as Neil Postman has observed in What are some of these issues? Amusing Ourselves to Death, television increasingly is a medium Taking charge of key words through which discourse takes the form of entertainme,t. It has little The first issue jumps right out of Sommers' title. Feminists must tolerance for argument, hypothesis, or explanation; it demands per- avoid the trap into which so many liberals have fallenfailing to formance. Entertainment has become the supraideology of all dis- prevent others from expropriating and then trivializing important course in our electronic media, lulling us into thperception that, concepts and definitions and from establishing the terms within which having been exposed to complex issues, we actually know something, debate is carried out. when in reality we may simply have been briefly diverted or enter- To ask "who stole feminism" is to slyly suggest that feminism is an tained, not challenged to engage in the convoluted processes of already-defined entity, an intellectual "pink panther" that can be confronting, interpreting, and assimilating, and in the kinds ofserious spirited away by thieves in the night. A more compelling concern for reflection and discourse that should follow. feminists should be to continue the effort to define what we mean by It is a sobering thought, for example, that the implications of f"minism(s). Above all, we must resist the impulse to talk about research on differential treatment of boys and girls in the classroom feminism in terms of the dichotomy that Sommers positsgender were probably conveyed to more Americans through Doonesbury feminists versus equity feminists. In this regard, Sommers' book is an cartoons than through any other channel of communication. And, in extended exercise in synecdoche, in which she implies that those early August of this year, Sommers appeared in one of those "nanosec- feminists whose politics and principles she deplores accurately charac- ond for controversy" segments that characterize the proliferating terize all of us who do not fall within the purview of so-called equity magazine-format TV shows, explaining to Connie Chung the lapses feminism. in accuracy of certain factual information being promulgated by Feminism as a concept deserves a better fate than political correct- various feminist writers. Very little time was allotted to the other guest ness, a term that has been purloined and subverted. PConce a label in this segment, CynthiaCrossen, who has just published a compelling liberals employed in ironic self-descriptionis now used cynically to analysis of the manipulation of facts in America, showing how truth trivialize commitment to such important matters as equity, equality, is "tainted": research is conducted under the auspices of political and indusiveness, equal opportunity, and human rights. economic interests; facts are manufactured, manipulated, and sup- Feminists also have to resist the urge to succumb as Sommers does pressed to enhance corporate images, promote products or projects, to argumentum ad feminam; to do so would be to engage in the and even influence juries. A more in-depth exploration of Crossen's discussion on terms established by others. And it is important to work would certainly have placed Soininers' contentions in a more consider feminist thinkers Sommers neither attacks nor praises, but meaningful context. But there was no time; the next segmenton a simply ignoreswide-ranging theorists who arc hard to pigeonhole, totally different topicloomed, coming up right after a half-dozen Helen Haste, Judith Lorber, Sandra Beni, to name just a few. comnercial messa es. Fall 1994 114 Democratic Culture Page 29 My years as editor of a feminist journal for women in all aspects of in Durham, New Hampshire, one of the strongest points of consensus higher education have intensified my conviction that if feminism is to was that feminism in all its manifestations needs better public rela- be taken seriously in the culture at large and the promise of its activist tions. We need to encourage more feminists to develop the ability to origins fulfilled, there must be strong, sustained links between theory present complicated theorizing and complex information in interest- and practice. The academic analyses and the debates motivated by ing, lively, engaging ways, with insight, empathy, and good humor. tough issues like conceptions of gender, gender relations, and gender We need to show, not simply tell, the connections between aspects of equity must also be conveyed within contexts and in terms intelligible feminist thinking and women's everyday lives. One way we might do to "average thinking people." Unfortunately, a good deal of feminist this is to extend the reach of books like Jean O'Barr's Feminism in thinking and theorizing has been expressed in arcane, unduly complex Action: Building Institutions er Community Through Women's Studies. language that may well be meaningful only to the like-minded. Beware the factoids There are indications that feminists are beginning to see the Sommers is very credible in her attacks on "feminist factoids" wisdom of working to simplify communication about complicated those pieces of unverified or inaccurate information presented as true issues. Indeed, an editorial in the summer 1992 issue of Signs calls on which then gain currency through repetition. As we strive to bring to those writing feminist academic prose to consider key questions: the public more issues of importance to feminists, we will need to be "...how does our writing sound these days? And who reads it? Who is scrupulous in our attention to every detailwhether of discrete fact attracted to it? Who understands it?" or of synthesis and theory. We need to be equally rigorous about the Wage opinion quality of our research methodologies and careful about the meanings Feminists have to be more willing to "wage opinion," to use Naomi and conclusions that are drawn from research results. Wolf's phrase. Women have been all but absent from