“GUTTURAL GERMAN”: HERBERT MARCUSE, THE MEDIA, AND STUDENT RADICALISM IN SAN DIEGO DURING THE 1960S _______________ A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of San Diego State University _______________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in History _______________ by Beauregard B. Bennett Spring 2017 iii Copyright © 2017 by Beauregard B. Bennett All Rights Reserved iv DEDICATION For all the women in my life. The ones who raised me, nurtured me, supported me, loved me and endured me. Thanks for believing in me, even when I don’t believe in myself. And a special dedication for the young lady who I haven’t met yet, this work is for you all! v ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS “Guttural German”: Herbert Marcuse, the Media, and Student Radicalism in San Diego During the 1960s by Beauregard B. Bennett Master of Arts in History San Diego State University, 2017 Many university campuses in the United States experienced increased levels of unrest during the 1960s. San Diego universities also contributed to facets of student rebellion nationally and globally. Arguably, no one figure became such a polarizing and inspiring icon of the 1960s as UCSD’s Professor Herbert Marcuse. Guttural German seeks to uncover the roots of Marcuse’s controversial dismissal from UCSD while exploring the factors motivating his most vocal critics. Guttural German utilizes secondary source material that contextualizes the detractors of Marcuse and traces their history of opposition towards contrarian thought in the region. Additionally, Guttural German relies heavily primary sources from The San Diego Union, as well as archival material originating from SDSU Library Special Collections, letters and transcripts from (Dean of San Diego Journalism) Harold Keen’s collected papers; and documents from the Gwartney American Legion and Anti-Communism Collection at SDSU. While much has been written regarding Marcuse’s time in San Diego and his reluctant role as father of the “new left,” what makes Guttural German unique is its focus on the media’s function in the Marcuse controversy. Marcuse’s dual structuralist approach of synthesizing the work of Sigmund Freud and Karl Marx is used to respond to his critics, who it is argued held merely a vulgar or cursory grasp of Marcuse’s complex ideas. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................... v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................vii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 1 Historiography and Historical Context ................................................................. 3 2 CRITICS ................................................................................................................. 12 Alice Widener .................................................................................................... 18 The Medium is the Message ............................................................................... 25 The American Legion ........................................................................................ 28 3 COMRADES ........................................................................................................... 36 4 CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................... 60 Marcuse’s Legacy .............................................................................................. 69 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................... 73 vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Sometimes the most difficult part in beginning a project like this, is knowing how to start. So, I must concede a special degree of thanks to Dr. Richard Gibson for providing me with the perspective, outlook, and worldview (weltanschauung) in which to pursue an advanced degree. I greatly appreciate your friendship, advice, and encouragement throughout the years. You have had a major impact on my thoughts and have guided me well for over 17 years. Thank you. Once I began this journey of obtaining a Master’s degree and studying the work of Herbert Marcuse’s time in San Diego, I found my path to equally difficult to traverse. Because sometimes the most difficult part in a project such as this is finding the motivation to continue. I need to thank specifically Dr. Ben, for the brilliant insights and great readings in the History of Modernity; Dr. Yeh, for her kind demeanor, perceptive seminar discussions and wonderful readings in Cold War History; Dr. Hicks for a fun, although somewhat unorthodox and helpful semester studying zombie fiction and applying it to my research on Marcuse. That paper is coming soon. A special thanks to Dr. DeVos and Adriana Putko in the History Department office for all the paperwork and “behind the scenes” administrative help you provided me. Also, some special words of gratitude to Dr. Beasley for his perpetual good humor, deep historical knowledge on any number of topics. Prof. Beasley allowed this thesis to rise from the ashes like a phoenix with his constructive critiques and careful readings of early drafts. You have completely made my graduate experience a rewarding one. While this thesis has benefitted from the help and guidance of several knowledgeable and capable advisors and colleagues, the historical determinations, claims, mistakes are mine alone. Much thanks! And finally, I need to thank my beautiful, loving, supportive, hard-working wife. Thank you for underwriting this endeavor. Thank you for enduring all of my boring discoveries, my long-winded discussions when I needed a sounding board, and all the viii yummy meals you made. You are the best. I love you. And thanks to my unborn daughter who will be here shortly and I can’t wait to meet. Because sometimes the hardest part of doing a project like this, is knowing when to stop…. 1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION “Marcuse, you are a very dirty Communist dog. We give you seventy-two hours to live [sic] the United States. Seventy-two hours more, Marcuse, and we kill you.”1 On November 8, 1964, the San Diego Union newspaper printed a story with the following title: “Philosophy Prof Will Join UCSD Faculty.” The five-paragraph article mentions a little about the professor’s history at Brandeis University, his education in Freiburg University, his work with the United States government intelligence during WWII, and his scholarship, which sought to synthesize the ideas of Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud. The article, (located on Section A, page 37) says very little to suggest the storm of controversy that would grip this new professor of philosophy and politics, the University of California at San Diego’s students and administrators, the San Diego news media and local citizens just four years later.2 The uproar after Dr. Herbert Marcuse’s appointment at UCSD in the latter part of the 1960s is a significant example of resistance to a larger movement of organized dissent that was playing itself out elsewhere in California and the rest of the nation. But the reaction to Marcuse during this tumultuous time also highlights the specific historical context in San Diego. Due to the overt anti-Semitism directed at Marcuse, the controversy culminated with a death threat, dated July 1, 1969, from those claiming to represent the Ku Klux Klan Unfortunately, The Union decided to report on this death threat in a manner that placed Marcuse in further danger. The short article not only explained the letter, but published Marcuse’s address 1 Mike Davis, Kelly Mayhew, and Jim Miller, Under the Perfect Sun: The San Diego Tourists Never See (New York: The New Press, 2003), 60. And in Alain Martineau, Herbert Marcuse's Utopia, trans. Jane Brierley (Montreal, Quebec: Harvest House, 1986), 18. 2 “Philosophy Prof Will Join UCSD Faculty,” The San Diego Union, November 8, 1964. 2 as 8831 Cliffridge Ave., La Jolla, thus placing him in serious jeopardy with many of the very reactionary readers of the local newspaper.3 To better understand the forces that shaped the Marcuse controversy in San Diego it is important not only examine the actions and theories of Marcuse and his supporters, but also the motivations and words of his most strident opponents. Conservative enemies pounced on Marcuse. Additionally, newspapers from both the liberal and conservative sides also criticized Marcuse. Papers like Pravda and the editors of The San Diego Union both sought to discredit him.4 Investigating Marcuse’s critics illuminates the somewhat opaque nature of conservative, right-wing forces operating during a period traditionally considered to be a time of left-wing, liberal ascendancy. Marcuse, however, also had his supporters. When it appeared he was at his most vulnerable, some citizens of San Diego rose up in solidarity with him by means of correspondence with the print and televised media. Letters sent to The Union and KFMB News Channel 8 showed that many interested individuals rejected the narrative which The Union and community leaders wished to present about Marcuse’s ideas. In addition, Marcuse enjoyed a remarkable amount of backing from his colleagues and students. Written evidence from Marcuse’s defenders indicates that many understood that The Union maintained a clear bias regarding the Marcuse controversy. Ultimately Marcuse was forced out of his teaching position