the centers of Finally, the attacks Sommers has launched through her book and opinion in this country; the proportion of op-ed writers, guests on its attendant publicity campaign can be turned to feminism's advan- serious discussion shows like Meet the Press or Firing Line, and news tage at this point in its evolution. Sommers has exposed potential commentators and analysts who are women is quite small. vulnerabilities that, once they are acknowledged and analyzed, can be Most women seem to have little stomach for direct, confronta- effectively addressed. tional debate on controversial matters. We may be reluctant to violate None of this will come easily, of course. Despite the volumes that the norms we've internalized about how women ought to interact and have been written about it, modern feminism is still in its infancy. may attend more than we should to the voice that from childhood has Until enough time has passed in which to build solid bases of admonished us, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything replicated research and hard data, feminists will continue to rely at all." More of us need to divert our energies away from maintaining heavily on tentative theory and on explanatory fictions as we struggle equanimity and to overcome the need to conciliate. Internecine toward establishment of new paradigms. No traditions so entrenched struggles are not usually pleasant, but they may be the only way real as gender relations are going to shift totally in a single lifetime or consensus can be achieved and genuine progress made. perhaps even a single era. In Hegelian terms, there is a dialectic at work Sommers is unafraid to speak confrontationally and authorita- (some have termed it a "phase" process) in which equilibrium is being tively, even when some of the authority derives from argumentum ad challenged'and out of which synthesis will ultimately emerge. feminam, reliance on vague or anonymous reports, and even sheer In many ways, Who Stole Feminism? offers the voice and the views chutzpah. Surely other feminists can do at least as well. We need more of a conservative clinging to the past, the familiar, the comfortable, in people ready and able to engage in debate with thoselike Sommers the midst of the storms of change. This is just the time that feminists who have the nerve and the connections to get their stories before the need to become savvier about the relationships between epistemology public. We need more feminists willing to risk inviting criticism, and modern media. We need tc be less opaque and less inclined to infuriating the opposition, being wrong, or even simply looking silly. operate in closed, self-referential systems. We need to develop com- In my view, feminism needs a little more Molly Ivins and a little less municators and feminist PR experts who have "scribal" abilities, who MLA. can stand between theorists and researchers and those who need and Public relations are important. want to understand and apply the results of their work. At the conclusior of the first symposium of editors of feminist Patricia Farrant is editor of Initiatives, the journal of the National journals convened last year by the National Women's Studies journal Association for Women in Education. RITE FOR DEMOCRATIC CULTURE What's your opinion? The debate about Who Stole Feminism? will continue in the Spring 1995 issue, and we encourage responses to this special issue ci Democratic Cultureand additional essays on Christina Hoff Sommers. We need your contributions to create this newsletter. We're looking for essays, campus reports, book reviews, letters, or anything else of interest to our members. And keep us informed about what's happening on your campus. For a more timely response, please contact editor John Wilson directly at 1414 E. 59th St. #867, Chicago, IL 60637; 312- 753 -0460; jkw3midway.uchicago.edu. Fall 1994 Page 30Democratic Culture 115 Radical Teaching with Conservative Effects Donna Dunbar-Odom

THE CURRENT PUSH-PULL between the pedagogical claims the purpose of the capitalist state is to produce the means of produc- of the right and the left can be crudely characterized as the right's tion, and a vital part of production is labor. Schools, then, serve to call for conservative classroom materials and methods versus the left's produce the elite class of managers, the working class of wage laborers, call to democratize the classroom in order to break down traditional and an underclass. Those who fail are trained to blame themselves for hierarchies. Rather than produce one more critique of the right's their failure. "Radical" educators, therefore, work to show how schools hypocrisies and/or inaccuracies,I want to draw attention to participate in the reproduction of labor and define liberation in terms "blindnesses" I've noticed among teachers on the left: a tendency to of resistance. produce global definitions of difference (particularly on the basis of The discussion of class allows contemporary teachers a way to class) that serve to erase other, problematic areas of difference and a group students in order to represent them; at the same time, this tendency to assume that students who do not act on their understand- grouping allows teachers to think of their students as "knowable" and ing of class politics are somehow not developmentally ready to do so. even transparent. In the move to convince students that they are As a first-generation college student from a working-class back- oppressed, there is the assumption that these students are not intellec- ground, I suppose I can make some claim to speak from a position of tually or developmentally ready or prepared to comprehend or appre- "difference." I learned, however, to name myself "first-generation ciate their oppression without the teacher's intervention. college student" and "working-class" only after I had completed a In my field of composition, Ira Shor is probably the most cited Master's degree in English. "Difference" simply did not figure in my American radical educator, and he is, to my mind, the quintessential perception of myself. It was I who was "mainstream" and others who "radical" teacher because of his attempts to make use of his own were "nontraditional," and while I might have been alienated from working-class background and his continuing efforts to ground his many of the conditions of traditional academic life, I was not an alien. political theory in his particular assignments and particular classes It is hard to say what effect my class position had (and has) on my with particular students. I've been greatly influenced by the work he writing. Perhaps it is evident in the difficulty I have asserting my does, but his work exhibits a kind of "blindness" (shared by many of arguments or in my tendency to bury my arguments or in my need for his colleagues) in that, despite his efforts to address difference, he, too, multiple revisions. But I cannot say with certainty that these are strictly talks in globalizing and developmental terms about his students. "class-related" difficulties, and I hesitate to name them as such. To do Shor's Critical Teachingand Everyday Lift (South End Press, 1980) so erases all the other factors that constitute me as a writer and describes something of his genesis into and development as a liberatory highlights my weaknesses at the expense of my strengths. teacher and develops his theory ofwhat it means to teach working-class As a basic writing teacher, I worked with students from working- students "to dually empower [them], with stronger literacy and with class backgrounds, but I also worked with middle-class students, a self-articulated grasp of meaning in their world."(xxv) He uses the students of color, students whose parents were teachers, students who term "worker-students" to refer to his students in order to differentiate had enjoyed and done well in high schoolthat is, students who do them from what we must assume are "traditional" students. But not fall into easily quantifiable categories of background and ability. despite his attempts to include women and people of color in his Working-class background is not an automatic sign of deficiency. To description, his characterization of "worker-students" is a surprisingly think about students in terms of class can help to explain certain sentimental one in which individuals are described in global terms: characteristics of their dassroom performance and written work, but There are further contours to the strengths remaining in worker- it is not a reliable inclicenr of attitude or ability; as an explanatory students despite a fragmented social life and their institutional category, it has limited value. ordeals. They pride themselves on their toughness. They don't I am profoundly aware of the limitations of these terms to describe whine, ask for pity, or feel sorry for themselves. Their need to show my experiences inside and outside of the academy. "First-generation the world that they can take it leads them to reject help, even when college student" and "working-class" are terms that someone else they want it. This is their way of preserving their autonomy. They might have used to describe me but never ones that ! would have taken express a rebellious independence in the face of giant institutions for myself because they would have pointed to my "difference" as a which have tried to make them obedient. The thumbs of authority deficiency rather than a condition. It was only after I became a teacher have left them neither docile nor defeated.(36) that I heard myself included in the terms used to describe my students, and it was only after I had been teaching basic writing for several years Anyone who has worked in a college or university which has a that I began to comprehend the power relations at work in the terms significant percentage of first-generation college students among its, used by one group to describe the experiences of another because numbers will recognize the limitations of this description. While it is usually those terms arc used to imply deficiency. certainly a romantic characterization (who wouldn't want to see For many educators who overtly identify themselves as interested herself described as someone who defies the "thumbs of authority"?), in disrupting relations of power, the discussion of class has served as I also see it as seriously problematic, in that it's going to limit how the a means to globalize the discussion of difference. Within the terms of teacher perceives the students. "Class" may be seen by the teacher as this argument (a roughly Althusse, nodel), the state produces signifying attitudes and assumptions that may or may not play a part "otherness" rather than "otherness" being a result of some feature of in the students' experiences. or within those whose experience is being named. Within these terms, In his more rec.nt Empowering Education: Critical Teaching for

Fall 1994 Democratic Culture Page 31 116 Social Change (University of Chicago Press, 1992), Shor works to potential of difference in the classroom. As the one who represents himself expand his understanding of difference in the many overlapping ways as being able to see the big picture, the critical pedagogue names the rules that it is represented in the classroom. But here I'm disturbed by his and, even in the name of empowerment, calls the shots. understanding of resistance which is conceived largely in terms of Class, while seemingly offering an effective means for radical "plrying dumb" or "getting by," with little appreciation of student teachers to represent the interests of their "nontraditional" students, resistance itself as (at least potentially) political resistance to Shor's in fact only offers a reductive description of difference. In other words, own political agenda. Finally, activism against the interestsof bour- in the efforts to define difference in terms of class, many educators turn geois culture (e.g., protesting US government involvement in the to globalizing descriptions that produce a definition of the "other" as Nicaraguan government) remains the ultimate sign of classroom unproblematic so thatin the attempt to define differencediffer- success; student resistance to such activism is termed a sign of their not ence is erased. The turn to globalizing definitions, furthermore, marks yet being ready for that level of commitment rather than their having a place where pedagogyi.e. the reasoned and systematic study and made a political decision in conflict with Shor's position: "At the end, practice of teachingdegenerates into didactics, where the students' I mentioned some activities under way to protest the Contra war, but job is to reproduce the teacher's knowledgewhether that knowledge these adult students appeared not ready to act on their knowl- is described in terms of "standards" or "empowerment." edge."(69) Despite Shor's increased attention to difference, I do not Donna Dunbar-Odom teaches in the Department of Literature and see that attention as yielding a productive rethinkingof the role and Languages at East Texas State University. Letter Julian Markets

At the end of his account of the horrendous Vassar episode that there has been scholarly silence until now about an Africanist involving his son (Spring 1994), Richard Wolff invites debate on the presence in American literature. It would surely be no comfort to the possibility that there is "a series of rightward shifts underway that Wall Street Journal to know what extensive and substantial work democrats everywhere need to address analytically and politically, exactly on Morrison's wavelength had alreaady been done by Carolyn both in theory and in practice." Here is one response to that invitation. Karcher and Eric Sundquist and many others (lots of them white) I don't think we can begin to see whether a rightward shift is before Morrison made her claim that it was all Establishment silence underway until democrats can address the particular species of left- until she spoke up. I prefer to think she wasn't aware of such work, but ward shift, now so pervasive as to engulf Democratic Culture, in which that doesn't make Playing in the Dark any.!,!ss self-serving or any less people make it their reflex agenda to defend all but mindlessly anyone serious a suppression of the tradition and momentum of anti-racist or anything the right is predictably attacking. I think it's possible that scholarship. For readers of DCthe question should be, not whether the both sides are locked in a dance of reciprocal salivating in which no Wall Street Journal is full of prunes, but whether someone giving directional change can be detected and maybe none is occurring. highly publicized lectures in which she undertakes to prescribe an Before turning to Wolfs variation on this reflex, consider DCs itemized agenda for academic scholarship on a subject whose already "Newsclip" story on Toni Morrison's Nobel Prize that runs alongside compelling scholarship she knows nothing about needs a blanket Wolff's article. Here we are told sure enough that the usual suspects hurrah from us because she has been attacked by the Wall Street (the New Criterion and the Wall Street Journal) attacked the Nobel Journal. award as racially motivated, politically correct, and aesthetically I think Toni Morrison certainly deserved the Nobel Prize, both for flawed. Should those folks even be dignified by an answer addressed the volume, variety, and wonderful risk-taking of her fiction and for to the readers of DC? I doubt it. But if so, and if DCargues as it should the great individual achievements of The Bluest Eye and Beloved. I that there will always be aesthetic disagreement over the award of the think she's our best living novelist, and I think Richard Wolff and Prize, then shouldn't the answer go something like this: "If the award Stephen Resnick are our best economic theorists. But I also want to was aesthetically and politically controversialor even aesthetically question whether Wolfs reflections on his son's experience don't flawed and politically motivatedthen wasn't it like 98% of all involve indirectly some of the same reflexes as DCs riff on Morrison's previous Nobel awards? (Anybody for Solzhenitsyn?)" But DC de- Nobel Prize. clines to make such an answer and instead changes the subject to Wolff certainly persuades me that the star chamber proceedings to Morrison's call for greater attention to an "Africanist presence" in which the Vassar administration subjected his son was motivated American literature. That too has been predictably misunderstood more by a desire for "power, prestige, and prerogatives" than by a and willfully misinterpreted by the Wall Street Journal, and thus DC concern for "political correctness" in promoting equality and security gets another shot at defending Morrison on the simpleminded terrain for gays. But while he says that his son's victimization by a Kafkaesque of the ritual enemy: "Simply because Morrison wants to end the trial for homophobia "shows that the struggle for gay inclusion can silence about race in most discussions of American literature, it does become exclusive and oppressive when allied to or managed by a group not mean that she wants the subject of race to become the sole basis with a very different agenda," I don't think he questions appropriately of literary criticism." the political implications of that fact. Why does the Vassar adminis- But the knee-jerk simplicities that may be sufficient to rebut the tration pursue its agenda of power, prestige, and prerogatives by Wall Street Journal don't begin to speak to the political damage done affronting rath..r than appeasing the values of the New Criterion and by Toni Morrison's oversight and distortion in her sweeping claim the Wall Street Journal and by trying to manage as if it were a genuine

Page 32Demo :ratic Culture Fall 1999 1 ally in the struggle for gay inclusion? Does that kind of behavior reflect John Wilson replies: a rightward shift? Well, maybe yes, under some definitions that The point of my comment on the Toni Morrison controversy was democrats may want to consider. But would those be Wolff's defini- not to evaluate whether Morrison's Playing in the Dark is "a suppres- tions? If so, how would they be different from the right's standard sion of the tradition and momentum of anti-racist scholarship." I'm definition of the tyranny of the left? Meanwhile, are there any inclined to agree with Morrison, but I'm willing to look at evidence definitions by which Vassar's conduct in withholding and suppressing of this tradition. However, I'm puzzled by the attempt to link TDC evidence can be differentiated politically from Toni Morrison's con- with the Vassar administration or the sul.estion that I'm giving duct in erasing the record of anti-racist scholarship in her loudly Morrison a "blanket hurrah." I criticized the New Criterion because it cheered call for a new awareness of the Africanist presence? proclaimed that politically correct affirmative action, not literary Why doesn't somebody persuade South End Press to reprint talent, was the sole basis for her Nobel Prize. Markels' appreciation of Lenin's pamphlet on "LO-Wing" Communism: An Infantile Disoraer? Morrison's literary talents is excluded by the New Criterion's dismissal Julian Markels teaches English at Ohio State University. of her as a purely political choice. I'm even more puzzled by the connection between Morrison's alleged "erasing" of anti-racist scholarship and Vassar's violation of Richard Wolff replies: due process. Unlike a misuse of the disciplinary process, bad literary Perhaps I did not show clearly enough how Vassar College's gross criticism is a victimless crime, and Morrison's book is far from bad. violations of even the most minimal civil rights of students to due But Markels doesn't seem to mind Morrison's ideas; he only questions process, presumption of innocence, etc. connect to broader social the originality of them. At worst, Morrison is a popularizer, not a shifts to the right. My point was that Vassar's repeated pattern of such thought criminal. behavior reverses the trend since the 1960showever modestto John K Wilson is editor of Democratic Culture and author of the grant students more rather than less influence over their college life forthcoming book, The Myth of Political Correctness. from sexual behavior to curriculum to political action. It is clever for Vassar's administrationtraditionally linked to the establishment's liberal wingto pursue its quest for a return to the Letter pre-1960s power it enjoyed by posturing as the protector of an William Schultz "official" multiculturalism. It thereby hopes to turn multiculturalism I appreciate receiving a sample copy of Democratic Culture and into a vehicle for that return. This goal parallels that of the have read it with great interest. I am deeply offended, however, by establishment's conservative winge.g., the Wall Street Journal's a gross lapse from the general high seriousness of the publication. editorialistswho likewise seek a return to pre-1960s (and even pre- I refer, of course, to the tasteless attempt at parody, "An Open 1930s) distributions of power, wealth, and culture. Letter to Gregory Jay and Gerald Graff," under the pseudonyms The difference between the liberals and conservatives lies in how "Donald Morton" and "Mas'ud Zavarzadeh." they exploit multiculturalism as a movement, not why. The conserva- First, as an English teacher, I'm outraged by the depiction of tives denounce its influence as a social disaster (having first exagger- English teachers who can't complete a phrase, much less a sen tence, ated it to ludicrous levels; to be overcome by a speedy return to the without loading it with clichés and jargon. good old days as they imagine them. The liberals, like those as Vassar, More importantly, though such satire might be amusing to you seek much the same return, but they think it can best be achieved, as an editor, if your readers misunderstand and take the article given current social realities, by a controlled accommodation with seriously, that simply plays into the hands of the oppressive multiculturalism, not by a counterproductive railing against it. bourgeois pluralist reactionaries who foster the illusion that persua- Markels' allusion to Lenin, I would guess, intends to suggest that sion is a legitimate human activity. as Lenin questioned "Democracy for what social ends?" so we should Pleaseleave Beavis and Butthead to the totalitarian free- ask "Multiculturalism for what social ends?" This is a valid and very market colonialist running dogs. important kind of question. It drives home the point that however William Schultz teaches English at Muskingum College. Much we may endor 'e democracy and multiculturalism as ends in themselves, they are always also means (or obstacles, depending on the circumstances) to other ends. We may then confront situations in Medieval Group of TDC which, say, the desired end of multiculturalism is currently function- Teachers for a Democratic Culture is pleased to announce ing as an obstacle to other desired ends (e.g. students' civil liberties). Of course, we should contest that functioning, contest those kinds of the formation of the Medieval Group of TDC. In 1995, TDC multiculturalism that serve as means to social objectives we oppose. If will sponsor three sessions at the 30th International Con- Markels is seeking to affirm some kinds of multiculturalism as against gress on Medieval Studies: "Politics and Pedagogy: The others by reference to how they articulate differentially to the social Culture Wars," "Region, Culture and Race: Teaching the struggles of our time, I think he is quite right to question my not having made that same point in my article. Middle Ages in a Multicultural Society," and "The Future of Richard Wolff teaches economics at the University of Massachusetts, Erudition." For more information, contact: Amherst. Larry Scanlon, Department of English Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08903.

Fall 1994 Democratic Culture Page 33 1i A Tale of Two Cultures and Other Higher Superstitions Steve Fuller

entists and humanists on the future of Western Review of Paul Gross and Norman Levitt, aren't even academicswhich puts the authors at Civilization (a.k.a. British society). With a few Higher Superstition: The Academic Left and itspains to identify them all as part of a coherent exceptions, the scientists contended that the path Quarrels with Science (Johns Hopkins Univer- "academic left." charted by scientific materialism made it inevitable sity Press, 1994) Nevertheless, Gross and Levitt are correct to that political problems would be solved by techni- claim that all of these groups see contemporary cal means. This would remove the volatility caused THE LAST thirty years, leftist humanists natural science as a deeply politicized practice OVER by protracted public debate, the supposed root of and social scientists have increasingly challenged that works mostly against the interests of progres- Fascism's mass appeal. the authority that the natural sciences enjoy sive causes. Our authors deem this a pernicious The humanists, again with some exceptions, throughout society. Originally these challenges standpoint, not merely because they believe it is were born-again liberals, former Communists who false, but more importantly because they believe it addressed the role that natural scientists played in could not tolerate the excesses of the Stalinist has proven persuasive with a larger segment of weapons research, environmental degradation, regime, even if they were committed in the name and gender and racial discrimination. But recently the public, including policymakers, who are now of the proletarian revolution. Orwell, in particular, more principled challenges have been made of the beginning to saddle research and training in sci- was scandalized by the degree to which the scien- ence with "politically correct" requirements. very content and method of science by a group of tists would bend over backwards to excuse the Like other elite practitioners of the natural interdisciplinary scholars in the field of "Science & Soviets. Orwell was convinced that the unmiti- Technology Studies" (STS) of which I am a part. sciences, Gross and Levitt presume that what has gated attraction of scientists to Marxism reflected Until a couple of years ago, scientists largely been good for them is good for all scientists, and deep totalitarian tendencies in the scientific mind. ignored this mounting body of work in their own they place a premium on producing cutting-edge If the natural sciences held the keys to human research as quickly as possible. On this view, the public writings. However, in 1992, two prominent emancipation, then clearly their representatives academic left is a spanner in the works. However, works of science popularizationLewis Wolpart's were projecting the wrong image by leaning so The Unnatural Nature of Science end Steven rank-and-file scientists do not abide by such im- heavily on the idea of nature speaking in one Weinberg's Dreams of a Final Theory devoted peratives. Most teach and administer for a living, overbearing voice. Despite the changes in players and the research that they do does not demand entire chapters to describing the threat posed by and positions over the last 30 years, natural sci- the academic left critique of science, suggesting results "by yesterday." The threat posed by the ence has not solved its public relations problems, that it constituted a frontal assault on "civilization academic left to science is thus primarily to a as Gross and Levitt acknowledge. Unfortunately, as we know it." Paul Gross and Norman Levitt, a research practice that has already come to re- their proposals do little to inspire confidence in distinguished biologist and mathematician, have semble the capitalist mode of production. their own claims about the independence of scien- now publisiled the first book entirely devoted to the One didactic advantage afforded by our au- tific knowledge from social conditions. Ou rauthors thors' monolithic portrayal of the natural sciences academic left critique. would remedy the current situation by requiring In the few months that the book has been out, is that it gives us license to revisit the "Two Cul- more traditional science education for everyone it has s'eady gained a somewhat deserved repu- tures" controversy that C.F. Snow sparked with his and threatening postmodemists with the prospect tation for being mean-spirited toward opponents. 1959 Rode Lecture. Although Snow himself took of scientists passing judgment on their scholar- Nevertheless, Gross and Levitt have done their the "two cultures" to suffer from mutual incompre- ship. While more reciprocity and interpenetration homework. They simply don't like what they see, hension, his speech clearly left humanists with the of disciplinary boundaries would be acceptable, it and they spare no punches. Itould be foolish for impression that the burden was primarily theirs. is clear that G ross a nd Levitt are advocating a dual- us self-styled "academic leftists" to reject out of Especially after a 1962 lecture by F.R. Leavis, pronged strategy of indoctrination and censorship. Snow has been read as arguing that the spiritual hand what they say. For those who worry about the The burden of this book is to try to show that politics of our two authors, it is worth noting that goals championed by humanists had been histori- natural scientific knowledge is separable from the cally superseded by material needs that only sci- they take enough potshots at conservative au- various social contexts in which it is embedded. thors to convince me of their own avowed liberal ence can satisfy. However, Snow was making a much more Since Gross and Levitt stake out the epistemologi- sympathies. cal high ground for scienceits "realism"from What probably separates Gross and Levitt the evenhanded point, namely, that while scientific which assorted costs and benefits for society are most from TDC members is their resolute refusal skills are singularly necessary for the survival of said to flow, I expected to come away with some to see politics reaching into the inner sanctum of humanity, scientists lack the moral imagination, clear sense of where our authors think "science" scientific content and method. Their idea of a leftistespecially the facility with alternative futures, that ends and "society" begins. I was instructively dis- scientist is Stephen Jay Gould, someone who has is typically developed by the humanities. Snow's appointed, and there is probably a strong connec- ideal civil servant would thus be equipped with a consistently ferreted out scoundrel scientists stand- tion between their own failure on this score and ing in the way of progressive social causes, but humanist's sense of ends and a scientist's sense what they find least palatable about the academic who has nevertheless attributed the discovery of of means. left critique of science. these scoundrels to the naturally self-correcting Snow's contrast was not between a bloodless Gross and Levitt are irked by many things, but technocrat and an elitist litterateur. Rather, it was character of scientific inquiry. nothing arouses their ire as much as "standpoint The range of opponents addressed by Gross between someone like John Desmond Bemal, the epistemology," an ex p. e ssi on originally taken from X-Ray crystallographer and Soviet sympathizer, and Levitt is truly staggering: postmodern cultural Lukacs' understanding of the privileged role of critics, STS scholars, feminists, At nxentrists, deep and someone like George Orwell, the novelist and proletarian consciousness in revolutionary praxis, liberal pamphleteer. ecologists, animal-rights activists, and AIDS activ- but now more generally reverting to the relative In the decade following the end of World War II, ists. The reader will immediately notice that these objectivity of peoples traditionally marginalized groups do not have much in commonand many BBC Radio frequently held debates between sci-

Page 34Democratic Culture Fall 1994 11s from the structures of power in society. On this it were only by accident that the natural sciences I don't want to leave the impression that I see basis, some feminists and multiculturalists have had emerged in Europe rather than China, India, the book in a wholly negative light. I have disputed argued forte superiority of "women's knowledge" or Egypt. Gross and Levitt only at the most general level of or "African knowledge" to the classical Western It was by posing the question of science as one their thesis, but they can be quite acute about modes of science. of historical accident, rather than of historical ne- particular excesses in academic left arguments Suppose that Gross and Levitt are correct that cessity, that "history of science" as a recognizable against science, such as their critique of recent the natural sciences produce a universal form of field of study wasborn.The forte of this question attempts by literary theorists and some social knowledge. How could the West have come to was to suggest both that the natural sciences were scientists to metaphorically appropriate chaos discover such a thing in its history? After all, within any culture's reach and that Europe's domi- theory, non-linear dynamics, and quantum me- modern natural science, with its dual emphasis on nation of the globe was by no means guaranteedchanics, as if these serve to undermine the legiti- experimental testing and mathematical calcula- in perpetuity. The moral of this story is that history macy of the natural sciences. tion, did not emerge in many places at once, but does not arrive in a neat ontological package, with One does not need to be a scientific expert to only from some rather special developments in some bits labeled"necessary,""universal," or"true," faulr this kind of "metaphor-mongering" as Gross 17th century Northwestern Europe. and other bits labeled "accidental," "particular," or and Levitt call it. (They make a similar charge Moreover, for at least two centuries after its "false." against feminist critiques, but here I think they appearance, Europeans were themselves am- Events happen in bundles, and only after some underestimate the depth with which gender meta- bivalent about the precise significance of this new time has passed as they unraveled and labeled. phors affect scientific consciousness.) The fact science: Did it extend or refute Christianity? Was Only through such retellings of the past do we that humanists have not yet halted the funding of it suitable for university instruction or merely an come to have any strong sense of what the world the natural sciences, or have even managed to avocation of gentlemen? Did substantialinvest- obliges, forbids, and merely permits. These are siphon off some of the funding for themselves, is mentin science make an appreciable difference to the first lessons of the "social constructivisr epis- sufficient evidence that we are nowhere near the material progress or did it merely rationalize dis- temology that underwrites most of the work that dawn of a "new age" for sciencehowever desir- cove ries that could have been madewithoutknowt- Gross and Levitt criticize. They help explain why able such a state of affairs might be. edge of science? our authors are ultimately unable to pinpoint the Here it would pay for the academic left to The natural sciences slowly worked their way realist core of science, namely, because that core contextualize its own utopian urges. Much of the into the university curriculum. Until about 100 has been nothing more (and nothing less) than scientific metaphor-mongering critiqued by Gross years ago, the great "scientists" who held aca- those aspects of science that have held up well in and Levitt emerges from an institutional setting in demic posts all their lives were typically accredited cross-cultural translation. Now, however, the ad- which the legitimacy of philosophy and the human in a liberal arts subject like philosophy or math- vent of feminist and multiculturatist critiques of sciences still very much depends on imitating the ematics. Until the end of the last century, Western- science from within our own culture, threatens to natural sciences, even if only at a verbal level. ers generally treated the natural sciences as a upset the balance of trade again. Failure to appreciate the deeply scientistic peculiar accomplishment of their own culturean Since Gross and Levitt periodically try to tar character of French academic culture has led accomplishment,even when held in highest es- academic leftists with the brush of "relativism" and many an American humanist to see subversive teem, that was regarded as uniquely Western. idealism," let me emphasize that nothing said moves in the use of words like "rhizome" and The first. voluntary and successful appropria- here requires denying the obvious: we have man- "fractal" that are not really meant, and which, in the tion of the natural science by a non-Western aged to eliminate certain deadly diseases, astro- context of our owil academic culture, invite only country came in Japan, which become one of the nauts have flown in space, and atomic bombs the kind of scorn that Gross and Levitt gladly heap six leading military and industrial powers in the have caused untold damage. The bone of conten- upon such work. Finally, and most seriously, Gross and Levitt charge that the academic left has largely refused Unfortunately, their proposals do little to inspire confidence to air its own disagreements in public, especially whenever exotic epistemic powers arebeing in their own claims about the independenceof scientific claimed for a traditionally underprivileged girt'''. Although some feminists come under attack they knowledge from social conditions. base their case mainly on the failure of leftist scholars to contest the"Melanin Hypothesis," which attributes psychokinetic powers to dark-skinned world during the period 187C-1900. Western mer- tion is over the explanation one gives for these chants and diplomats, who had for years tried to achievements and, in some cases, the ultimate peoples. While there is more than a grain of truth sell all mariner of things to the Far East, were value one attributes to them. in what Gross and Levitt say, they fail to mention surprised at how the Japanese eagerly sought Contrary to what ou r authors suggest, it seems that "closure in the ranks" is even more character- training in European chemistry and physics but to me that the "higher superstition" lies in crediting istic of natural scientists. showed little interest in acquiring such classical these achievements to the inherent power of par- Given that the rising costs of research increas- status markers of "civilization" as knowledge of ticular technical formulas or specialized knowl- ingly pit natural scientists against one another, one would expectand hopeto see more open de- fine art, philosophy, and literature. edge, as if these alone could have brought about Of course, Japan was not an isolated case. the vaunted results. At most, a body of scientific bate about the priority of these fields. If natural scientists were to be as public in their disagree- The heyday of European imperialism had unwit- knowledge is a synecdoche, and probably only a tingly produced other "standpoints." The emer- metonymy, for the real-world effects associated ments as Gross and Levitt would like the academic gence of colonial centers of scientific research, with it. The remarkable thing about science has left to be, then perhaps some realignment of the sometimes staffed primarily by assimilated non- been its ability to serve as a rallying point for the"two cultures" would finally take place. Westerners, led humanists in the metropolitan coordination of human effort, especially the effort Steve Fuller holds the chair in Sociology and powers to reconceptualize Ihe "uniqueness" of of those who do not have first-hand knowledge of Social Policy at the University of Durham, En- Western science as a matter of contingency, as if the science in question. gland. Democratic Culture -- Page 35 Fall 1994 12 0 BEST COPY AVAILABLE RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP NOW! JOIN TEACHERS FOR A DEMOCRATIC CULTURE WITH THIS FORM The continuing growth and success of TDC depends on your involvement and your contributions. We ask all current TDC members to send in a check (no form is needed unless you have changed your address) to cover 1994-95. We also encourage non-members who have received this newsletter to join us. Please mail this membership form to: Teachers for a Democratic Culture, P.O. Box 6405, Evanston IL 60204.

__Yes, I want to become a member of TDC __Yes, I want to renew my membership in TDC Enclosed is my 1994-95 contribution of: _$50 $25 _$5 (students/low-income) Name Department School or Affiliation City State Zip Home Address (if preferred) Phone Numbers: Business FAX Home E-mail democratictre

Teachers for a Democratic Culture BULK RATE P.O. Box 6405 U.S. POSTAGE Evanston, IL 60204 PAID CHICAGO, IL PERMIT NO. 7706

191